This week we’re going to hear from Dodge County, Wis., no-tiller Tony Peirick as he shares some key tips for setting up a planter to plant green into a living cover crop. This video comes to us courtesy of University of Wisconsin’s Integrated Pest and Crop Management program.

 “So many people, when they do go planting green and planting this residue, they’re not getting the seed down deep enough. Because we do have that root system with cereal rye on the surface and that can take up some moisture and keep it a little dryer on the top, but you have to get it down deeper so you get it down 2, 2.5 or 3 inches and you’ll be down in the moisture. And once everything keeps going, it’ll really take off. But the main thing with that is getting the seed in the ground. You have to get it down over 2 inches with these covers and no-till and most planters can do it. Keep a nice sharp closing disk or your opener disk and put some extra weight with insecticide boxes or weight it down with whatever you have or turn up your springs all the way.”

 Peirick says he uses hydraulic down pressure on his planter and that best practice is to first add extra weight and then worry about different closing units in the back of the planter.

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