You gonna wait for rain or spread and pray?

[AlabamaSwamper]

Say it's September 15 and no rain for 2 weeks. It's 1 week before bow season.

Are you gonna wait for the rain even though they are calling for none in the next 10 days or will you plant and pray and pray the dew keeps enough moisture to sustain it?

I think wait but then I have to ask myself, "how long will I wait"? That is the question.

 

[BSK]

Depends on what the computer weather models indicate. If there is a solid chance of rain within a few days, I plant. If not, I wait until the models indicate a good chance of substantial rain. I've had to wait until mid-October to plant before.

 

[RS]

I pretty much plant mine on Labor Day weekend every year - rain or no rain. I take Friday off from work and with Monday being a holiday, it gives me four days to get it done. With 20+ acres of plots to plant/overseed by myself I need every bit of those four days. With a hectic work/family schedule and the farm being a few hours away from were I live, I don't have the convenience of waiting until right before a rain event to plant.

As I recall, the seed was in the ground about 2 1/2 weeks one year before it got rain, but it still did very well. I just thank God the turkeys didn't find it.

 

[BSK]

I pretty much plant mine on Labor Day weekend every year - rain or no rain.

My ex-boss (Dr. Grant Woods) used to start every one of his food plot seminars with the comment: "More food plots are planted on Labor Day weekend than any other weekend of the year. And that's the biggest mistake most managers make."

His point was, never plant on a given day unless soil moisture is adequate. If it isn't adequate, you've just thrown all your seed money down a rat hole.

It's better to plant early or late than to plant when soil moisture is inadequate.

 

[TheLBLman]

I'll be planting the most literally minutes and hours before a good rain, and some even during. My plan is to have as much acreage ready to plant as possible, then wait.

 

[AlabamaSwamper]

That is my plan Wes. Have all the plots ready. ALl I have to do is pull up, unload my ATV with the spreader and start spreading seed.

At least, that is the plan. lol

 

[rvs9]

Wes/Swamper,

Not planning on roughing the ground up before throwing seed?

Reason I ask is that I was planning on tilling one more time, dragging to even out everything, and let the heat/air/rain create a 'firm' seedbed. But a friend said that I should rough the ground up before spreading seed.

 

[TheLBLman]

Not planning on roughing the ground up before throwing seed?

Yes, but it could very well be 2 or 3 weeks before actual seeding.

Then there will be a few places where I do nothing but broadcast some clovers & brassicas --- but it will be right before or during the next rain.

 

[AlabamaSwamper]

The ground will be tore up by the first of September. Everything will be limed (most earlier this summer) and sprayed. Plowed and disked and ready to plant.

 

[deerchaser007]

Labor day weekend they will be broke and limed and fertilized and waiting for seed. I'm gonna try to wait on a good rain ,.. but i'm very busy with our new child and everything else. I have no choice but to do the best i can this year,.. but it must be done.

BSK,.. keep us posted as much as possible on forecast models. I know we all would very much appreciate it.

 

[BSK]

So far no rain in the 10-day forecast models. And see I see no indications this pattern is going to change anytime soon.

 

[deerchaser007]

BSK,... its baking my stand of buckwheat.And it was looking so pretty....

I really hope the pattern changes around the end of the month.

 

[HOOK]

If the rain don't come the planting won't get done.

 

[Food Plot 101]

u got that right!

 

[156p&y]

I'll be planting the most literally minutes and hours before a good rain, and some even during. My plan is to have as much acreage ready to plant as possible, then wait.

That's what I'm planning on doing but the radar this year has shown huge blotches of rain headed right to us and then when it gets close it splits and goes around us. So I might just throw a big trash bag over my hopper and spread in the rain.

 

[TheLBLman]

So I might just throw a big trash bag over my hopper and spread in the rain.

One problem you'll run into if you plant very long in a steady rain:
The high humidity is going to get your seed wet.
Usually, I'm limited by this as too just how long I can keep at it.