cover crop problem

Seeded down this field last spring with cover crop of oats. Well the oats were a little on the thick side and a few patches went down bad before combining. I should have done something with it last fall but for one excuse or another never got back there after baling the straw. Its the back field and you know what they say out of sight out of mind! So this spring I go back to see how the hay is coming up to see the matted down straw keeping my not so minor investment from growing. I am thinking I have to try and save the spots that are not growing somehow, but maybe its too late? I tryed the old dump rake but that was about as futile as beating a dead horse so I figure lets try setting the old allis rake low to the ground and run it over the matted down spots in tedder mode to at least pick the straw up and toss it around some. Well it kinda worked but now I am wondering if leaving the loose straw on the field is the right thing to do or should I try to pick it up somehow? The pic with rake and tractor in picture is about the worst spot. I really do not want to drive over my fresh seeding any more than I have to. Kinda thinking I am doing more damage than good?? I would appreciate opinions as I have several thousand dollars invested in this field. It is alfalfa, timothy, brome, treefoil mix. thanks for any and all advice.

Much of the damage was probably done with the flat oats smothering the crop last fall.

With your mix of crop something might be kind of thin there, something might fill it in by mid summer.

I seeded my sand hill into alfalfa last year, even the small grain nurse crop was very poor, too dry in mid summer. My alfalfa is very spotty.

Im scratching my head what to do as well. I could plant in some oats, or some grass, or even try replanting some alfalfa in the bare spots. Try to salvage a year from it or try to get better long term results.... (Yes alfalfa is toxic to new alfalfa seeds; but in under a year or very bare spots it would have a chance As the toxins arent maybe built up yet......)

I havent quite decided, kind of depends on the weather forcast here, and what actually does come out of the ground still.

Paul

Is that low spot ? Too wet over the winter ?

No picture just looks that way a bit. Pretty much flat field. tile drained every 20 feet. I think just that oats were heavy and went down. I am thinking I could just forget about until fall and run over the bad spots with brillion seeder with some timothy and brohme in the box and hope for better next year? Too much into it to plow it down.

I say good luck, wait til fall and seed some grasses on the poor spots, yellow sweet clover? Too.

More pictures of the machine and the awesome Oliver.

Heard that Allis rake was good for what you're trying to do there.
GG