First Time Wheat Cultivation

[ChrisCY]

Hello friends,

I would like to know the basics of wheat planting. I owe a Massey Ferguson 2615 with a rotary tiller implement as well as a tine cultivator. Are these enough for planting the seed? And how is it done? Not wanting to pay a fortune on new implements if required

 

[lman]

How many acres are you planting? A drill is commonly used to plant the seed after the ground is tilled.

 

[ChrisCY]

How many acres are you planting? A drill is commonly used to plant the seed after the ground is tilled.

2 acres Iman

 

[wmfamily]

2 acres Iman

Normally you would use a grain drill. You can check with your local university extension office to see if they or someone else has one you can rent. Depending on its size you may have enough tractor to pull it. If the doesn't work out you can use the old fashioned sowing by hand or get a broadcast spreader from a farm store. It takes some skill to use either method but unless you put it all in one pile something will come up. I remember my dad sowing lots of grass seed using a broadcast spreader.

 

[oosik]

Hand sowing will take quite a while. I hand seeded a half acre into wild grasses and flowers. If you decide to do it by hand. A recommendation - try hand sowing sand for a half an hour or so. This will help you get the hang of it.

 

[ChrisCY]

Normally you would use a grain drill. You can check with your local university extension office to see if they or someone else has one you can rent. Depending on its size you may have enough tractor to pull it. If the doesn't work out you can use the old fashioned sowing by hand or get a broadcast spreader from a farm store. It takes some skill to use either method but unless you put it all in one pile something will come up. I remember my dad sowing lots of grass seed using a broadcast spreader.

Thanks for the reply. I believe I will sow it by hand.So what is the series of work done starting from an uncultivated piece of land?

 

[ChrisCY]

Hand sowing will take quite a while. I hand seeded a half acre into wild grasses and flowers. If you decide to do it by hand. A recommendation - try hand sowing sand for a half an hour or so. This will help you get the hang of it.

Thanks for the reply. I believe I will sow it by hand.So what is the series of work done starting from an uncultivated piece of land?

 

[LittleBittyBigJohn]

I'll jump in. Here are the steps that many people do, but it's not the only way. I only have a tiller so I don't know if it would be better to use the field cultivator to break up the sod with it first or not?

1) Kill the grass if possible and mow it down to nothing - Scalp it.
2) I suspect it would be better to run the field cultivator over it at this point to break up the sod.
3) Till
4) Wait a few days and till the opposite direction
5) After a few days till again in a different direction if required
6) Sew your seed
7) I would be tempted to find something to drag over top after sewing to work the seed in but I'm not sure if that would help or hurt.

 

[oldnslo]

Are you growing Wheat as food source for you or as food plot for animals?

What is growing in this area now?

Tine cultivator will be much faster than tiller but may have trouble with clods if currently grass and weeds.

If grass & weeds and growing as food source for you then getting rid of grass and weeds is more important than food plot.

I believe You can buy hand seed spreaders that are crank operated. Like other have stated getting the seed rate consistent is the challenge.

We used to seed wet spots in fields with hand spreader and then run spring tine drag over to help lightly bury the seed. This was on ground that was tilled.

 

[npalen]

Growing Wheat: Varieties, Planting Guide, Care, Problems, and Harvest

Growing wheat isn't just for commercial food production. We'll show you how to grow and care for it in your own home garden.

morningchores.com

Some good info here.