ANIMALtillage radish

hey animal, did you ever do anything with tillage radish this year? I was gonna pick your brain a little on that Dave Brandt fella, did you say that he planted the radish at the same time as corn? I drilled some in after wheat this year. I was wondering because Im getting a different planter and I am pretty set on this kinze I found with 6/11 interplant and it just dawned on me that I could plant tillage radish right between the corn rows. What do you think? Thanks

J, I must say I probably got the biggest kick out of my tillage radish experience than any thing that I have ever tried...I broadcast some early this spring on a small plot, and brother they came to life. The tops went crazy and bloomed the prettiest flower it was a lavender color, then it went to seed, and I mean tons of seed. I goofed up and tried to treat it like clover seed. I mowed it with a cycle bar and then raked it up into a windrow. That is one mistake I made I should have never raked it, it was just too much for my all crop. Next mistake was I left the clover screen in but the seed was too big, so the next size screen I had was a bean screen and that let in alot of trash. You can not use any air because it is a real light seed. So harvesting was my main problem, however, all the seed that was lost in harvesting came back like we the people! The early planting gave me all tops but the volunteer came back all bottom very little top, less than a beet top. I do not believe it would hurt a thing to plant it with your corn, but all you will get will be seed instead of a big tubor, however, you got me thinking....The average rate of seed is supposed to be ten pounds to the acre, I would like to try five pounds planted into corn, and I would bet by corn harvest that mature seed would darn near cover your field, and after a couple of weeks you could turn the cows in and have a lot of feed. Or the flip side some very mellow ground in the spring. It has been dry as the dickens here since June but when I disc the spot where I had the radishes it was real mellow with no clods. About a week after discing is when the volunteer radishes came up, and they are still growing. If I can get the harvesting thing under control, I plan on raising alot of them for seed! Now I will bet your sorry you asked!!!!

If I may butt in. Thanks for the info I been thinking about radish. Where do you get your seed?

If I may also but in, my first try I too tried planting the seed in spring with the oats - oops! The stuff does not do any root at all, goes to seed. What dropped out grew well and got a few big big roots out of it,in fall.

I get mine at Albert Lea Seed House in southern MN. Steve G. on NAT board is into producing most of the good seed, ships it to the various seed houses.

--->Paul

Paul is this somthing you will try again ? I have a rough rolling field that has had nothing done to it in maybe 30 yrs. or more . I thought about burning it off [roundup] then radish then disk and plant hay . The way the ground lays and the roll it would not be the easyest field to plow , could chisle it if I need to but it would be nice if I could get the ground mellow as they claim if it realy works like they say it does .

If looking for roots to help break up the hard pan, you need to plant in late August or early Sept. They will grow big deep roots and will die off and rot away through winter, then leave large holes to catch spring water and aerate the soil. I like the thought of harvesting the seeds from the spring crops though.

To bw honest I just played with the radish. Tillage is king in this southern MN yellow clay with too much spring rain & too cold.

I graze a few cattle on cornstalks and oats stubble with turnips and clover/alfalfa interseeded. Tried the radish once to see how theyt did. Cattle liked them too. For what I fo/ want, turnips are much better.

The radish did grow deep and fat in richer areas of the field, I'm sure they do something, not sure what. Worth looking into from what I observed.

I tried a few this fall in a 3 acre area I ran tile through, but it's been so terrible dry this fall, only a handful sprouted, too cold for them to do anything.

--->Paul

what kind of a price would bulk turnip seed be?

I just paid $3.25 (I think) per pound for 10 pound for a small plot of pig pasture a week or two ago. Might be cheaper in bulk.