The Throw n’ Mow Method

[T-Max]

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

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

Ahhhh yes. That is a good read.

 

[bueller]

Started with a "clean" field in May of 2015. Here it is in buckwheat, July 2015.

Mid August 2015 I overseeded with rye, clover, and radish. Spring of 2016 rye and clover looking good.

July of 2016 the rye has matured and the red clover is about a foot tall.

Recently overseeded with some turnips and urea. More winter rye goes in about a month from now.

 

[bueller]

The best part is I never have a "dead" field for even a day.

 

[Crimson n' Camo]

That's awesome bueller.....What kind of soil are you dealing with?

 

[scott44]

A lot of you are doing this because of sandy soil, I'm trying this because I have really heavy clay. When I used to till the soil would crust over sometimes so I wanted to try and stop this and add OM.

 

[bueller]

That's awesome bueller.....What kind of soil are you dealing with?

Sand that was once the bed a glacial lake.

 

[Crimson n' Camo]

A lot of you are doing this because of sandy soil, I'm trying this because I have really heavy clay. When I used to till the soil would crust over sometimes so I wanted to try and stop this and add OM.

When it comes down to it…..this is the natural method for dang near ANY soil. The soil is supposed to be full of organic matter and we’ve eliminated it in many instances with our excessive tillage practices.

 

[Crimson n' Camo]

Sand that was once the bed a glacial lake.

Ok...so that's why you guys are dealing with sand. Where I live actually used to be under the ocean. Folks collect sharks teeth like arrowheads around here. I'm a good 150 miles from the current beach.

 

[bueller]

Ok...so that's why you guys are dealing with sand. Where I live actually used to be under the ocean. Folks collect sharks teeth like arrowheads around here. I'm a good 150 miles from the current beach.

:eek: didn't know that

 

[kabic]

July of 2016 the rye has matured and the red clover is about a foot tall.

Glad I'm not the only one that is dealing with common mullein. There could be worse weeds to deal with I suppose.

 

[bueller]

Glad I'm not the only one that is dealing with common mullein. There could be worse weeds to deal with I suppose.

They come up anywhere soil is disturbed by me.

 

[Crimson n' Camo]

Glad I'm not the only one that is dealing with common mullein. There could be worse weeds to deal with I suppose.

From what I was reading it says that mullein is a pioneer species. Are you still tilling or have you switched over to a throw and mow style approach?

 

[kabic]

2013 I frost seeded clover ...no real tillage there, but the ground was disturbed in process of clearing trees\brush.




I let that go 2 years and tilled that up (deep as my little tiller would go) and planted soybeans (over seeded brassicas)






This year it is Sorghum and I tilled again, but really tried just to scratch the surface and then spread the seed.

Maybe next year I will go back to clover (frost seed and just cut the Sorghum over it)


This is a different plot that also was tilled last year (but it was supposed to have sweet corn planted but never did) This year didn't do anything over there

 

[kabic]

I should mention that my kids have 3 fertilizer producing rabbits (manure\bedding\food waste) that supply my little plots with a little extra organic matter. Probably not much in the grand scheme of things.

 

[Crimson n' Camo]

Something to keep in mind as you decide on the best route for you is that often times we look to treat the symptoms of our issues instead of addressing the root causes. For instance, in traditional plotting many folks would look at your mullein issues and think….”I need to spray to eliminate that weed.”….which is a symptom of soil disturbance…..With one of the no-till techiniques like throw and mow…..it’s much more geared toward addressing the root cause….To deal with pioneer species you would look to instead address the pioneer soil conditions….if not then you’ll continue treating symptoms. The traditional method of chemicals and tillage has went so far down the rabbit hole of treating symptoms that now were to the point of chemical resistance trying to keep those pioneer "weeds" from returning. Mother Nature will keep adapting.

 

[bueller]

From what I was reading it says that mullein is a pioneer species. Are you still tilling or have you switched over to a throw and mow style approach?

I've never tilled. Most I've ever done is pull a drag with ATV to scratch surface.

 

[IkemanTx]

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.

I watched that video a few months ago, it is awesome!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Crimson n' Camo]

I've never tilled. Most I've ever done is pull a drag with ATV to scratch surface.

Nature is gonna try and cover any bare ground. It doesn't look like you're overwhelmed with it from the pics...I'm sure it's like you said in the other post and just coming up where your drag scratches up the bare dirt. Does it seem to be getting worse, better, stay the same?

 

[Crimson n' Camo]

I watched that video a few months ago, it is awesome!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yeah that's one of my favorites. There's some videos of lectures on soil health that are very informative too but not quite as easy to sit down and watch as Undercover Farmers. I'll see if I can hunt some of them up and post for anyone interested.

 

[strawhead]

When is the best time to apply lime when with total T&M program? I know the best answer is yesterday. At what interval in the steps of the program? Before broadcasting seeds. After mowing or rolldown?