The Throw n’ Mow Method

[TreeDaddy]

Deer still haven’t touched my turnips

Have never touched mine

bill

 

[Crimson n' Camo]

I tried something new this year and went with a “Throw n Go” approach….I simply broadcast my seed into the standing vegetation around Oct 18 with the bucket on my tractor running low to ground to knock over the standing vegetation……..

So far so good…..i would only recommend doing this though if you’ve been rebuilding your soil for several years and have the right conditions….it’s all about the conditions you broadcast the seed into. I’ve not only got a favorable situation above ground but below ground as well.

 

[WeedyJ]

I tried something new this year and went with a “Throw n Go” approach….I simply broadcast my seed into the standing vegetation around Oct 18 with the bucket on my tractor running low to ground to knock over the standing vegetation……..

So far so good…..i would only recommend doing this though if you’ve been rebuilding your soil for several years and have the right conditions….it’s all about the conditions you broadcast the seed into. I’ve not only got a favorable situation above ground but below ground as well.

Was this a food plot or an early succession area that you are seeding?

 

[Crimson n' Camo]

Was this a food plot or an early succession area that you are seeding?

This is the same food plot that I've been testing in since the beginning. I just let it grow up in natural vegetation during the summer months.

 

[Crimson n' Camo]

So I need some suggestions…………I have a pretty hefty crop of biomass right now and I want to speed up decomposition. In essence I want to turn it into an electric blanket that keeps my soil as warm as possible. We’re dipping down in temps now here in the south and getting into our cold season. The warmer I keep the soil though….the more it will grow. Decomposition gives off heat and a layer of mulch holds it in and creates a buffer between the soil and cold air. Light tillage is not an options because I have a winter grain crop already growing and it would also remove the blanket itself. I’m wanting to stimulate the microbial community somehow……

• I’m looking for some kind of all-purpose inoculant to add to my field. I know my microbial community has changed over the years but I’m not sure exactly how much. I don’t think it will hurt to do it even if I don’t need it but I’m wanting to make sure I have a diverse array of microbes in the soil. Does anyone have any suggestion on a product or a homemade “tea”. This will need to cover about 2 acres.
• I want something to “feed” the microbes and boost their activity on warm days. I’m doing an experiment right now with dried molasses but I don’t have any conclusive results yet. Is that my best option to get my microbes on a sugar high?

 

[Crimson n' Camo]

Dgallow would tell me chicken litter probably.....I sure wish I had some chicken houses closer to me.

 

[SD51555]

So I need some suggestions…………I have a pretty hefty crop of biomass right now and I want to speed up decomposition. In essence I want to turn it into an electric blanket that keeps my soil as warm as possible. We’re dipping down in temps now here in the south and getting into our cold season. The warmer I keep the soil though….the more it will grow. Decomposition gives off heat and a layer of mulch holds it in and creates a buffer between the soil and cold air. Light tillage is not an options because I have a winter grain crop already growing and it would also remove the blanket itself. I’m wanting to stimulate the microbial community somehow……

• I’m looking for some kind of all-purpose inoculant to add to my field. I know my microbial community has changed over the years but I’m not sure exactly how much. I don’t think it will hurt to do it even if I don’t need it but I’m wanting to make sure I have a diverse array of microbes in the soil. Does anyone have any suggestion on a product or a homemade “tea”. This will need to cover about 2 acres.
• I want something to “feed” the microbes and boost their activity on warm days. I’m doing an experiment right now with dried molasses but I don’t have any conclusive results yet. Is that my best option to get my microbes on a sugar high?

White clover or annual clover. Sounds like your C:N ratio is getting high.

 

[Barndog56]

Take a look at https://www.advancingecoag.com/rejuvenate-soil-improvement for a product specifically created for this purpose.

 

[S.T.Fanatic]

So I need some suggestions…………I have a pretty hefty crop of biomass right now and I want to speed up decomposition. In essence I want to turn it into an electric blanket that keeps my soil as warm as possible. We’re dipping down in temps now here in the south and getting into our cold season. The warmer I keep the soil though….the more it will grow. Decomposition gives off heat and a layer of mulch holds it in and creates a buffer between the soil and cold air. Light tillage is not an options because I have a winter grain crop already growing and it would also remove the blanket itself. I’m wanting to stimulate the microbial community somehow……

• I’m looking for some kind of all-purpose inoculant to add to my field. I know my microbial community has changed over the years but I’m not sure exactly how much. I don’t think it will hurt to do it even if I don’t need it but I’m wanting to make sure I have a diverse array of microbes in the soil. Does anyone have any suggestion on a product or a homemade “tea”. This will need to cover about 2 acres.
• I want something to “feed” the microbes and boost their activity on warm days. I’m doing an experiment right now with dried molasses but I don’t have any conclusive results yet. Is that my best option to get my microbes on a sugar high?

https://www.midwesternbioag.com/organic-products/l-cbf-terra-fed-1-0-4/

 

[Crimson n' Camo]

Thanks fellas....I will check those out for sure.

SD.....I'm able to eventually cycle through my carbon buildup from summer growth but its usually not until spring. Some local folks were talking about how much their food plots had stopped growing due to the colder weather moving in and it just got me to pondering over the idea of keeping my soil warmer to promote more growth in the fall/winter....We' have fairly mild winters as it is down here in the south with warm periods throughout. I thought that if I could speed up decomposition now then it might keep the soil warmer and more active.....Little bit of experimenting

 

[Catscratch]

Thanks fellas....I will check those out for sure.

SD.....I'm able to eventually cycle through my carbon buildup from summer growth but its usually not until spring. Some local folks were talking about how much their food plots had stopped growing due to the colder weather moving in and it just got me to pondering over the idea of keeping my soil warmer to promote more growth in the fall/winter....We' have fairly mild winters as it is down here in the south with warm periods throughout. I thought that if I could speed up decomposition now then it might keep the soil warmer and more active.....Little bit of experimenting

Might be a little different way of thinking, but what if your heavy layer of biomass was keeping your soil warm through solar energy and that the layer on top was providing the warmth needed for your microbiome to perform more metabolism... and create more decomposition? Rather than ask your microbiome to get active and produce heat, maybe produce heat so that your microbiome gets active.

 

[ksgobbler]

Most years the deer don't touch mine until the second week in February. On a good year they will be on them the second week of December. It has froze every night here for the past 3-4 weeks. They can say all they want about frost sweetening your brassicas but the deer will eat them on their terms not ours. I have had years where they are eaten little if any and are rotting in the plot come April.

So basically a deer will only eat turnips as a last resort just before the go canibalistic.

 

[Catscratch]

So basically a deer will only eat turnips as a last resort just before the go canibalistic.

That's how they treat them on my place!

 

[Crimson n' Camo]

Might be a little different way of thinking, but what if your heavy layer of biomass was keeping your soil warm through solar energy and that the layer on top was providing the warmth needed for your microbiome to perform more metabolism... and create more decomposition? Rather than ask your microbiome to get active and produce heat, maybe produce heat so that your microbiome gets active.

How else could I produce more heat though except through more rapid decomposition??....I have plenty to decompose too. I've already added a good dose of N.....On that note, I'm wanting to back off of synthetic N in the future now as I'm seeing an overabundance of dog fennel as a response. I like it for several reasons but I just don't want a monoculture of it.

 

[S.T.Fanatic]

So basically a deer will only eat turnips as a last resort just before the go canibalistic.

I wouldn't say that but... The way I see it, they use annual food plots in my area as a "savings account" My plots are planted in the same place every year and left standing through winter. I think the deer know this and use them accordingly.

The deer used my clover/chicory plots up until mid october when freezing temps came in. My pea/oat plots are used from germination until the peas are gone and the oats are froze out or are overly mature. My radishes are used from mid October until the tops are gone. I haven't noticed any feeding on my kale,turnips, radish tubers, or beets yet. The rye i over seeded into my plots hasn't seemed to germinate or is spotty if it did. That will change come spring. The deer havent touched my milo yet either.

I think the little usage of my summer annuals at this time is due to the fact that in my area a lot of fields were taken out late and there was little to no fall tillage leaving plenty of waste grain in the fields. The neighbor still hasn't harvested a couple hundred acres of soybeans yet and he is a no till farmer so I realistically don even need the plots on the one property because they have the waste grain that doesn't get tilled under.

Even if the deer dont eat my turnips they are a cheap soil conditioner and weed suppressor. (in that they shade out weeds in the fall and take up space in the spring where weeds would be growing if the turnips were not there) I rely heavily on radishes and only plant 1-2# of turnip/acre.

 

[Crimson n' Camo]

Had an idea this evening and I think I may try something first before buying anything. I’m just curious to see if this idea will work. Off to either side of my field are a bunch of BIG water oaks that make a little oak savannah. Around the base of those trees is nothing but pretty thick decomposing leaf litter. If you rake back the top layer of leaves there’s a really rich layer of dirt under there that has strong earthy smell to it….I think that layer of super rich soil right around the base of the trees should be teeming with microbial life. I may get me a few scoops of that rich soil layer using the box blade and bucket of my tractor and then spread it around the field with a shovel or something just to see if I can import the microbes. I’m thinking I might be able to inoculate the soil with that super rich layer of dirt. What I may do is throw a screen over my 3 pt cone spreader and shovel that rich dirt onto the screen and sift it into my spreader. I think its light enough that the fine sifted stuff should sling out of the spreader. It’s got an agitator. I guess it just depending on how well it sifted.

 

[SD51555]

How else could I produce more heat though except through more rapid decomposition??....I have plenty to decompose too. I've already added a good dose of N.....On that note, I'm wanting to back off of synthetic N in the future now as I'm seeing an overabundance of dog fennel as a response. I like it for several reasons but I just don't want a monoculture of it.

-Ditch the supplemental N
-Re-check your pH

Your soil biology may be skewed towards bacteria due to the purchased N. Make sure your pH is in the strike zone still, and let the nitrogen consuming bacteria peter out. You'll get a true biology going and you'll get to where you need to be. I remember your root pit digs. You're there.

Purchased N disrupts the formation of arbuscular mycorhizal fungi. By disrupting that, you're disrupting the biological functions in your soil that solubolize and deliver nutrients from rock particles in wild systems. This is why it's so expensive to get top yields in monocrop agriculture anymore. Soils are full of rock particles and residues that can deliver every nutrient plants need, but the workers and networks that would deliver it, in the soil, have been shutdown.

The only way to get nutrients into plants in dead soils is to place plant available nutrients exactly in the strike zone at the exact right time, and even that isn't gonna work unless rain and temps are also cooperating.

 

[Crimson n' Camo]

Alright, I guess no more synthetic N then…….just one less thing to pay for anyways….…I’d really like to get more white clover established but it just doesn’t do as well in sandy soil. I think I may be able to grow it a little better now though so I’m gonna try it again. I haven’t test my soil in about 18 months now but on the last test pH was 6.8 with 4200 lbs/ac of Ca

 

[SD51555]

Alright, I guess no more synthetic N then…….just one less thing to pay for anyways….…I’d really like to get more white clover established but it just doesn’t do as well in sandy soil. I think I may be able to grow it a little better now though so I’m gonna try it again. I haven’t test my soil in about 18 months now but on the last test pH was 6.8 with 4200 lbs/ac of Ca

Have you ever tested your base saturation levels? If and when you limed, what kind of lime did you put on?

 

[TreeDaddy]

Alright, I guess no more synthetic N then…….just one less thing to pay for anyways….…I’d really like to get more white clover established but it just doesn’t do as well in sandy soil. I think I may be able to grow it a little better now though so I’m gonna try it again. I haven’t test my soil in about 18 months now but on the last test pH was 6.8 with 4200 lbs/ac of Ca

My harsh, dry east texas summers preclude success growing perennial white clovers

I do,however, have success with arrow leaf and crimson clover on my sandy soils

bill