If I was only planting a couple of one acre food plots - and had some tillage equipment - I would till the ground and plant as opposed to throw and mow. If providing food is at a premium on small acres of food plots - my experience is that tilled plots typically provide more food under most conditions than throw n mow.
Food Plot Equipment
- Thread starter H80Hunter
- Start date
yoderjac
5 year old buck +
There are really two poles when it comes to food plots. On one end of the spectrum you have folks working at scale that are trying to do QDM. With this the primary objective is feeding deer and it requires significant scale to have measurable results. At the end of the spectrum you have folks planting a couple small plots. Here to objective is attraction and perhaps to improve hunting opportunities not feed deer.
I did traditional tillage when I first started and had great food plots, but they were very high input. When I switched to min-till, it took a while to get the hang of it. Seeding rates, timing, weed control, all come into play. Once I got the hang of min-till, I'd say the attractiveness of the plots is just as good as I got with traditional tillage with lower inputs and less work.
I would agree that minimizing tillage does have a learning curve and requires a more intimate knowledge of your soils and conditions.
Thanks,
Jack
I agree with you. I have planted food plots as part of my job for 34 years and still plant 60 acres on my own place - and have just recently done some minimum tillage/throw n mow plantings. I was pleased with the success of the plantings - especially considering the less work and equipment that went into it. They did not produce as much food as did any of my conventially tilled plots - and I blame that to some extent on my lack of knowledge of proper timing and seeding rates. I an not giving up on it by any means - but dont every see myself going completely throw n mow. I do a fair bit of direct seeding with a woods seeder, planting wheat into established clover plots in the fall. It works very well for me and is, what I would call, minimum tillage. But, if I only had a couple acres and wanted to be sure of success - I would still do conventional tillage. I might have to plant a couple of times - but I would get there. I still dont have the courage try $100 per bag/per acre forage soybeans using throw and mow. I want that to be a no doubter that they come up. And still havent figured out how to plant sunflowers in anything but rows and keep them clean.
S.T.Fanatic
5 year old buck +
I use both TNM and traditional tillage. It may not be the best but its better than continuous year after year tillage. If I was starting a new plot that was an old pasture or hay field Knowing what i do now, I would without a doubt spray the plot the first week of August. Labor Day weekend id spread urea and rye, followed by a good mowing. The following year I would spray the rye before the seed heads mature. I'd spread urea and brassicas the first week of August and mow down the rye. The following spring I would broadcast soybeans onto the bare dirt that was last years brassica plot and till under with our tiller. In mid to late August I would over seed the plot with rye and a clover, chicory mix. This new planting would be left for three full summers before doing a TNM brassica plot and starting the rotation over. Tilling once every 4-5 years is pretty good compromise when you dont have notill equipment. If I didn't care about beans or corn I'd NEVER turn the ground for the simple fact that it is completely unnecessary.
