Plow Now or Wait For Spring?

[Fergienewbee]

I have a small plot that was mostly quack grass and weeds. I sprayed with glysophate a few weeks ago. I plan to plant oats in the spring. Should I plow now and let the ground mellow or wait and plow in the spring?

Larry
 

[Erik Ks farmer]

Plow now and let the soil mellow over the winter, then disc it and harrow it in the spring. If it's been dry there this summer and you're afraid of not getting much precip this winter I'd disc it right after you plow it so you don't end up with a bunch of hard dirt clods that won't break up next spring.
 

[paul]

I forget where you live, but if the north half of the USA for sure a poor plowing job in fall is much better than a good plowing job in spring. Plow it now!

There are regions of the SE where they don't get much winter at all and the winter breaks down their dirt all winter long, tis better to do spring tillage there from what I understand.....

--->Paul
 

[Brendon-KS]

If you have any kind of clay I would sure plow now and disc it down yet this fall. I would think you could loose a lot of moisture plowing in the spring. The opposite problem might be having the ground too wet for spring plowing. Oats need to go in pretty early so getting the ground in decent shape now will be beneficial. I grow some oats for hay each spring and like to just lightly work the ground once or twice prior to sowing. Here in Kansas we like to have oats in the ground by the middle of March.
 

[JMS/.MN]

Why disk it now? Disking just packs the soil and creates more wind erosion with the smooth field. Leave it rough and save more snow.
 

[Erik Ks farmer]

a little education, if it don't rain or snow between now and plantin time it's gonna be one heck of a mess to plant if it's not disced.
 

[paul]

Of course, as dry as it is here in my little part of southern MN (just like last fall), if we don't get any snow or rain by May, the lumps won't matter - nothing iwll sprout anyhow.

Last fall I put some cover crops into a 2 acre patch we worked up and tiled. UI planted in September, couplew 100 seeds of rye sprouted, none of the clover or radish did. After I planted oats on part, and corn on the other part, we got heavy rains in May, and then it finally sprouted.

So, if we don't get moisture, we will have problems beyond lumpy ground. :)

--->Paul
 

[Cooney Minnie]

Nobody will like this one:

Wait til spring, and then no-till.

The disk will just wake up more weeds.

You may miss the tractor time, but little else.
 

[Brendon-KS]

In our clay ground it causes less compaction by disking in the fall when it is dry compared to trying to work it down in February when it is still wet underneath.
 

[JMS./MN]

Then why not use a field cultivator, instead of a disk, which causes compaction?
 

[MFPoor]

At least one of us likes that idea. We quit plowing/chisel plowing/discing/cultivating/ect here years ago. Now we don't have to drive 5 miles down the road to visit what was once our top soil. We don't buy near as much diesel fuel, We raise better crops. And we did better that our neighbors who did plow when the drought hit this year. Oh yeah...and we farm 3 times the ground in half the time. 25 years since we started no tilling and I'm still looking for a negative. (Other than having to put up more grain bins)
 

[Frankmn]

It is hard to grow a market garden without tillage.
 

[MFPoor]

Not as hard as you might imagine. A good friend who lives in West Virginia grows what we used to call a "truck patch" that's for the most part no till (except where he has to dig to set plants) weeds control is done by mulch.
 

[MFPoor]

Besides, OP is talking about planting oats, no mention of produce crop.
 

[Cooney Minnie]

Amen!