How to Grow Oats From Open Pollinated Seeds
- 1). Plant the oats directly in the field as soon as the last chance of frost has passed. Generally, planting small-grain crops as early in the spring as possible provides the best yields. Depending on the height of the variety of oats, the seeds should be planted in rows 12 to 20 inches apart, with seed placement every 6 inches.
- 2). Monitor soil moisture. The oat seed requires moisture to germinate and begin growth. In some areas oats are an irrigated crop, while it is grown in non-irrigated fields in other parts of the country. The plant placement is commonly too close to allow mechanical cultivation for weed control. In most cases weeds are managed by chemical herbicides or manual weeding in small-scale operations.
- 3). Harvest the oats when the oat seeds are at 35 percent moisture. This occurs at about the time the greenest kernels in the seed head have begun to turn color.
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