I think it may depend on how thick the thatch is…….I kind of wish I had a cultipacker to experiment with but on the other hand I don’t want to start adding 1 more step to the process until its gets to the point of being just as time consuming as any other method. I think there is still a lot of room left for folks to experiment with different tweaks to the method.

I really haven’t had a problem getting good germination from cereal grains. It may not all germinate in one flush but as the hay settles down after the first rain… it acts just like two napkins pressing together…..One failure I do think I might have had in places though was burying my clover seed under too much thatch. My summer crop last year was a little too thick. I think I could have helped the problem out a lot if I had raised my mower up and only cut about half of the hay down. From what I’ve seen…..once you get your soil surface turned around the seed germinates really easy in the top soil mulch. This coming fall I may try just seeding my fall mix straight into the standing summer crop without mowing at all.