I have always tilled and broadcast my fall plots- usually wheat, rye, turnips and clover in some arrangement or mix. But i would like to try no till this year. I have a sprayer witg boom. I have let the fields grow up. So could i broadcast the seed, immediately spray and then bushhog the dying grass as kind of a protective layer/ moisture retainer? I usually plant around sept 1
Food Plots Need some advice….
- Thread starter redblood
- Start date
Boll Weevil
Well-Known Member
Spray and seed is all you need. If you bush hog it your just knockin more grass and weed seed out that will compete with your crop.
BSK
Well-Known Member
Broadcast seed, bushhog, THEN spray. I'll do it all in the same day (or within a 2-day window) and plots look fantastic. I worried the herbicides wouldn't work well if sprayed right after bushhogging, but I was wrong. I get a good kill.
megalomaniac
Well-Known Member
So....
It depends on how dense/thick the weeds are in your plots...
The issue is... if your plot is so thick with weeds, you may get zero sunlight down to soil level and your fall plants cannot grow. This can happen whether you leave the killed weeds standing OR can happen if you bushhog and the thatch is so thick (2 to 3 in thick, or more) the newly germinated seeds cannot penetrate the thick thatch or get to sunlight.
In this particular case, you really need to spray or mow at least a month before respraying and broadcasting seed at planting time.
After doing it a few times, you will learn how thick is too thick.
It depends on how dense/thick the weeds are in your plots...
The issue is... if your plot is so thick with weeds, you may get zero sunlight down to soil level and your fall plants cannot grow. This can happen whether you leave the killed weeds standing OR can happen if you bushhog and the thatch is so thick (2 to 3 in thick, or more) the newly germinated seeds cannot penetrate the thick thatch or get to sunlight.
In this particular case, you really need to spray or mow at least a month before respraying and broadcasting seed at planting time.
After doing it a few times, you will learn how thick is too thick.
Ive typically bushhogged it down really low, then tilled it up a few weeks later and broadcast wheat or rye. It has always worked, but i like the idea of not having to break the soil- especially since wheat or rye is so durable
I tried the @BSK method of sow, mow, and spray in a day a couple of months ago on the remnants of a fall/winter plot that had gotten pretty thick. It worked great - very few undesirable weeds. I was out in that plot getting a soil sample last week, and I still had to dig through the protective layer of thatch to get to the soil. I think I will add cultipack to the rotation this fall to help the seed get through the thatch.
What if you want to throw and mow, but not kill the clover already there?
Last year, I didn't spray if I remember correctly but bush hogged, lightly disced, and then sewed.
Last year, I didn't spray if I remember correctly but bush hogged, lightly disced, and then sewed.
BSK
Well-Known Member
I've sprayed 8-10-foot tall foxtail right after mowing and got a great kill.
BSK
Well-Known Member
That's a problem I ran into. Some of my naturally reseeding Crimson would germinate during the summer. I have not tried 24DB, but I've heard it works as long as you don't go too strong. But personally, I've been spraying my fall-plantings with Clethodim to kill the grasses. Any broadleaf weeds will have to wait until the first freeze to die back.
I like the idea of one and done. Bsk way here too
BSK
Well-Known Member
Will be very curious to hear your all results. I was shocked at how good of a kill I got from spraying right after mowing.
348Winchester
Well-Known Member
Burning the plot when it's good and dead has worked well for me, especially when it is really thick and/or there is a heavy amount of duff that hinders seed to soil contact.
DoubleRidge
Well-Known Member
I was surprised the first time I read about you spraying after mowing and the good kill you got...with a portion of the spray landing on the fresh cut stuff it seems like it wouldnt be as effective? But I guess it allows the spray to get to the shorter vegetation thats below the blade height of the bush hog.....no doubt one less trip over the plot (less compaction)....is a good thing...along with time and fuel saved.
DoubleRidge
Well-Known Member
I have a few plots with thick thatch that I'd like to burn off....almost like a reset to start over....I know the thatch serves a purpose to hold moisture but at some point it gets so thick its hard to get larger seed to soil contact....burning it makes sense.
BSK
Well-Known Member
I thought the exact same thing. And if I were to take measurements, I bet the kill of the tallest weeds/grasses would be better in situations where you spray a week or two before mowing. But spraying right after mowing produces a much better kill of the ground-mat weeds, because the spray can reach them.
I'm doing the BSK way this year. I guess the only thing different is I went and bushhogged last weekend at the food plots sites. Only reason I did that is because the grass was 3-5' tall and didn't want to be sowing seed in all that mess. Either this coming weekend or the weekend after I will go sow, mow, and spray. Hopefully I didn't mess up by mowing it down a little. But the way the grass is growing it'll be high enough to mow again real low and have enough grass cover to germinate.
Seriously thinking doing 3 brassica plots myself this weekend if rain forecast holds. These are 6-7 year old clover plots that need re-doing. Gonna mix brassica & crimson with 19-19-19 & spread it all together, mow, spray & run a 7' cultipacker over it.
Headed out west Sept 15, so anything I can get done now is a plus.
Headed out west Sept 15, so anything I can get done now is a plus.
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BSK
Well-Known Member
Last year, when my summer plots were soybeans and sorghum, I couldn't spray grass-killer in summer because of the sorghum. Between the 5-6' tall sorghum and the foxtail that grew even taller, spreading my fall seed through that stuff was a nightmare! That's why I went with a mixture I could spray grass-killer over this year. Unfortunately, I hit it a little late (should have hit it before 4th of July), but the grass is dying. And the grass that had grown about 2' tall did help hide some of the plants the deer are after. After the grass-killer application, deer are now pounding the freshly exposed soybeans and cowpeas.
I have always planted oats and a mixture of stuff in bags like 7 Card Stud that I find discounts on. So each year it's like starting over new since it mostly dies out and then grass just takes back over. This time I am trying to get clover plots established so hopefully this time next year it'll just be spraying some clethodim and good to go and not having to replant anything.
BSK
Well-Known Member
That will be a great system as long as you can get the clover well established.
megalomaniac
Well-Known Member
Im sure you guys know this... but those itching to spray right now... glyphosate activity decreases above 85 and MARKEDLY declines above 90d F.
When plants are heat stressed, the pores in the plant close to reduce moisture loss, which keeps they gly from being absorbed and killing the entire plant. If you must spray now, do it as early in the morning as possible, .
When plants are heat stressed, the pores in the plant close to reduce moisture loss, which keeps they gly from being absorbed and killing the entire plant. If you must spray now, do it as early in the morning as possible, .
I sprayed some gly last week when it was 94 degrees. The second day everything was yellow and 4 days dead.
BSK
Well-Known Member
Good reminder.
Split Brow
Well-Known Member
megalomaniac
Well-Known Member
That's great! Glad you didnt waste your time and money. You sure it was glyphosate and not glufosinate? I've never had anything turn yellow in 2 days and be crispy dead in 4 days with glyphosate, even in ideal conditions.
Glufosinate will burn a field down FAST.
Rural King glyphosate
megalomaniac
Well-Known Member
How many quarts per acre? How much nonionic surfactant? Is Rural King 38 or 41%? I need to try that stuff... I usually get the generic killz all or Buccaneer 41% from my coop, and I have found the Killz All to be a little more effective than the Buccaneer, even though they are both 41%.
