Crimping Vs Mowning

Its just one of my many idiosyncrasies but I do my best to avoid spraying any poison on anything I think the critters will eat. I will burn down a field to plant it but avoid as much as possible ever spraying any cultivars. Here is a pic of another technique I used last year crimping and planting at the same time which is another technique to get the cultivars ahead of the weeds .IMG_4617.JPG
 
Last edited:
Excellent video Baker. Great explanation of the why's and wherefore's of mowing vs crimping.
 
Its just one of my many idiosyncrasies but I do my best to avoid spraying any poison on anything I think the critters will eat. I will burn down a field to plant it but avoid as much as possible ever spraying any cultivars. Here is a pic of another technique I used last year crimping and planting at the same time which is another technique to get the cultivars ahead of the weeds .View attachment 24028
Hey Baker... Great information that you post.
I planted/drilled my first cover crop of elbon Rye along with brassicas this past fall right into my standing AG soybeans. The Rye is about 5ft tall. I'm trying to decide whether to drill beans into the standing Rye and then crimp or crimp and then drill. My drill is a genesis 8 light that weighs about 3000lbs with the front Coulters.
I haven't bought the fel attachment For the crimper as I'm not sure if crimping and drilling at the same time is the best way yet.
Just based on your experiences what is your opinion on the best route. Also posted a pic of the 5ft tall rye

Rod
 

Attachments

  • 86141.jpeg
    86141.jpeg
    352.3 KB · Views: 22
If you time your mowing right, you can kill most annual food plot varieties. I believe the downside is the non-uniformity of thatch if used with a rotary (in lieu of a finish mower).

Taken from Penn St and U of W (Madison) Research on cover crops:
  • Cereal Rye – Terminate thru mowing at head emergent / flowering stage. If mowed too early, plant plant re-grows or stands back up readily. Allow the green debris to decompose in place for three to four weeks before you begin planting.
  • Winter Wheat, Barley - Terminate thru mowing at head emergent stage. If mowed too early, plant plant re-grows or stands back up readily.
  • Oats – Typically winter kill, depending on variety. Also see above. Good scavengers of phosphorus in the soil, oat plantlets capture additional soil nutrients, helping to restore soil fertility.
  • Oil Seed RadishTypically winter kill when temps fall below 20 F. Useful as a biological alternative to deep ripping (chisel plowing) and other mechanical methods of alleviating soil compaction. Weed suppression from fall planted radishes typically lasts into April, but does not extend much into the summer cropping season. (U of Maryland). Rapid and competitive fall growth, rather than allelopathy, is the primary mechanism of weed suppression by radishes. Because of their deep root system, rapid root extension, and heavy N feeding, radishes are excellent scavengers of residual N following summer crops (Fig. 6). Radishes take up N from both the topsoil and from deeper soil layers, storing the N in their shoot and root biomass.
  • Crimson Clover - Easy to kill by mowing at full bloom and self-seeds readily if allowed to stand past peak bloom. Smart choice for weed suppression, erosion control, and attracting pollinators. Plan to mow it after it begins to show early budding. It may be hard to get rid of such a pretty planting; you can wait to mow until full bloom, but after a couple of days it will self-sow readily. If planted in fall, crimson clover will succumb to cold winter temperatures in Zone 5 and colder.
  • Austrian Winter / Field Peas - If peas are grown as a fall cover crop, their soft, succulent stems will die in winter (sustained temperatures below 18 F) and be decomposed by spring. Peas prefer well-limed, well-drained clay or heavy loam soils, near-neutral pH or above and moderate fertility. They also do well on loamy sands in North Carolina. Field peas usually are drilled 1 to 3 inches deep to ensure contact with moist soil and good anchoring for plants. Peas are easily killed any time by disking or mowing after full bloom, the stage of maturity that provides the optimum N contribution. Disk lightly to preserve the tender residue for some short-term erosion control.
I've been kicking around trying to do a mow / no till planter (soybeans) rotation as I can get a no til planter fairly cheap compared to a NT drill. Only have access to a rotary (Bush hog) so results might be mixed. But I'm food plotting, not farming :emoji_wink:
 
Its just one of my many idiosyncrasies but I do my best to avoid spraying any poison on anything I think the critters will eat. I will burn down a field to plant it but avoid as much as possible ever spraying any cultivars. Here is a pic of another technique I used last year crimping and planting at the same time which is another technique to get the cultivars ahead of the weeds .View attachment 24028
In the video he says he lives in the south. Where?
 
South Texas, Mexico border I do believe.
 
My disadvantage is my property is 9.5 hours from home so I can't just run up to finish work. Im trying to have it where I can do everything in a 4 day span.
The fall beans with cereal Rye and brassicas was great for drawing deer and it fed them(deer and turkeys) from summer all the way until early April before the Rye got to tall.
Just trying to figure best method to terminate and drill beans in same weekend.
I could probably find a local farmer that would spray to terminate the Rye after drilling.
 
I would assume that with the weight of your planter planting first then crimping after would be best.
 
Hey Baker... Great information that you post.
I planted/drilled my first cover crop of elbon Rye along with brassicas this past fall right into my standing AG soybeans. The Rye is about 5ft tall. I'm trying to decide whether to drill beans into the standing Rye and then crimp or crimp and then drill. My drill is a genesis 8 light that weighs about 3000lbs with the front Coulters.
I haven't bought the fel attachment For the crimper as I'm not sure if crimping and drilling at the same time is the best way yet.
Just based on your experiences what is your opinion on the best route. Also posted a pic of the 5ft tall rye

Rod
Glad it was helpful . Thanks. Both techniques work. I have always crimped first then drilled. Works fine but the drill has to deal with thick thatch and it is critical to drill in same direction as crimped. Dr. Grant Woods plants first then drills. I like what I see in his video's and will experiment with that on a couple fields this year. Let us know how it works for you.

I live in the GREAT state of Louisiana. Right in the middle. Though I do have a ranch on the Rio Grande River just above Laredo on the Mexican side.
 
I guess I could crimp one 8ft strip first and then drill in same direction and see how deep it can plant. If that doesn't get it then drill and crimp will be the next test and then go with what works
 
If you time your mowing right, you can kill most annual food plot varieties. I believe the downside is the non-uniformity of thatch if used with a rotary (in lieu of a finish mower).

Taken from Penn St and U of W (Madison) Research on cover crops:
  • Cereal Rye – Terminate thru mowing at head emergent / flowering stage. If mowed too early, plant plant re-grows or stands back up readily. Allow the green debris to decompose in place for three to four weeks before you begin planting.
  • Winter Wheat, Barley - Terminate thru mowing at head emergent stage. If mowed too early, plant plant re-grows or stands back up readily.
  • Oats – Typically winter kill, depending on variety. Also see above. Good scavengers of phosphorus in the soil, oat plantlets capture additional soil nutrients, helping to restore soil fertility.
  • Oil Seed RadishTypically winter kill when temps fall below 20 F. Useful as a biological alternative to deep ripping (chisel plowing) and other mechanical methods of alleviating soil compaction. Weed suppression from fall planted radishes typically lasts into April, but does not extend much into the summer cropping season. (U of Maryland). Rapid and competitive fall growth, rather than allelopathy, is the primary mechanism of weed suppression by radishes. Because of their deep root system, rapid root extension, and heavy N feeding, radishes are excellent scavengers of residual N following summer crops (Fig. 6). Radishes take up N from both the topsoil and from deeper soil layers, storing the N in their shoot and root biomass.
  • Crimson Clover - Easy to kill by mowing at full bloom and self-seeds readily if allowed to stand past peak bloom. Smart choice for weed suppression, erosion control, and attracting pollinators. Plan to mow it after it begins to show early budding. It may be hard to get rid of such a pretty planting; you can wait to mow until full bloom, but after a couple of days it will self-sow readily. If planted in fall, crimson clover will succumb to cold winter temperatures in Zone 5 and colder.
  • Austrian Winter / Field Peas - If peas are grown as a fall cover crop, their soft, succulent stems will die in winter (sustained temperatures below 18 F) and be decomposed by spring. Peas prefer well-limed, well-drained clay or heavy loam soils, near-neutral pH or above and moderate fertility. They also do well on loamy sands in North Carolina. Field peas usually are drilled 1 to 3 inches deep to ensure contact with moist soil and good anchoring for plants. Peas are easily killed any time by disking or mowing after full bloom, the stage of maturity that provides the optimum N contribution. Disk lightly to preserve the tender residue for some short-term erosion control.
I've been kicking around trying to do a mow / no till planter (soybeans) rotation as I can get a no til planter fairly cheap compared to a NT drill. Only have access to a rotary (Bush hog) so results might be mixed. But I'm food plotting, not farming :emoji_wink:

Good stuff!
 
I guess I could crimp one 8ft strip first and then drill in same direction and see how deep it can plant. If that doesn't get it then drill and crimp will be the next test and then go with what works

Obviously the simultaneous crimp + plant that Grant Woods does has a big advantage of a single pass, but quite a few no til farmers row plant into standing rye, then spray later to terminate. The big advantage being that crimped/cut rye won't get caught or wrapped up in the planter or drill if you plant first (Pic taken from AgT):

planting.jpg

If you're not perfectly going in the same direction with the drill after crimping (or your crimper isn't the same width as your drill) you'll get that tall rye wrapped up in a drill or planter. In your case, could just crimp after and I would think it doesn't matter direction as much after you've already planted (?).

Just a thought..
 
Last edited:
Thanks for all the replies.
What's everyone's opinion on if it matters if crimping is done immediately after planting vs waiting for the beans to emerge a couple inches before crimping.?
 
Dr Grant Woods waits for the beans to come up so the deer have something to eat on (the standing crop) and give the beans a chance to get established before he crimps.
 
Thanks for all the replies.
What's everyone's opinion on if it matters if crimping is done immediately after planting vs waiting for the beans to emerge a couple inches before crimping.?
It will all depend on what stage the rye is in. If you crimp it before it is in the "milk" stage it will just stand back up.
 
It will all depend on what stage the rye is in. If you crimp it before it is in the "milk" stage it will just stand back up.
My window to plant is May 15 or I'll have to wait until mid June.
I'd like to get it on in If I can. . It seems to be ready to crimp based on camera pics but won't know for sure untill I get there.
 

Attachments

  • 86344.jpeg
    86344.jpeg
    340.8 KB · Views: 16
My window to plant is May 15 or I'll have to wait until mid June.
I'd like to get it on in If I can. . It seems to be ready to crimp based on camera pics but won't know for sure untill I get there.

Agree. Mid June and you'll have a nice volunteer rye crop coming up..
 
Top