Should I wait for rain?

[ToddG]

I have 4 food plots that are about 2.5 acres total and have them ready to plant but was waiting for rain in the forecast. There doesn't appear to be any in the next 10 days. Should I just go ahead and plant. I am planting WR, Crimson, and Ladino.
Thanks,

 

[yoderjac]

Todd,

I started my planting my clover/WR the other day using throw-n-mow. It is mostly because I'm time limited and won't have time later. If I didn't have time limitations, in our zone, I would start looking at the forecast on Labor Day weekend. As soon as I saw rain in the forecast I'd plant WR/clover plots. If I got to about the middle of September or so, I plant whether I saw rain or not. WR is the attractant the first fall. It is most attractive when it is young and succulent. By waiting until September to plant, it stays young longer into our firearm season and beyond. It takes a couple weeks for deer to start hitting it, so if I get it in by the middle of September or so, deer are using it when our archery season begins.

Thanks,

jack

 

[ToddG]

Jack,
I appreciate the help. I don't have a problem with the WR getting tough because the deer keep it mowed down. I can only plant on weekends so I may have to plant this weekend. I hope we get some rain Saturday afternoon.

 

[Catscratch]

With no time restriction = wait until right before a rain.

With time restrictions = plant when I can, pray for rain... Assume I might need to replant if timely rain doesn't happen and critters get the seed.

Side note; I've found that rain isn't as important with a good thatch on a TNM as it is with a bare dirt seedbed.

 

[yoderjac]

Jack,
I appreciate the help. I don't have a problem with the WR getting tough because the deer keep it mowed down. I can only plant on weekends so I may have to plant this weekend. I hope we get some rain Saturday afternoon.

Looks like low probability today and Saturday in my area. Long term looks better for the following Saturday, but I don't trust forecasts that far out. If we get it next week, you seed will only have been in the ground a week which is not bad. It also depends on planting method. If you are using traditional tillage, soils can dry out quickly. If you use a no-till drill, you don't lose soil moisture and the seed can germinate without rain. If you use the throw and mow, it is sort of in between (the reference catscratch is making). The seed is on top of the soil, but the mulching effect of the mowed crop helps hold in the moisture from morning dew. With the weather we are having on the fringe of the hurricane, we will be seeing morning dew even if we are outside the rain band.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[ToddG]

I decided to plant 2 of my small plots today and wait on the others until rain is in the forecast. I have a small area that is weeds and grass. Do you think I could try the throw and mow in this type situation?

 

[Tree Spud]

I decided to plant 2 of my small plots today and wait on the others until rain is in the forecast. I have a small area that is weeds and grass. Do you think I could try the throw and mow in this type situation?

Farmers do not wait for rain to plant for a reason. Seeds will absorb moisture from the soil, dew, ground fog, etc. Obviously with some rain there are issues.

This time of year, with reducing sunlight and on the short end of the season, best to get your seed out.

 

[yoderjac]

I decided to plant 2 of my small plots today and wait on the others until rain is in the forecast. I have a small area that is weeds and grass. Do you think I could try the throw and mow in this type situation?

I don't see why not. That's what I'm doing. You can only keep a plot in perennial clover for so many years before you need to rotate. So, I took some old clover fields a rotated them into buckwheat this spring using the Thirt method. As the buckwheat began to wane, weeds began to infiltrate the field. I sprayed the field with 2 quarts/ac glyphosate and then waited about a week or so. The weeds were almost waist high so I knew there would be spots missed. I then spot sprayed the green spots. The next day I broadcast my seed into the standing buckwheat and weeds and then used a bushhog to mow it all down.

Thanks,

Jack