Food plot work / equipment
Contributors to this thread:Wisconsin
From: Habitat for Wildlife
23-Jul-17
I have a tiller. It depends on your soil, but if the grass is long my 6' clogs up.
I spray if it is tall. Then burn, then work the soil.
I would also lime and fertilize before working the ground and before seeding, jmho.
Good luck.
From: Habitat for Wildlife
23-Jul-17
I burn after everything is dead and dry.
From: Habitat for Wildlife
23-Jul-17
Best to have some growth before spraying.
From: skookumjt
23-Jul-17
Tilling will also bring up weed seed and isn't good for your soil structure.
Spraying always works best when the plants are actively growing so this time of year it is best to mow then wait several days to spray.
I also burn if possible once it is cured. Reduces the amount the soil needs to be worked to get a good seed bed.
From: Habitat for Wildlife
23-Jul-17
Tillers work great in soil with no rock. I like them and try to use it before any vegetation gets too tall.
Skook may disagree with me, but given my clayish soil I like to till live vegetation in as the bio-mass helps break the clay down.
Burning is a last resort used only when I let the vegetation get too tall. It adds some pot ash but I need that less than the bio-mass.
I also chisel plow at least every couple years and have things like radishes in my mixes to prevent hard pan and some of skook's concerns.
This is what works for me, but I admit I am still learning.
From: Habitat for Wildlife
23-Jul-17
My experience is if the vegetation is tall it will wrap around the shaft and then prevent the tiller from biting into the soil.
I like to spray, then chisel and then till the mess in. It takes time and you need enough tractor to do it.
But, experiment. Different soil profiles work up differently as you know. It is fun!
From: Habitat for Wildlife
23-Jul-17
One other thing...after burning wait for a little rain to settle the ash otherwise your air filter will clog. Don't ask me how I know this;)
From: Mike F
24-Jul-17
One thing I have learned over the years is that if I am planting an annual that needs to be planted 1/4 to 1/2 inch deep is to not till or disk deeper than 2 inches. I deep tilled one year and the next spring my clover was over run with Canadian Thistles. Never saw them on the property before and it is one tough weed to kill.
Good luck!
From: WausauDug
25-Jul-17
when we have the time we mow then spray in May and then again in July to plant the beginning of August. We prefer the tiller because the tool is pushing the tractor forward where the disc loves to get stuck in our heavy wet ground
From: skookumjt
25-Jul-17
I try to work the soil as little as possible. I would never til and rarely do anything other than disc.
From: RJN
25-Jul-17
I would spray first, wait till everything is brown, broadcast seed, mow, pray for rain. Like others said, if you til or disc just go a few inches deep.
From: Habitat for Wildlife
25-Jul-17
I am hoping some of you will comment on my thread 'Frank's 2017 Habitat Work' on the BGF as I am curious as to why some of you recommend not discing much. Thanks.
From: happygolucky
25-Jul-17
happygolucky's Link
I believe that in sandy soils, one is best served (given all I've read on the Throw and Mow method) not breaking ground. The removal of OM hurts sandy soils. I know there are other reasons listed in the link.
From: dbl lung
26-Jul-17
I have had success with mowing. Then wait Two weeks then spray and then a week later plant. I do this sequence when planting turnups or clover. Roughing up the ground at all exposes other weed seed to germination which can ruin a food plot if planted to early in the year. The other thing tilling does is loosen the soil which can lead to seed being pushed to deep if heavy rain occurs. Seed is held in place by the dead grass and weeds if you don't disk or till. Leave your disks and tillers in your sheds this time of year.
From: happygolucky
27-Jul-17
Rain will help make good seed contact. Running over the seed after broadcasting will also. Read the link I provided above. Many many people now are using the throw and mow/roll method and not turning over dirt. What you own equipment wise matters in the decision too.
From: Trapper
27-Jul-17
I try not to break the ground on anything other than my soybeans.
From: Trapper
27-Jul-17
Skyy in the Brassicas.
From: Trapper
27-Jul-17
Fenced in beans. Too much work for the worth!
From: Trapper
27-Jul-17
From: Trapper
27-Jul-17
Here is a picture of me rolling a WR plot from late summer planting last year that I also seeded with Clover. I will try to remember to take pictures on Saturday of it to show what you can do with notill and just a roller.
From: Trapper
27-Jul-17
Here is a picture of me rolling a WR plot from late summer planting last year that I also seeded with Clover. I will try to remember to take pictures on Saturday of it to show what you can do with notill and just a roller.
From: Habitat for Wildlife
27-Jul-17
Totally agree with you on small seeds like clover and brassicas. Works well with even rye grain. Corn, milo, sunflower, even radishes, I have had better results turning the soil. BUT, it really depends on your soil profile IMHO. My clay can get rock hard to where small seeds have a tough time germinating.
On clovers, I like to frost seed only. Thanks.
From: RutnStrut
27-Jul-17
Trapper, is that the old style steel lawn roller? I have one of those that I bought at a garage sale for 3.00 that I thought would work for a "cultipacker".
From: Trapper
28-Jul-17
Picture of my soybean seeder.
Picture of my soybean seeder.
Grandchildren are great!
Grandchildren are great!
Camp 2, Only Roundup, to terminate a plot. Usually on a 3-4 year rotation. Rut, It is. I filled about 1/4 full with sand and added 1/2 gallon of drain oil to keep drum from rusting out. I also have 3 small cultipackers that I leave at the plots. My trails are so rocky that I would break the wheels if I transported on my roads.
From: Trapper
28-Jul-17
Some results with my crude methods.
From: CaptMike
28-Jul-17
Nice work Trapper!
From: RutnStrut
29-Jul-17
Camp 2 dukes, that is correct.
From: Habitat for Wildlife
29-Jul-17
Correct, and your stuff looks great!
From: happygolucky
29-Jul-17
Awesome work Trapper.
I'm another small equipment guy and it does the work just fine.
From: Trapper
30-Jul-17
Here is a picture of the rye/ clover plot 2 weeks after rolling the rye, note the part that I left standing in the background.
From: GoJakesGo
30-Jul-17
Roller works great, just get a heavy one! Mine is solid concrete and weighs 1,100 lbs. Still able to pull behind a medium atv
From: WausauDug
31-Jul-17
very interesting stuff here. Skook and others I never thought of bringing up the weed seeds from below and makes sense. I understand different techniques for different areas. Our plots are mostly in the open and yellow canary grass is the main issue / enemy and we have "cold" ground. Trapper you plots look great btw,
From: Trapper
31-Jul-17
Camp 2, with 7 or 8 plots and doing a rotation, its a rare year that I don't plant at least 1 bushel of rye.
From: Trapper
31-Jul-17
Maybe this is a better example of rolling rye. I left a bit of a buffer up to see what the difference will be next year.
From: MNBowAddict
04-Aug-17
I am seeking a good cover crop to plant next spring. The overall goal is to keep weeds at bay until I can plant my late summer brassicas. I used clover this year as it also acts as a food source and provides nitrogen to the ground, however, clover takes work and needs to be mowed. Is winter rye adequate as a cover crop? and could the same rolling method be used for planting turnips and radishes? Thanks
From: CaptMike
05-Aug-17
Year old seed. These beans started very poorly but the generous rains have really given them a boost.
From: CaptMike
05-Aug-17
From: booner
06-Aug-17
Spray your plot area with roundup, then wait until it is dead, then til the plot. here comes the part I have learned works best.DO NOT PLANT YET, wait until grass and weeds start to grow them spray again,wait until dead and take a drag section and only loosen the top 1/4 of dirt this does not bring all those weed seeds to the top to begin growing again. Now seed and pack works great good luck
