The Throw n’ Mow Method

[Crimson n' Camo]

I’ve always heard that the best way to get over a girl is to get under another one. I guess we’ll use that same logic concerning forums that kick you to the curb as well.


Welcome to “The Throw n’ Mow Method”……..This thread will continue to document a new planting technique that several of us have been experimenting with over the last few years. I’m looking forward to seeing some old faces on this thread and hopefully some new ones that have yet to be introduced to soil health and no-tilling. I also hope that dgallow will re-start his thread series here or use this one to continue to pass along all of the knowledge he’s shared with everyone.


Let’s get this party started……………..:)

 

[Turkey Creek]

I am all eyes. Let the show begin!

 

[strawhead]

I for one am glad to see you here. I have been following your threads for a couple years. We tried some throw and mow last year with poor results looking from "our" eyes. It probably wasn't from the deer's eyes. Our brassicas grew poorly. A minimum till try did a little better. I'll get some pictures from last year, they're on an external hard drive. This is another try at throw and mow. Was supposed to get a good rain that night. Missed us.

 

[Crimson n' Camo]

I am all eyes. Let the show begin!

Thanks TC!

 

[Crimson n' Camo]

strawhead......What kind of soil are you dealing with? One thing I see looking at the pics is that the thatch is really short compared to what I'm using. I usually have biomass at least waist high. You want it to look like you've used a hay blower to cover the field.

 

[woodduck]

AWESOME! I decided to dabble a bit this year with throw and mow and when I saw the QDMA forum was soon to be terminated one of my first thoughts was...crap, I wont be able to go back and check out all the old throw and mow threads.... Brother I'm glad your here :D

 

[strawhead]

We have what I call a medium clay makeup. Last year we( 2 sons and 2 grandsons) left a much heavier thatch. Followed all of your advice for termination, broadcasting, mowing and cultipacking. This picture was a fallow field with a lot of large rocks that I was afraid to take the tiller into. I use the tiller more than I would like, but we haven't had a bad plot yet on tilled ground in over 6 years. I want to someday get to much more throw and mow. Last year, I think the thing I missed the most was getting a good kill on the prior years WR & clover. The clover took over and didn't let the brassicas thrive. We still had clover, just the brassicas were waaaaaaaay off.

 

[Turkey Creek]

With the throw and mow concept is every crop you plant, just a throw? OR do you for instance, drill the rye, throw the next crop and then drill the rye the next go around. Or do you throw every crop after the previous one has been terminated and remaining plant material rolled? Moisture is a limiting factor for me, typically less than 25" year.

 

[Crimson n' Camo]

AWESOME! I decided to dabble a bit this year with throw and mow and when I saw the QDMA forum was soon to be terminated one of my first thoughts was...crap, I wont be able to go back and check out all the old throw and mow threads.... Brother I'm glad your here :D

I appreciate the welcome.....Feel free to ask questions. :)

 

[Crimson n' Camo]

We have what I call a medium clay makeup. Last year we( 2 sons and 2 grandsons) left a much heavier thatch. Followed all of your advice for termination, broadcasting, mowing and cultipacking. This picture was a fallow field with a lot of large rocks that I was afraid to take the tiller into. I use the tiller more than I would like, but we haven't had a bad plot yet on tilled ground in over 6 years. I want to someday get to much more throw and mow. Last year, I think the thing I missed the most was getting a good kill on the prior years WR & clover. The clover took over and didn't let the brassicas thrive. We still had clover, just the brassicas were waaaaaaaay off.

That clay soil is a little different beast than I’m dealing with. I have nearly pure sand/silt….It’ll probably take a few rotations of no-tilling and heavy crops of biomass before you have the success others are having. It’ll be really important that you keep the topsoil covered and infused with organic matter to keep that clay soil from crusting. It may be that you always have to lightly till if it’s a heavy enough clay. The main thing I would do if I were you is to focus on understanding how healthy soil functions and the principles behind achieving that goal. Once you have a good understanding of soil health then you can begin to tweak things to best suit your situation but still adhere to the core principles.

 

[Crimson n' Camo]

With the throw and mow concept is every crop you plant, just a throw? OR do you for instance, drill the rye, throw the next crop and then drill the rye the next go around. Or do you throw every crop after the previous one has been terminated and remaining plant material rolled? Moisture is a limiting factor for me, typically less than 25" year.

Really it's however you want to do it. Don’t get too caught up in trying to replicate things exactly the way you see me doing it. The bigger focus needs to be on the principles of soil health like I was mentioning in the last post and I'll go into more detail on as this thread moves along. We all have such drastically different soils, plot size, goals, etc….that what works best for one may need to be adjusted for someone else. Understanding the core principles of soil health will allow you to do what best suits your needs. I broadcast my seed into standing thatch and mow because I don’t have a drill. Other folks are using culipackers to do a throw and roll type method. Folks with drills are drilling into standing biomass as well as pressed and rolled biomass. Below is a video showing how the guys at Growingdeertv are starting to experiment with these methods……..


http://www.growingdeer.tv/archive/category/food-plots

 

[scott44]

Welcome CNC, I've been using the LC mix for awhile and the last 3yrs I've rolled down the broadcast my brassicas into the rye and rolled it down with a cultipacker and had really good results with it. This year will be the first try with the thro and mow with the cereal grain portion of the rotation.

Planted my brassicas couple weeks ago. Before



After

 

[strawhead]

Scott...what type of soil do you have? That's very similar to what our rye to brassica plots looked like last year. Did not get good growth of the brassicas. Clovers came back strong. Did you spray at all?

 

[scott44]

Scott...what type of soil do you have? That's very similar to what our rye to brassica plots looked like last year. Did not get good growth of the brassicas. Clovers came back strong. Did you spray at all?

Heavy clay and yes I sprayed I have a sprayer I put on the quad and roll and spray all in one pass. I noticed the clover that was in the rye didn't get hit too much with the gly this year so there will be a decent amount of clover in my brassicas, oh well.

 

[Barndog56]

I broadcast sunflowers and buckwheat on the 8th. I know that's late for them, but needed to get something growing before the LC mixes are planted next month. Mother nature has not helped me out with rain. Have only got about a half inch total since then. I have a very light thatch covering them, and none in some spots. Still learning the proper timing on the spray, broadcast, and mow.

How long will the seeds lay there waiting for rain before they are done for? Sunflower seeds are already mostly gone due to cranes, blackbirds, and doves.

 

[gunther89]

Has anyone tried planting soybeans with a throw and mow method? I'm interested if anyone has ever done this before or if it wouldn't even make sense.

 

[kabic]

I did a till and throw last year. It started raining before I could pack it in. The soil I'm working with is a little more on the clay side. ...I'm not sure I'm a convert to this method but I will say I don't till as deep as I used to.

 

[Catscratch]

CnC, I'm all in too. I've been a member here for a long time but haven't posted much lately as the topics are usually fruit trees and grafting (two things I know very little about, but I'm learning). Anyway, here are my latest throw and mow plots. They are on heavy clay soil that crusts over pretty quick if given the chance. These fields have never seen an implement other than my mower.

What they looked like this spring. Mix of clover, oats, winter rye, wheat, turnips, and radishes:


I usually spray gly twice but only did it once this spring because of a rain event headed our way. I went ahead and spread seed, mowed, and ran a yard packer over three fields. Notice they are small fields and separated by native grass strips. I do this because I feel that the deep root systems of natives help pull moisture and nutrients into the soil and help keep things healthy.

 

[Catscratch]

A couple of pics of the sunflowers and buckwheat shortly after germination and poking up through the thatch. The thatch has been the most important part of my success. Bare spots tent to not do well.

 

[Catscratch]

Mid season growth. No fert yet...


Deer graze the sunflowers extensively: