When to plow for winter wheat

Flewster

Member
I have some brome and alfalfa that I want to convert to wheat this fall. When is the best time to plow this to sar to get the ground ready for september planing? What would you do?

Thank you.

Wayne
 
If you're trying to go to wheat from old sod,I'd get it plowed as soon as possible. Run over it with a drag or field cultivator every ten days to two weeks to keep anything from greening up.
 
I would make a cutting or 2 of hay before plowing. If the the alfalfa is worth mowing that is.

Here in Iowa if you get the wheat in by late Sept it will work. So plowing in early Sept would work.

Gary
 
Your typical fall precipitation and soil type
makes a big difference. Here in central Kansas
you would not want to plow under alfalfa in late
summer and expect to have enough soil moisture
left to get the wheat up and established before
winter. When plowing was still commonly done here
it was done as soon after wheat harvest as
possible (basically this time of year) so the soil
could be worked down and recoup some moisture
before early October sowing. By late summer the
gumbo ground here is usually too hard and dry to
plow and work down nice and you end up with a
cloddy seedbed which is not good for getting wheat
going. On the other hand, if you have mellow soil
and can expect decent late summer/fall moisture in
the "typical" year (what's that, huh?) an extra
hay crop or two would be nice to get.
 
I would plow the brome as soon as it has been put up for hay. Some brome has already been put up where I am at. Would likewise plow the alfalfa as soon as you can after you put up the last cutting you intend to get off of it this year.
 
I'd spray it with something like roundup to kill it off prior to plowing. Brome is nasty for coming back from the root/clods and not much will kill it that will not damage your wheat.
 
Thanks guys.....I am going to try to get the alfalfa off and then spray roundup to kill it all. Then plow under for green manure. Hopefully will be able to work a few times this summer without taking too much moisture out and plant wheat this fall
 
I don't know what your equipment availability is,
but I'd rather see you no-til corn into it next
spring, combine it, and then no-til wheat into it
next fall. I hate seeing ground getting plowed up.
I have been no-tilling since the mid-seventies and
haven't had the plows on a tractor other than to
plow the garden for a good twenty years. Another thing would be to burn it off this fall, and put tillage radishes in, then no-til it next spring. The radishes will loosen the ground almost as well as a plow will and not erode like plowed ground....
 

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