Native Hunter
5 year old buck +
I've really come to enjoy putting in food plots with my lawnmower. I saw a tremendous amount of rain forecasted 2 weeks ago and couldn't stop myself. This is the before and after:
Lawnmower Plot 2022
- Thread starter Native Hunter
- Start date
Native Hunter
5 year old buck +
Thanks. You would not believe our recent rains. When I planted this, they were giving over 50% every day for the next 11 days, and it worked out pretty much as forecasted. I never plant this early, but with that forecast I couldn't stop myself.
Wind Gypsy
5 year old buck +
Wow. What all did you plant and what was your process?
Native Hunter
5 year old buck +
This is an old fall plot that has never had anything except winter annuals (mostly wheat and brassicas) planted in it. In the summer, it would just be taken over by weeds. My goal was to have a good plot for this fall with a lot of variety and end up next spring with a good stand of clover and chicory. I had a lot of brome grass and crabgrass, so first I Gly killed it and let it stand a few days to make sure I hadn't missed any spots. Then I scattered the seed and ran over it with the lawn mower. This was just before the big rains started, and the amount of thatch was near perfect.
My seed mix was as follows. Amounts shown are per acre, but this plot is about 1/2 acre, so half of these amounts:
Kenland Red Clover - 7 lbs
Ladino Clover - 5 lbs
Forage Chicory - 2 lbs
Wheat - 12 lbs
Oats - 12 lbs
Buckwheat - 10 lbs (This is the first thing they are eating in it.)
Brassicas and soybeans - a light dusting just to add some variety.
I know that the buckwheat and soybeans will die out at the first frost, but that's fine. The way it's going, I think they will be eaten by then anyway.
blueKYstream
5 year old buck +
I wish I could've gotten plots in this early. We don't often get this much rain in August. I've never tried buckwheat and brassica never seem to work out for me between not getting it planted timely or not enough rain. What's the latest you've planted and had brassicas well established?
Native Hunter
5 year old buck +
I think the latest I’ve ever planted would be the first week in September. My deer eat rape and radishes pretty good but don’t seem to care much for turnips.
Mortenson
5 year old buck +
Pretty sure Don Higgins used to say he planted brassicas around Labor day where he's at in south central IL. He'd say for every 100 miles you move north, then go earlier a week. Seems like you'd have plenty of time down where you're at.
blueKYstream
5 year old buck +
We've planted it probably 4 or 5 years straight and never had much luck. A couple years we planted it in early September. Plants were under 4 inches tall and wide. We've tried in August and didn't get the rain for weeks. I'm an hour away from the property, so I'm not often able to plant before a rain. I've given up on them and opted instead for winter wheat, oats, chicory, or clover.
roymunson
5 year old buck +
DANG! I guess I'm a bit north of him, but we're usually trying to get them in the ground by the second week of August...
Native Hunter
5 year old buck +
Two more spray/throw/mow places that started a little slower, but I'm ready to now say are successful:
Edit - Forgot to mention but is obvious that I went heavier on the brassicas in these two plots.
Edit - Forgot to mention but is obvious that I went heavier on the brassicas in these two plots.
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356
5 year old buck +
Your plot looks great. I wish we could get some rain like that...I use the lawnmower plot method for a hiddey hole plot at our Ozark's cabin...I was there yesterday and put up a vine-based mock scrap and a mineral block, but our extreme drought is persisting with rain in the long term forecast. It may be early September before that plot goes in the ground.
Native Hunter
5 year old buck +
Native Hunter
5 year old buck +
I'm blowing the thatch, and I change directions to keep all of the thatch on the plot. On the first few rounds around the outside, I blow the thatch inward. Then I change directions and blow some of the thatch back to the outside plot area. Then I may do some different directions until I think I have the thatch spread evenly.
I will also say that those big rear wheels on my mower are giving me a little packing action with the seed - kind of like a cultipacker, but not as good. You need good seed to soil contact with some thatch - and plenty of rain is essential.
This method is not going to work as well on hard and rocky soil. The places I have the best results are low, fertile areas where the moisture is the best.
I also want to admit that I had one failure this year. Here are the reasons I attribute that to:
1. It was a place where the soil is poor and I didn't have a lot of thatch.
2. It was a new, small 1/4 acre plot close to bedding, which made it very accessible to the deer. The germination was poor, and the plants that did come up go eaten quickly. Once this happened, a mat of carpetweed started forming. I will go back on this one, spray it again and plant it straight wheat for a couple of years until I can get the soil built up a little and eliminate some weeds from the seedbank.
Native Hunter
5 year old buck +
Good luck, and I recommend increasing the seeding rate some over what you would use in a nicely prepared seedbed. Wheat and oats are good choices for this method.
Native Hunter
5 year old buck +
One final piece of advice - Don't spread the seed when the thatch is wet and then mow. Your seed need to fall straight down to the ground, and moisture might make them stick to the thatch. Then, when you mow, you would be blowing your seed away from where you spread them.
I also believe it is better not to mow the day the seed are scattered. I think it's best to get a rain on the seed and then let it dry out again before mowing. I don't always do that, but I do think it is best. It might help to get the seed stuck to the ground better before mowing.
I also believe it is better not to mow the day the seed are scattered. I think it's best to get a rain on the seed and then let it dry out again before mowing. I don't always do that, but I do think it is best. It might help to get the seed stuck to the ground better before mowing.
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