Uh Oh....

[roadrunner]

...I may have made a mistake

Last year I grew a cover crop for the first time, but only grew Fava beans. I had such good results, that I decided to do it again this winter with not only Fava beans, but other plants as well, including various peas, clovers and beans. One of the packs I bought had more than one seed variety and it included oats, but I didn't really think about it, because the pack was labeled as Cover Crop.

Fast-forward a couple weeks and I notice some grass-looking plants growing in various areas (BTW, if there's one plant I see as a weed, it's grass and always reflexively pull it out of the ground).

However, for some reason I didn't pull this stuff out, thinking it was weird how it just showed up, didn't show up like the normal grass I see trying to get into my growing areas. Then, the other day I just pulled one blade out and noticed a seed still attached to the new growth, then I thought that this is very likely something I planted.

I did some research and found it to be Avena sativa, AKA Oats.

Questions:

I've read that this plant can exceed four feet (1.2 meters) in height. Has anyone grown this plant and if so how high does it normally grow?

I'm also curious how well it reseeds itself?

Does it spreads via rhizomes?

I'm considering chopping it down now, because I don't want grass in my gardens, but if it's easy to control, then I might let it go for a little while. I'm really concerned in the summer having to battle it, but then again maybe my summers are too hot for it to grow and it'll only comeback in the winter, which might be tolerable for me...

BTW, I saw one video on this variety of oats and the guy pulled very hard on the plants to remove the seeds from the plant, indicating to me that this plant has a very robust tap root system --- is this correct?

 

[DirtMechanic]

I am always interested in how to stop weeds of any kind. I found this on the net.

"Avena sativa is a ANNUAL growing to 0.9 m (3ft) by 0.1 m (0ft 4in).
It is hardy to zone (UK) 2 and is not frost tender. It is in flower from Jun to July, and the seeds ripen from Aug to October. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Wind.The plant is self-fertile.
Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, prefers well-drained soil and can grow in heavy clay and nutritionally poor soils. Suitable pH: acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very acid soils.
It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers dry or moist soil and can tolerate drought."

Perhaps a tarp of some sort? I do love using a torch in the winter, though my wife questions the char on my boots if it gets past the garage. Also, I would think a pet goat could handle that for you.

 

[alp]

I might be making a mistake, but I do want to talk about gardening

Oats are definitely not perennial and as DM points out, it's about 3 to 4 foot tall. They don't have extensive roots or rhizomes.. so don't worry. You can see similar varieties of oats sprouting under a bird feeder..They germinate very readily if the condition is favourable.

Or unless this is not the kind of oats that I know. If so, I apologise for my ignorance.

 

[DirtMechanic]

I have not thought of the greenery under my feeders as oats, though it is obvious the greens are from the feed. One mildly interesting thing I have experienced through my own silliness was the pleasant fullness of grass in my lawn when I was attempting to use organic feeds to enhance the lawn. I learned oats are often used to make an "instant" lawn, though it only lasts the summer here.

 

[roadrunner]

I might be making a mistake, but I do want to talk about gardening

Oats are definitely not perennial and as DM points out, it's about 3 to 4 foot tall. They don't have extensive roots or rhizomes.. so don't worry. You can see similar varieties of oats sprouting under a bird feeder..They germinate very readily if the condition is favourable.

Or unless this is not the kind of oats that I know. If so, I apologise for my ignorance.

I did try and compare the seed (after seeing it attached to the oat seedling) to the seeds in my birdfeeder and it doesn't match any of the seeds in the feed.

This is what it looked like https://www.trueleafmarket.com/products/whole-oat-grain-seed-organic?variant=38639425864

I think the seeds in my birdfeeder pretty much match this list of seeds https://www.thespruce.com/how-to-choose-the-best-birdseed-386541

As long as the oats don't have rhizomes, that gives me pause in going out there in rip all of it out now; I feel somewhat comfortable in thinking I can battle any plant that only spreads thru its seeds, after all I battle the worst plant of them all, the Spanish Needle, which is a monster when it comes to taking over a garden.

For now I guess I'll allow the oats to grow, but I really hate the grassy look, so if it does get too grassy I'll chop and drop. However, this brings me to another question, which I've found conflicting information on...

When is the best time to chop and drop these N2-fixing plants? Most say it's after they flower, but some say just before they flower and I've read some that say let them go thru their entire growth cycle. Maybe it's dependent on the species? Any thoughts?

 

[roadrunner]

I just learned a new term WRT cover crops: Nitrogen Scavenger plants.

I need to research it more, but from what it seems like to me so far is that N2 scavenger plants are plants that take up N2 in the soil and store it, as opposed to N2 being exhausted by other type plants or draining away in heavy rains, but I need to look more into this...


I first heard it here:

 

[DirtMechanic]

The term " green manure" seems to focus on your question. Most tillage is finished 30-ish days prior to planting, and the turned greenery will give up 1/2 its nitrogen in decomposition over time from what I read.

 

[roadrunner]

I love these videos that show root growth in the soil

 

[alp]

Is that veg also called mooli?

 

[roadrunner]

Here are some pics of the Oats I inadvertently planted (I don't like grass). Good thing it doesn't spread via rhizomes, or else I probably would have ripped them out by now, since I hate grass in my mulchy growing areas. Also, you can see some fava beans and other types of legumes.

This is around my Orange Tree

This is around my Fig Tree

BTW, the bare area has always been a problem for me, because I've been undecided if I want to mulch it or not, but overtime I tended to not mulch and build up the soil, because I grow a lot of plants that like plain sandy soils, such as Aloe Vera and Purslane.

This year I'm planting Buckwheat there.

 

[alp]

They grow very quickly and quite tall as well. Are you going to keep them?

 

[roadrunner]

They grow very quickly and quite tall as well. Are you going to keep them?

As of now, yes, but will have to wait and see how it actually performs in my yard. From what I've read they are good attractor of pollinators, grow fast and thick to keep out the weeds (in my case grass), is a good summer time cover crop and the seeds are edible.

I'm trying to find a negative, but so far have not been able to...

 

[alp]

I used to have similar to these, but I just had no idea whether they are oats, wheat or millet.. So I just pulled them up. Once I thought I had a stipa gigantea and when I collected the seeds, I had the shock of the day as they seeds were very big. I then realised that they were actually oats from the bird feeder, not stipa gigantea! Actually, stipa gigantea is called Golden oat!

Glad that you like it..