The Combine Forum banner

Seeding Deeper?

5K views 9 replies 10 participants last post by  dookiller 
#1 ·
Dry out there this year. Forecasts say we could be waiting into June before significant rainfall, sort of like last year.

Thinking about going just a tad deeper. Lentils to just under 2", peas 2.5", flax 1.5" and then canola?? What about it. Usually seed 1". What can you get away with? Dont have a precision drill, just a 5710 with 3.5" spread tips. Thoughts?
 
#2 ·
I feel your pain, that's was me last year. Unless you can put it into the moisture don't seed it, especially if your waiting till June for rain. Nothing worse then a patchy crop.
Cant speak for canola but I seeded mustard into the dust hoping for a rain......that rain came July 23. Wrote off and took a tandem disk to it.


Worst thing is that goddamn field is right beside the house so I have been looking at that mess since I seeded it


Good luck
 
#5 ·
After last years frost and looking at reseeding canola, ground temps were quite warm and moisture was just about 2 inches down, So set for 6 lbs and wedged it in 2 inches deep. only took 6 days to poke through from that depth with all the heat. It all depends on how warm your soil temps are at seeding depth and what the next 2 weeks weather is going to bring. 2 inches deep with a layer of loose soil over top can be done successfully.
 
#6 ·
Remember a bloke next door to us plumbed up his DBS wrong one year and deep banded his seed. Had a few sleepless. Nights but it actually came up and grew a good crop. That was emergence probably from 6" deep. Wouldn't recommend as a practice though .....
 
#8 ·
Just south of Saskatoon in the light sand I am seeding deeper last year and this year also.
In my sand 2 inches for canola works. I will have a big mess if I put it in at 1 inch where
some germinates now and some later when it rains. I seed everything well into moisture
not just to the moisture.
 
#10 ·
We rarely get that dry but have in the past in our area. Our gray soil retains moisture quite well but is unforgiving with seeding much deeper than 2 " in flax. I have seeded flax this deep last year as a matter of fact being real dry and it came up well. Had it rained hard and then sun shone right after I think it would have struggled bad to come up. It never rained and 80% came up which made a decent crop. Canola I have broadcasted in front of our old airseeder by moving the hoses up front and cultivating it in 3" deep. Seeded at 7.5 lbs and harrow packed it in right behind the drill. It brings up the moisture and once harrow packed blends moisture in all the way through somewhat. Harrow packer covers the soil with straw after. Then regardless what happens you have canola spread throughout 0-2 1/2". That sounds crazy I know but have done it and seen thousands of acres done this way for years up here in NE Sask. Floaters main income here was in seeding canola and still is. Harrow pack it twice when real dry and moisture comes up at night and your off to the races. Canola is a crop that doesn't get affected by crop emergence uniformity as much and during swathing time its seems to all ripen evenly. If you seed shallow with a drill just to moisture and it doesnt rain for a month then you will have patchy crop which is less than desirable. A crystal ball would help! Emergence of some a week apart is no big deal IMO. Peas are resilient to depth. 3" and peas will come up easy providing you have loose soil on top.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top