Cover crop advice

[pete1dart]

Me and my mate have just taken on some ground which I used to shoot 10 years ago. We are putting out 50 birds this year with a view to just having a few walk up days with a few mates. We only found out we could have the land a few days ago so everything is a rush job. Birds are coming in Sunday so every evening this week has been spent sorting the 1 pen we have that has been neglected for at least 8 years.

 

The pen is at the top of the wood, the wood is split in 2 by a grass strip around 40 yards wide. This used to be planted with maize but is now over grown with nettles and grass.

 

As I don't have access to a drill or plough or even a tractor, can I plant some sort of cover in there? Or would the nettles and long grass be sufficient for this year?

 

I have thought about strimming the strip and chucking some mustard and rape around. This is the only place we can put cover in as the rest is water meadows and floods most winters. This strip was always drilled so itust be able to grow something?

 

Any suggestions are appreciated, we are on a very tight budget as we are only treating it as a walk up shoot.

 

Cheers

[ColinF]

As it's already late in the year for planting cover crop, I would keep the nettles and grass. To plant anything else you would need to spray off what's already there and cultivate the ground a bit first, and if it doesn't establish, you will be left with nothing.

 

50 birds isn't very many and the nettles and grass should give enough cover for a few walked up shoots, but it will probably get a bit thin after Christmas. Next spring you will be able to prepare the ground to plant something more suitable for the following season.

[pete1dart]

Thanks. The 50 birds are a tester to see how we get on. There is a river and a pond so we might put some ducks down next season. We got them cheap so didn't cost us much.

 

The 4 woods we have are very good at holding them from past experience, we only used to put out 100 a year but we have 3 other shoots and a big estate bordering all sides.

 

I might feed the nettles and grass hard and use it as a natural cover?

 

See how things go but it has potential. Even if we don't shoot many pheasants the geese and ducks that come down the river will give us something to go at.

[ColinF]

Feed the nettles and grass early season, until it doesn't hold them any more. Sounds like you have plenty of woodland to hold your birds. Once you have got a season behind you, it will give you a better idea of what works for you, and what doesn't.