The Throw n’ Mow Method

[John-W-WI]

Brought a smile

I couldn't imagine habitat work without my bull terrier and great pyrenees

plots,hinging,planting baby trees..... they never leave my side

bill

My two are always along as well. And because they travel so much with me we almost speak the same language. Rarely a moment that I have to correct them. They just "know" what to do. Enjoy their company.

-John

 

[John-W-WI]

Being new to Throw and Mow I'm not sure what to think yet. My germination looks really spotty. They have been fertilized and we got another good dose of rain last night. I guess time will tell.

Same here. I should have sprayed the buckwheat (and a few weeds). I thought I crimped the buckwheat enough to terminate it. Nope, it's coming on strong again. Once frost shows up, I hope the brassicas take off. They are getting fertilized soon. We'll see how it works out. Either way I'll do it again, just might refine my approach :)

-John

 

[Crimson n' Camo]

So it seems like some guys are having great success and others not so much.....What do you guys think is causing the difference? What variables are different that causes one plot to do great and another one to fail or semi-fail?

 

[Ben Glantz]

So it seems like some guys are having great success and others not so much.....What do you guys think is causing the difference? What variables are different that causes one plot to do great and another one to fail or semi-fail?

I think there are a ton of variables that come into play with the throw in mow, throw and spray, spray and throw etc. The amount of thatch that covers the seed is a big one for me. Where I had nice layers of WR straw, I had great germination and plants are going well, except for where the soil was uneven and the roller wasn't able to press the seed into the ground. These areas didn't take off as well.

Where I sprayed 3-4 foot tall grass, waited a week and then sprayed again and spread seed, the plot looks great. I had plenty of dyeing grass to help cover the seed and keep the turkeys, black birds and others at bay long enough for it to germinate.

Now I did a spread, mow, spray and roll in a wooded plot that had a ton of thatch. It was probably 1-2 inches thick in places. I will be curious to see how this one turns out. I am a bit worried the mowing covered up some of the weeds and the gly wasn't able to reach it. I am also wondering if the thick layer of dyeing weeds and clover will smother the seed.

I also tried a little 40x40 plot that has some grass, alfalfa, clover growing in. I spread WR and oats and then just rolled it several times. No spraying or mowing. I am real curious to see how that goes.

 

[Bowman]

I will be making 2 attempts soon. In one, very sandy, I got great germination and much better coverage with sorghum sudangrass. That followed last year's winter wheat planting. Best coverage ever with the sorghum sudangrass. The wheat did nicely, the previously best growth. Before only had blueberries, sweet fern and some kind of moss that looked liked brillo pads growing in that field. I mowed the sudangrass already, as I read that mowing increases root development greatly. I did not get much height, mostly only 3 feet, because of a very unusual global warming summer. As I write the temperature today in northern Michigan is 64 degrees. Had many nights in the 40's. At least we got a little rain this year. Previously, I had unsuccessful efforts with switchgrass and very spotty big bluestem and other other grass seedings.

Sorghum sudagrass greatly outperformed sunn hemp for a second year. I did not get the heat that sunn hemp supposedly requires. Sunn hemp only grew to 4-5 inches.

I will be planting rye, Austrian winter peas, chicory, red and white clovers and rape into this. I will mow this again and overseed with rye if needed.

In another “field” that still has dropped trees in it, I will be planting leftover brassica seed, rye and clovers into the still standing rye around the trees. Last year, I planted the rye along with rape and the rye did well.

I will no longer spray and will keep all posted.

 

[IkemanTx]

Well, I got home from the seed store and realized the bag they gave me was the black eyed pea/cowpea/soybean mix instead of the fall blend..... guess I get to go back tomorrow.


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[seadonist]

Had the day off from work so I went back up to the deer lease today to finish up a few things in some other spots so I stopped by my Plot that I planted the Plot Screen in, not expecting any change from yesterday to today. Well much to my pleasant surprise, it came in a lot more just in one day. It now looks like green carpet everywhere I planted. Don't know if I did something right or the large amount of rains we've seen over the summer is the cause. Whatever it is, it's looking really good so far but it looks like the rains are starting to slack off so the growth may not continue at its current pace. Fingers crossed...


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[IkemanTx]

I am beginning to worry about a dry fall. It has been an historically wet summer.... typically, we are 100's and bone dry in august. This year, we are upper 80's and getting good rains once or twice a week. It feels like late April/early may more than it does August here in northeast Texas... hopefully we don't get all our rainfall in summer instead of during fall....


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[seadonist]

I am beginning to worry about a dry fall. It has been an historically wet summer.... typically, we are 100's and bone dry in august. This year, we are upper 80's and getting good rains once or twice a week. It feels like late April/early may more than it does August here in northeast Texas... hopefully we don't get all our rainfall in summer instead of during fall....


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Happened to us in MS last year. Rained hard all summer, completely stopped for almost 3 months at the end of August/ beginning of September. My gut tells me to expect a repeat this year


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[Crimson n' Camo]

I think there are a ton of variables that come into play with the throw in mow, throw and spray, spray and throw etc. The amount of thatch that covers the seed is a big one for me. Where I had nice layers of WR straw, I had great germination and plants are going well, except for where the soil was uneven and the roller wasn't able to press the seed into the ground. These areas didn't take off as well.

Where I sprayed 3-4 foot tall grass, waited a week and then sprayed again and spread seed, the plot looks great. I had plenty of dyeing grass to help cover the seed and keep the turkeys, black birds and others at bay long enough for it to germinate.

Now I did a spread, mow, spray and roll in a wooded plot that had a ton of thatch. It was probably 1-2 inches thick in places. I will be curious to see how this one turns out. I am a bit worried the mowing covered up some of the weeds and the gly wasn't able to reach it. I am also wondering if the thick layer of dyeing weeds and clover will smother the seed.

I also tried a little 40x40 plot that has some grass, alfalfa, clover growing in. I spread WR and oats and then just rolled it several times. No spraying or mowing. I am real curious to see how that goes.

A lot of good info there. That just comes through observation like you’re doing. One big variable that will need to be recognized is the difference is soil types. Techniques will have to be adapted to fit the different situations.

 

[broom_JM]

It's not just soil types, but regional climates you have to consider. You can grow a lot more biomass in a single year in AL than you can in WI or MN. It makes a big difference in how long it takes for the process to work well.

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[csw60970]

I got 2 1/4 acre food plots put in today. One was a clover field that got flooded this spring which weakened the clover to the point that it allowed weeds and grass to take over in spots. The other was a failed burn and throw from last year. I chose to do a variety of spray throw and leave and spray throw and mow. The area that was last years failed plots got rye, red clover and radishes


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[Bill]

What variables are different that causes one plot to do great and another one to fail or semi-fail?

For me it was moisture this year. 1 spot had to get some sprinkles and my throw and grow brassica's grew. Another spot(s) were zip. Just not rain..

 

[John-W-WI]

So it seems like some guys are having great success and others not so much.....What do you guys think is causing the difference? What variables are different that causes one plot to do great and another one to fail or semi-fail?

I only did one throw and mow plot this year. About 4.5 acres planted first to buckwheat, then to brassica/rye.

The same day I planted a conventionally tilled plot with a similar mixture.

The conventional plot is doing WAY better. Was my throw and mow a bust? I don't think so. I thought I had crimped the buckwheat enough between seeding and mowing that it would be done. Nope, now I have 12" tall buckwheat, sporadic brassicas, and lots of weeds.

I believe my mistake was in not spraying or rolling the buckwheat. My mowing basically released the weeds and gave the buckwheat a fresh start. And the brassicas are trying to establish themselves in a sea of competition.

Hopefully when the 1st frost shows up, the buckwheat will be toast and the brassicas can take over.

I'm going to hold off spreading urea on the plot for a few weeks as I don't want to feed the buckwheat/weeds. We are approximately a month from our first frost. I'll spread the urea closer to the middle of September.

No regrets with trying throw and mow. I believe it is better for the soil, I just need to dial in my attack a little better next year

 

[Ben Glantz]

Here is a couple photos of my brassica plots. Both of these are some variation of throw and mow. I didn't use a disk or a drag. Throw the seed, fertilizer and rolled with a lawn roller. (hoping to get a cultipacker soon!)

The bottom photo has rye, oats and forage peas planted about 2 weeks after the brassicas. Rain has been sparse since that planting. The sandhill cranes and turkeys have been going to town. The deer have nibbled on some of the rye that came up but haven't touched the brassicas yet.

 

[Ben Glantz]

Here is a pic of the wooded plot where I spread the seed, mowed, sprayed and then rolled. The plot had been a clover plot that was taken over by morning glory, ferns and some grasses. I planted the plot on 8/12 and this picture is from 8/19. You can see the weeds are dead/dying and you can see the rye coming in. The first pic is the day we planted and the 2nd pic is a week late.

 

[SWIFFY]

I planted 3 T&M plots on Saturday. 2 I had previously roasted with gly, now planted with rye, some rape and spread a bunch of soybeans. One plot was dead and mowed, one was dead and not mowed and the third was mowed and not dead. Soon they should all be dead, mowed, and starting to grow!

I also planted 2 larger plots of oats and peas but I did lightly disc and drag those with the atv just to bury the seed a bit more. Its raining today so things look good!

 

[tootall71]

Put in my fall plots on Sunday. Had a decent stand of buckwheat/peas/oats growing from summer planting(along with plenty of weeds as I didn't spray for that planting), and the deer hammered them in June and July. The weeds/buckwheat were mostly shin high, and I wanted to kill mostly the grasses growing underneath that were fairly thick in spots. So I broadcast 100 lbs. rye, 50 lbs. buck forage oats, and 6 lbs. daikon on a little over an acre. Then brushogged, then sprayed to try and kill the grasses, and rolled with a lawn roller. If it grows like it did last year(and I didn't spray last year), should be pretty thick come October. I didn't get the rye germination I wanted last year with about 70 lbs., so I threw in a little more hoping it will bolt in spring to suppress weeds. Deer in our area usually eat whatever I put down, so I try to keep it cheap. Will be back in a couple weeks to check progress

Before mowing:

After:

And here is a salt lick I've had out for about 8 months now(water softener pellets) on the woodline pictured above, and it REALLY has added a lot of attraction to the plot/site. Deer have been hitting it hard all summer and have got significantly higher buck activity that I did last year because of it.

 

[Crimson n' Camo]

Tootall....I would recommend also spreading some type of spring clover over the field the next time your there. In my area I'd use dixie crimson for what I'm talking about. It will give you some N credits next spring/summer after it terminates and help push out more summer growth. You could really stand for your thatch to be a little thicker. That is kind of on the front end of what is thick enough. About waist high or a little taller seems to be the sweet spot. Just offering constructive criticism....You could spread some N over the field in late spring or early summer as well if you wanted to do it that way. Keep us updated on your progress....it looks like it mowed down well.

 

[Barndog56]

3 weeks in on brassicas. Here's the thickest spot, and the thinnest. I'll broadcast rye into the thin spots when I put in my cereal mix in a week or two.