Turkeymaster……Did you run a cultipacker over those fields?

Should I wait 2-3 weeks once everything gets up to fertilize it?

no it was half leaning over when I broadcast the seed into the fields, then I just ran my bushhog up to where it just cut just above the clover. I also tried to strattle each set of tire tracks I made to press anything I missed down.

Have you had a soil test done lately? Its good to know what your Ca, P, K levels and pH are doing in order to know what you need to throw at it in terms of fert. These nutrient levels need to be addressed before the seed every hits the ground. You want to throw your seed off into a fertile growing environment from the beginning. If all of those things were already in balance then you would just need to hit it with some N to give everything a boost.

Without a test the best option is just to assume you are low on the all and add 13-13-13 or 17-17-17

Ok cool........I’d like to be a fly on the wall when some of you guys try to explain to your other hunting club members that you want to try the “Throw and Mow Method”…..

We had the soil test done last year and put lime out accordingly, as our pH averaged out to be 5.2 in all the fields. the average for P and K levels were roughly 60-80 lbs of both in each field. it didn't ask for much N

Those P levels are fine. P builds really easy and hold really easy in the soil compared to the other nutrients. That is low for K levels though….K also has an effect on pH as well and is part of getting things in balance…..it’s one of your cations just like Ca. It has a positive charge…. K levels and Ca levels will both build up and hold better as you build organic matter into your soil. I’d bring back a bag of 33-0-0 and a bag of 0-0-60 per acre on the next trip. Just for future plantings you would have wanted to have already added your 0-0-60 several weeks ago. You’re really feeding the 0-0-60 to the soil…not the plant. You feed the soil to get the nutrients levels where they need to be and the soil feeds the plant. Add another bag of 0-0-60 per acre later this summer before fall planting. This will start getting your K levels up. You could really go ahead and add two bags of 0-0-60 right now if it doesn’t get into your planting budget too deep. You probably won’t need any P for a while so skip the 13-13-13 and use 33-0-0 and 0-0-60 for your fert needs. If you add two bags of 0-0-60 now then I’d test later this fall again to see where you’re running around September. It may be that you only need to add a little N this fall. I made a mixing barrel that I throw all of my seed and fert into for an acre and mix it altogether instead of making multiple passes for seed and fert.

CNC you do realize only a bag per acre of 0-0-60 is only adding 30 units don't you? He needs way more than 30 units.

most of my food plots are 1/2 acre, would one bag per field be ok for the 257?

Yes…. but most people on a hunting club budget will chit when you start talking about the cost of fertilizing it optimally. That’s one of the reasons I’m recommending him to spread the cost out a little adding some now and some in a few months. I would ideally like him to go ahead and put out 60 units now but that may be more than he’s wanting to spend this summer. Just giving him options.

Gotcha.

??? if my plots are only a 1/2 acre will 1 bag be enough?

Yes one bag on a 1/2 acre would be fine. Fertilizer is based on a 100# per acre analysis.

Turkeymaster, we have had more than 1 discussion about the throw-n-mow method. I believe it will work for our club.

Here’s a comparison from “planting” until now……….

After mowing………….



Two weeks later (today)……..



There are still a few holes filling in slower than the rest of the field but there is no shortage of seedlings in those areas so all is good. I would really like to see how long the field would go before running N deficient but that would require letting it actually run deficient to see. We’ll wait till next year to try that.

Claybird I know we did but we were the only two who agreed it would work, the others were and are still skeptical

Read the planting instructions on the back of a bag of seed. It says to prepare a weed free seed bed, and then firm it up with a cultipacker or drag. This is for most small seeds, like clover,brassica's and such. Years ago, i started thinking, why plow the field and then have to level and firm the seed bed, so i started skipping the disking, leveling and firming. I found that when i would spill seed, while loading into the hopper of my spreader, would grow like crazy. It showed me that you didn't have to disk, for seeds to germinate and grow. Weeds are spread by birds crapping out the seeds, and no one disturbed that soil. Probably 5 years ago, is when i started experimenting with a no-till method and it has evolved over the years to the throw and mow method. I used to just spray and kill the grasses and weeds, way in advance and sew the seeds and drag over it, but the thatch would thin out so much over several weeks that it would take a lot of rain to germinate, but it always did. I give cnc credit for showing a more efficient way of doing something that i was already doing. I've yet to have a failed planting since doing this. If it germinates and starts to grow, then it was a success. If it quits raining, or the deer decimate it, well thats out of your control. The soils that i deal with are sandy and sandy loams, not hard baked clay soils, this makes a big difference.

up until we started taking care of our fields by Liming, fertilizing and rotating stands our soil was as white as the sand on the beach, now its gradually getting darker and just looks better. I'm not really sure how I'm going to go about the fall planting. I feel like once the peas and everything are eatin to the ground I won't have anything to cover my oats and Rye with. I guess I could rent a drill for the weekend when fall planting comes around. What about CNC and Blumsden, what do you do when everything has been eatin down and you don't have anything to cover with?

If you find yourself getting to the end of summer and you haven’t grown enough biomass to even cover the fall seed…..then you need to take a step back and reassess your summer strategy. Unless you have massive amounts of acreage to deal with….the main goal of your summer plots should be soil improvement with a secondary goal of deer attraction…..a 60/40 split or even 70/30…the point being the #1 emphasis is first improving soil. Look to grow more grass species such as milo, Egyptian wheat, millet, or just let nature takes it coarse and grow dog fennel, ragweed, etc.. along with your clover. Work on your fertility needs and come out at the end of the summer with something to show for in terms of biomass. Remember the foundsation of throw and mow isn’t really about just germinating some seeds….its about improving overall soil health and to recreate naturally functioning soil. That means constantly feeding the soil as well as the deer.

Checked my test fields today. Wish I knew how to post pics. My mow & throw plots are not doing very well compared to the disked and drilled portions of same field.