The Throw n’ Mow Method

[Catscratch]

Current pics taken yesterday. I went against my normal and spread some fert by hand a couple of weeks ago. The millet was yellowing a little and the fert turned it around within a couple of days.

Sunflowers in full bloom:

Both types of millet producing heads:

Buckwheat making lots of great deer/quail food:

 

[Catscratch]

A couple of the guys who appreciate the plots. The seem to spend about equal amounts of time in each crop, which is nice as they haven't destroyed any single field yet.

 

[huthut]

CNC ---Glad to see the throw and mow moved over here. Been following for along time and on my sand I have had good luck with this method.

 

[chucker66]

Real glad to see this thread here. I am getting ready to start a throw and mow/roll plot. My land is 80 acres that were 1/2 mature oaks and 1/2 red pine that were all harvested last year. It was cut pretty hard but I am excited that I basically have a blank sheet to start with for trees and food plots. The spot I picked for a plot is now real thick with many different grasses, some thistles and brush. One area has never been plowed and the other was a farm field 40 years ago. I cant wait to see what will grow here as I don't have much for equipment, basically a back pack sprayer, a 4 wheeler, a bag seeder, and a roller. I have already sprayed once but need to do it again this weekend. I will post up some pics next week. I think it will be a fun experiment to see what I can get to grow without all the "traditional" equipment.

Chuck

 

[broom_JM]

This throw-n-mow stuff will never work! You have to totally turn the soil over and eliminate any sign that something was growing previously or else your next crop will be a total failure! :P

Glad to see you over here, CNC. I'll be following along and looking forward to your latest exploits. I'm especially curious to see how you start to incorporate the management of native browse into the TnM method, if that's the direction this goes.

Jason

 

[Crimson n' Camo]

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.

Soybeans aren't going to be the best option.....especially for someone just getting started. Once you get the soil into a more conditioned form then they could be incorporated into a mix if you think your field holds enough moisture for them to work. Cowpeas seem to do pretty well with this method.

 

[Crimson n' Camo]

I appreciate it the welcome fellas and I'm glad to see this thread already taking off. It takes some of the sting out of things that happened on the other site. Something to really take into consideration when first starting this method is that a high percentage of folks are probably going to have very poor conditions for throw n mow success in the beginning. Most folks who are drawn to this method are the ones with the worst soils who are struggling to have great plots. Try to keep your initial focus on changing the soil first rather than trying to grow "crops". My summer plot this year is a 15 way mix of nature's own seed blend. Plants are individuals with different characteristics. Just because a farmer labeled a plant a "weed" doesn't mean it's inherently bad.

 

[dogghr]

It's exactly propaganda such as this Crimson that got the forum shut down over there. Think I'll take a cooling off period before starting another one. Good to see you getting this started. I was surprised when I went back to page 1 of my thread over there, that it was actually a throw spray and mow plot that I began posting about 6 years ago. I keep all my efforts written down but over the years had forgotten I had done it in such a way. Certainly I have come full circle again to using this tech again. I'll post some pics if you want when I'm back in the groove. Thanks.

 

[scott44]

My first throw and roll was because we had a really wet spring and I couldn't get in and disk it and I could with the quad. Glad I tried it, trying to go to this in all my plots.

 

[mglenn005]

CnC - as a Bama guy, RTR, and ive been trying to implement some of your methods. Worked well when I had the biomass, not so much when I didn't get the seed covered. I have found Millet to be a great biomass generator. It grows really well on my place. This fall, I plan to throw and mow rye, crimson clover, turnips, and radishes into my millet.

 

[chummer]

I started this experiment on that other site. This looks like a good spot to put it.
Waist high buckwheat, I seeded with brassica and rolled half, and cut the other half.

Rolled is on the left, mowed is on the right

The right side was brassicas last year the left was WR. I spread 50 lbs of urea as well. Had great rain that night and quick down pours the first 3-4 days. Been very dry since. Tomorrow will be two weeks. I was up for a couple hours last night. It appears the rolled side has better germination. I will take some pics this weekend.

 

[Crimson n' Camo]

CnC - as a Bama guy, RTR, and ive been trying to implement some of your methods. Worked well when I had the biomass, not so much when I didn't get the seed covered. I have found Millet to be a great biomass generator. It grows really well on my place. This fall, I plan to throw and mow rye, crimson clover, turnips, and radishes into my millet.

Roll Tide!.....Looking forward to seeing your progress. Be sure to take pics!

 

[Crimson n' Camo]

I’m going to post some links to videos and articles as we go along to help with folks’ understanding of the core principles of this method. Many of you who have been following these threads for a while have likely already seen many of them. Since we’re starting over from scratch though and have many new folks in the audience…..I’m going to re-post them.


This is an outstanding video that I recommend every take a few minutes to watch. This was one of the first things that made me go “Hmmm, I wonder if I can do something similar with a food plot.” Again, don’t focus on the exact method they are using but rather the core principles and how they adapted their process.

 

[Sean98]

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.

I did soybeans last year and it turned out very well. Good germination, good growth. But I broadcast them into full standing rye (7 feet tall) and then mowed over the top. Very heavy thatch with good rains received shortly after broadcast. To be fair I also live in NE Kansas and my soil is pretty good quality loam in bottomland.

I started with this

Broadcast and mow until it looked like this

Then some nice rains and ultimately it ended up like this

and despite being literally in my backyard it attracted this guy late season (or attracted the ladies and they attracted him)

I've really scuffled with my throw and mows this year due to rains. Too much, not enough, you name it. Our cycle this year has had almost no normal, light, steady rains. It's either been a torrential flooding downpours of weeks on end of 100+ degrees, high winds and scalding sun. That is the cycle we are currently in now. I broadcast a mixture of sunflowers, buckwheat, milo, beans, and peas about two weeks ago and we got a couple of nice rains. Just enough to germinate and pop their heads up. And then NOTHING. 2016 has not been great for me on the foodplot front. But weather and unexpected work responsibilities have kept things from going according to plan.

 

[Sean98]

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.

Cat, you're in SC Kansas, right? Mind sharing what county? Maybe you've told me before but I drink a lot and forget stuff. ;-)

 

[Catscratch]

I don't know if you've ask before (I suffer the same affliction as you) but I live in Cowley. Kansas is really spotty though when it comes to rain. 10 miles can make all the difference in the world.

Great looking beans by the way!

 

[Jake]

Kinda sorta a throw and mow plot. Killed it off early spring, spot sprayed again, spread some lime and in July broadcasted brassicas, fertilizer and drug with my lawn Thatcher.

But process works for sure. I don't do enough of it though.

 

[Crimson n' Camo]

I'm really glad some of you guys with great Midwestern soils have decided to give this method a try. It really shows what is possible with good soil conditions. That is one of the biggest take home messages that I try to get across to folks who are wanting to try this. Yes the method works....but how well it works is dependent on how poor or great your soil conditions may be. I know I'm being redundant here but I think it's a very important point to stress......Assess your soil conditions upfront in the very beginning. If you have degraded soil that doesn't hold much moisture.....then worry about fixing the soil conditions first and foremost. This may mean that you have to change your mentality a little on what success looks like and what goals are most important for you to accomplish. Producing biomass and correcting nutrient deficiencies in the beginning is far more important than watching the deer wipe out a few ice cream crops trying to do it with store bought seeds. Don't be afraid to grow "weeds" during the summer. They are nature's soil builders.

 

[Crimson n' Camo]

A short book well worth taking the time to read.......

http://vanveenorganics.com/ebooks/Weeds guardians of the Soil (3).pdf

 

[bueller]

I'm really glad some of you guys with great Midwestern soils have decided to give this method a try. It really shows what is possible with good soil conditions. That is one of the biggest take home messages that I try to get across to folks who are wanting to try this. Yes the method works....but how well it works is dependent on how poor or great your soil conditions may be. I know I'm being redundant here but I think it's a very important point to stress......Assess your soil conditions upfront in the very beginning. If you have degraded soil that doesn't hold much moisture.....then worry about fixing the soil conditions first and foremost. This may mean that you have to change your mentality a little on what success looks like and what goals are most important for you to accomplish. Producing biomass and correcting nutrient deficiencies in the beginning is far more important than watching the deer wipe out a few ice cream crops trying to do it with store bought seeds. Don't be afraid to grow "weeds" during the summer. They are nature's soil builders.

I have been trending towards throwing and not mowing in the last couple years. The maturing crop (and weeds) provide protection for the upcoming seedlings and provide cover for the animals in the meantime. My ground is so sandy that rarely ever do I get a plot of anything that completely canopies so there is always open spots to throw more seed into.