The Throw n’ Mow Method
- Thread starter Crimson n' Camo
- Start date
SD51555
5 year old buck +
Not really sure. My guess would be Canada, Dakotas, Montana. Some dairy guys grow it still, and brewers will use awnless barley for certain recipes. The universities in the Dakotas have lots of great studies when it comes to forage crops.
https://www.ag.ndsu.edu/archive/carringt/03data/03 Annual Report/Forage Barley Variety Trial.htm
S.T.Fanatic
5 year old buck +
Awnless Barley is the way to go for you guys doing TNM plots. IMO the benefits far out weigh the cons.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, the deer will eat the seed heads. This is of great value when TNM a fall plot. If winter cereals are aloud to mature and you tnm into them you will get a beautiful stand of winter cereal and everything else you planned on growing will be smothered out.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, the deer will eat the seed heads. This is of great value when TNM a fall plot. If winter cereals are aloud to mature and you tnm into them you will get a beautiful stand of winter cereal and everything else you planned on growing will be smothered out.
Like the member on page 74 I to am thinking about giving this a try. Im located in North Mississippi and North Alabama. I have a tractor, bush hog, disk and spray rig. I understand that learning what affects each plant and action has on the soil is what guides each and every decision and next action. Im sure there is a thread already out there that is a good starting point but I havent found it yet. I have 3 young kids and a full time job so finding time to read through 75 pages is difficult. I guess other than a soil test..... if I wanted to get started in the spring what would my next step be? My initial field is a 3 acres field at my house. Its going to be my guinea pig. Its planted in wheat, crimson clover, & winter peas. We had a very dry fall then we had a hard rain and 5 days later a hard freeze. The initial planting didnt do great. However, I came back with more wheat and rye grass (yes I know not optimal) a few weeks ago and the field looks pretty good. Im wanting to start this and just not sure what to even do next. Would like to know what would be best to plant this spring/summer and beyond. Thanks
Catscratch
5 year old buck +
What's your summer goal? Do you want deer food all summer then another winter crop like you have now, or would you be ok with letting the field go fallow in the summer. "Native weeds" in fallow fields are usually the exact plants needed to repair the soil, and many of them are used by deer anyway. But, if you want deer food and your clovers that are already there aren't going to cut it then you might consider planting something else. For me I try to cycle nutrients with crop rotations (plants that benefit each other), but first and foremost I ask myself if I'm doing harm to the soil. I haven't yet figured it all out either, but I'm making progress.
Well, I typically hunt doves over it in September. I would like to do that but its not a priority.
I had great success this year spraying early and simply broadcasting oats at about 2x the recommended rate.... like 200LBS/acre. It was LUSH in July when I broadcast fertilizer, lime, and brassicas. I sprayed again the same day with 1qt/acre Gly and rolled it with my ATV. Brassicas were fabulous.
Catscratch
5 year old buck +
Our dove field is always wheat and weeds. My dad cuts and bales it for hay in early August. If it grows up any after that we spray gly we burn it (burn as in fire). Always a great dove shoot! Around the first of October it gets planted back to wheat and is left alone for deer season. He puts his cattle on it in Jan/Feb to cut feed costs, then pulls them off in time for them to make seed heads again. The cattle fertilize it while they are on it, otherwise this field hasn't had inputs in decades. Sunflowers, millets, and legumes would probably be a nice addition to this if you wanted more. The suflowers will get hammered by the deer during the summer and if there is anything left they may make seed which dove love. Legumes can help fixate nitrogen for the grasses but you have to be willing to terminate them for this rotation.
am I correct to assume that if I wanted to do milo, millet and buckwheat like I have done in years past I would still need to disk due to a timing issue? Milo in particular takes 120 days say to mature, there is no way I will have enough growth during the early spring to simply throw in mow and have enough to cover the seed. Am I missing soemthing?
Catscratch
5 year old buck +
We may have different growing seasons, but I've never had a problem with getting enough thatch to throw-n-mow those particular seeds. It may not be a crop residue, I've been known to let grasses and weeds grow so that I could have a thatch to work with.
S.T.Fanatic
5 year old buck +
I do TNM milo in Minnesota the first week of June. With your winter wheat cover you will have plenty of time to grow a nice mix of milo, sunflowers, and buckwheat or whatever you throw in the mix.
yoderjac
5 year old buck +
That is a great sign! It means your herd has sufficient food that is of even better quality or security.
the only thing that eats my turnips is me and my wife. Hogs wont even eat them. Wheat, clover, or bean plots within 200 yards will be eaten to the dirt and the brassicas not touched. Brassicas are a total waste of time and money around my place. Possibly if there were no other food plots, and a mast crop failure, they would utilize the brassicas. Says a lot when hogs wont eat something.
I'm in Central WI. I've had somewhat spotty results with Brassicas but this year the deer went wild for the turnips and destroyed them. The problem is it was mostly after hunting season, which is okay, I'm just glad they are getting some benefit. They target Rape and turnip tops and after a couple frosts. My observations tell me that Clover is the best all around attractant in my next of the woods. Its also the easiest and I can avoid spraying Round Up a couple times every year.
i do a couple of throw n mows every year. If I were after a dove shoot, I would not let my chances rest on a throw n mow planting. Not saying it cant be done - but if maximum seed production is your goal - I dont think tnm would be the planting method of choice. But, then your problem may be mowing the millet and milo to attract doves - and not having standing crops to plant your fall seeds into for a tnm.
TreeDaddy
5 year old buck +
My experience in east texas as well
Brassicas go untouched except by my family......we love them
bill
