Food Plots CULTIPACKER FOOD PLOTTING...

[redblood]

Really considering going largely to no till option tp expand my foodplotting. have lots of grown over fields that i do not till. was thinking about getting a cultipacker lay down the native forage, then spray it.i know it would need to put the sed down before the cultipacking took place. it be a cheap fall planting for me- rye, wheat or brassicas.


anyone else down this- have you have good luck? would be just the ticket for me roughest ground i feel

 

[BSK]

That's all I do anymore. However, I broadcast the seed before I mow and spray. This gives the seed a good thatch covering. Plus, it increases germination considerably. A lot of seed thrown down onto mowed plants never makes contact with the soil. It lays there in or on top of the thatch. A cultipacker will help with that, but still not as good as seeding first, then mowing and spraying.

 

[tnanh]

I didn't know I could do this. I usually spray. When it is good and dead I broadcast seed. Then I mow. I am behind this year. Do you think I could spray it, wait a couple days and broadcast my seed then mow what is left. I would probably fertilize after that. Also, has anyone ever used one of the tractor supply sprayers with wheels that has a boom. Was wondering did they hold up ok or are they junk. I need a new sprayer.

 

[knightrider]

I seed ,spray, then crimp it over

 

[redblood]

the cultipacker acts as a crimper right. wont it smash it down? or is a crimper something different?

 

[TN Song Dog]

I seed ,spray, then crimp it over

What do you crimp with?

 

[knightrider]

Have a roller crimper, basically just a heavy steel drum

 

[BSK]

the cultipacker acts as a crimper right. wont it smash it down? or is a crimper something different?

No, a cultipacker won't crimp.

I see cultipackers used in "throw-and-mow" applications because they help shake/press the seed down to the soil when the seed was broadcast on top the thatch.

 

[BSK]

I didn't know I could do this. I usually spray. When it is good and dead I broadcast seed. Then I mow. I am behind this year. Do you think I could spray it, wait a couple days and broadcast my seed then mow what is left. I would probably fertilize after that. Also, has anyone ever used one of the tractor supply sprayers with wheels that has a boom. Was wondering did they hold up ok or are they junk. I need a new sprayer.

You can seed first, then mow, then spray. Personally, until I tried it, I didn't think I would get a good kill with the spray if I did it right after mowing. But so far, those worries have been unfounded. I've gotten great kills spraying the day I mowed.

 

[BSK]

But one thing to stress with throw-and-mow: OVERSEED! I use 50% more seed than conventional planting (drilling) calls for. So if drilling calls for 50 lbs/acre, I broadcast 75 lbs/acre. This is to compensate for the lower germination rate of seed in throw-and-mow planting techniques.

 

[megalomaniac]

I don't think cultipacking will do anything for you.

I'd seed, bushhog, and spray

OR spray, wait a week, then seed and bushhog.

Either technique will work. But the cultipacker won't accomplish anything.

Now a true crimper works great to take the place of spraying to terminate vegetation

 

[tellico4x4]

I go the extra step after mowing and run a cultipacker over it. In my mind it still helps with soil to seed contact & because I have a good 7' one .

Theres a shop in Savannah that builds custom crimpers @JCDEERMAN got one from them

 

[BSK]

I go the extra step after mowing and run a cultipacker over it. In my mind it still helps with soil to seed contact & because I have a good 7' one .

IF you broadcast after mowing, it is recommended you run a cultipacker over the plot to help shake and press seed to the soil.

 

[BigAl]

So does putting the seed and then mowing not cause the heavy thatch to cover the seed and prevent germination? Can that stuff get through that heavy layer when what you've mowed is 3-5 feet high?

 

[BSK]

So does putting the seed and then mowing not cause the heavy thatch to cover the seed and prevent germination? Can that stuff get through that heavy layer when what you've mowed is 3-5 feet high?

It will germinate through more than you think. I had over-my-head sorghum, head-high foxtail, and mid-thigh-high Crabgrass clogging my plots. I still broadcast the seed and mowed. After the 4" of rain we got two weeks ago, everything is coming up through the thatch just fine.

I would be more worried about seed broadcast on TOP all that thatch being able to germinate.

 

[redblood]

Man that sounds like the way to go. I definitely willl incorporate rate this method next year seems like much easier and cheaper and way less time consuming

 

[redblood]

My implement purchase (i allow myself only 1 per yer yr) Next yr will be a better sprayer

 

[tellico4x4]

IF you broadcast after mowing, it is recommended you run a cultipacker over the plot to help shake and press seed to the soil.

I spray & wait 10-14 days, sow, mow & cultipack. This year it laid there over 3 weeks before rain & got good germination. Only 2nd year to do this process

 

[lafn96]

I spray & wait 10-14 days, sow, mow & cultipack. This year it laid there over 3 weeks before rain & got good germination. Only 2nd year to do this process

That's the exact process I did the past two years, and got good results. This year, my utv was in the shop for repairs, so I didn't spray. Sow, mow, cultipack then only got 1/10". 2 or 3 weeks later, lightly overseeded right before we got all the rain form Helene, and when I walked thru the plots yesterday they look as good or better than I ever remember at this point. Granted, I've never gotten 6" of rain after seeding before, but not sure if I'll go through the expense and trouble of spraying again. We'll see how the plots look in another few weeks.

 

[Volbuck777]

What do yall spray? Anything product in particular yall recommend?

 

[yellalinehunter]

What do yall spray? Anything product in particular yall recommend?

41% gly with a surfactant.

 

[BSK]

What do yall spray? Anything product in particular yall recommend?

Depends on what you want to kill. If you want to kill everything, glysophate. This year, I had a fair amount of crimson clover growing in my summer plots that I didn't want to kill, so I sprayed Clethodim to kill the foxtail, crabgrass, and sorghum still alive in the plots after mowing.

 

[BSK]

I spray & wait 10-14 days, sow, mow & cultipack. This year it laid there over 3 weeks before rain & got good germination. Only 2nd year to do this process

I used to do the "spray, wait, then mow" technique, but once I started mixing sorghum into my summer plots, it became nearly impossible to spray it standing. The picture below doesn't do justice to how tall my sorghum got. In places it was over 6 feet tall. How do you spray that and hope to get herbicides all the way to the ground?

 

[wildlifefarmer]

I used to do the "spray, wait, then mow" technique, but once I started mixing sorghum into my summer plots, it became nearly impossible to spray it standing. The picture below doesn't do justice to how tall my sorghum got. In places it was over 6 feet tall. How do you spray that and hope to get herbicides all the way to the ground?

I've planted a shorter variety of grain sorghum that's approximately 4 feet tall.i raised my sprayer above and had no problems getting a good spray. I've also planted Egyptian wheat that was way too tall (10+ feet ) to spray. I am using a HOT gly @ 3 qts per with 20 gallons of water while spraying early mornings while dew is available. Just a suggestion.

 

[BSK]

I've planted a shorter variety of grain sorghum that's approximately 4 feet tall.i raised my sprayer above and had no problems getting a good spray. I've also planted Egyptian wheat that was way too tall (10+ feet ) to spray. I am using a HOT gly @ 3 qts per with 20 gallons of water while spraying early mornings while dew is available. Just a suggestion.

With tall sorghum (or the year I planted Sunn Hemp) it won't work. I tried it. I did not get a good kill. But those plots I mowed first, I got a very good kill.

Personally, I've tried both methods: spray first and wait versus mow and spray after. I'm amazed that I've experienced equal success if the summer growth is low, but much better results with mow-then-spray if summer growth is tall.

 

[megalomaniac]

I've planted a shorter variety of grain sorghum that's approximately 4 feet tall.i raised my sprayer above and had no problems getting a good spray. I've also planted Egyptian wheat that was way too tall (10+ feet ) to spray. I am using a HOT gly @ 3 qts per with 20 gallons of water while spraying early mornings while dew is available. Just a suggestion.

never of heard spraying gly while the plants were wet from dew. I always thought the plants needed to be dry and the gly needed to dry on the plant for best effect. What is the advantage of spraying early morning when plants are covered in dew?

 

[tellico4x4]

never of heard spraying gly while the plants were wet from dew. I always thought the plants needed to be dry and the gly needed to dry on the plant for best effect. What is the advantage of spraying early morning when plants are covered in dew?

I was wondering too. If using glufosinate the label even recommends waiting until mid morning & 90+ degrees before spraying. Since I mix it with gly, I've followed their advise the past two years & it was scorched earth even on the tall stuff

 

[wildlifefarmer]

never of heard spraying gly while the plants were wet from dew. I always thought the plants needed to be dry and the gly needed to dry on the plant for best effect. What is the advantage of spraying early morning when plants are covered in dew?

Advantage is that with the dew is once the hot gly hits the dew it will drip to the underneath weeds/plants. I've done this for several years.

 

[megalomaniac]

Advantage is that with the dew is once the hot gly hits the dew it will drip to the underneath weeds/plants. I've done this for several years.

Great tip, ty! I'll try that on the thick matted grass plots next spring (well, actually I'll prob go scorched earth on them with metoachlor, etc in addition to gly since I have a few places (where I've built the most topsoil, of course) that grass is getting so thick I'm not getting a complete kill with gly)

 

[TRHC]

So does putting the seed and then mowing not cause the heavy thatch to cover the seed and prevent germination? Can that stuff get through that heavy layer when what you've mowed is 3-5 feet high?

The heavy thatch layer actually helps to retain your soil moisture until you can get a good rain. That's one of the caveats of this technique….you have to at least have some thatch to improve your odds of success. If there's too little thatch, and little to no rain in the forecast, your new seedlings may dry out before they get going good. In that case, it's extra important to seed right before a guaranteed rain.