Lack of rain, what do you do

Well- you know my Ohio deal- I have been putting more chicory down than clover and reliant on rye/ww/trit board casted at 100-150 per ac. I spread it two days ago and am hoping. Strategy is great until you keep tearing pages off the calendar and seeing your plots look the color of the soil/cement theyre planted in.
 
Throw n Mow just doesn't work reliably without rain. I've been doing it for decades in a place that might not get a rain in July/August/Sept. Lots of failed attempts. Personally I'd want 2-3 rains predicted over a week's time to get to excited this early in the fall. Germinating then dying in the dry heat is a real thing.
 
We’ve had a terrible year for rain here too. Somehow all my plots, grass and tree plantings have thrived. I was usually waiting til I saw rain clouds on the horizon or broadcasting in the rain. The other thing I will say is temp swings making for heavy dew really does something. I have one fall plot I planted about a month ago. It’s seen maybe one rain but the cool temps at night and heavy dew has it all green and up and running! I feel for you south/west guys.
 
Came out of a multi week drought yesterday afternoon with an inch of rain. Good chance of another on Thursday and again on Saturday. After that forecast shows back into another drought. My last plot got put in the ground two days ago.

Where I live the Weather Channel is very accurate, but Accuweather is horrible. For instance, Accuweather is showing 50% ever hour today for the next 8 hours and no rain is anywhere around. There will be days that they show 90% when the Weather Channel is showing 10%. Just an extreme difference.
 
Weather Channel only shows 1 chance of rain in the 15 day forecast, and it's tonight for a small amount. Shows 8 days in the low to mid 80s on the back half of the forecast. Haven't even bought cereal rye yet. Maybe later in the fall will provide opportunity for spreading rye.
 
Came out of a multi week drought yesterday afternoon with an inch of rain. Good chance of another on Thursday and again on Saturday. After that forecast shows back into another drought. My last plot got put in the ground two days ago.

Where I live the Weather Channel is very accurate, but Accuweather is horrible. For instance, Accuweather is showing 50% ever hour today for the next 8 hours and no rain is anywhere around. There will be days that they show 90% when the Weather Channel is showing 10%. Just an extreme difference.
FWIW where I live, TWC is no better than the others.
 
I would wait. I usually plant mid oct, but I am farther south. All that open bare ground was lush, green japanese millet a month ago. That is what hot, dry weather will do for you.

View attachment 82313

What happened to the residue?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
What happened to the residue?


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if it is just grass - like millet - it just withers to nothing. Where the picture was taken is open area in middle of dried pond. The dead water lotus you can still see at far back side of picture.
 
Anybody see any articles on seeding rye and waiting for rain. Like germination rate. You plant it when dry and starts rainging 3 weeks later.

Doing an experiment this weekend. 1/3 of my plot seed then lightly disc, disc then seed, and 1/3 just thorw n mow. All of it will be rolled in afterward, possibly mowed too depending how it looks. smidge of rain maybe thursday and scatter thunderstorms saturday, but thats it in the forecast here in hudson valley NY.

MY plot is already 1/3 several year established foodplot letting the wheat n rye do its things all year, center 1/3 is mowed clover n plantain, other 1/3 is year 2 of a foodplot extension. Stirred in woodschips when I made it. standing rye n wheat more weeds in it than the established. Doing the experiment 90 degrees across the strips of different plots, so see what it does in each situation.

Not sure how I will seed for sure. Got wheat, rye, oats, clovers, and brassicas. Went heavy on wheat last year, and who knows what seed is in there. Deer been picking the heads well this year.

I could water a corner and see the difference. Hose reaches and I'm in the general area watering young apple trees like 30ft away.
 
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