The Throw n’ Mow Method

[Foggy47]

It was a bad year to be a summer plot in my area. The high from June to July ranged from 98 to 103 with no rain. Geez

I've been very lucky with weather since starting on my no-till journey last August. Prior to August....I had a drought....and all my plots were toast when I got started. So I nuked everything and started with a fresh piece of land.....10 acres worth in various plots. I FINALLY bought the drill in August last year.....and it felt like a leap of faith going full bore into regenerative ag. Last years planting went well.....and then we got good rains each week.....so I had a pretty good start.....tho my brasica didn't amount to much due to my late start.

This spring the rye and clover came in like gangbusters.....and I planted the GC summer release in late June and terminated (roller crimped) my Rye in early July. Timely rains came almost all summer long. I planted some brasica in July and again in late August along with winter rye and more brassica and clover. I put ALLOT of seed in the ground over this period.....but its all very well established now. Gratifying. I think I am done with fertilizer and I KNOW I am done with large scale tillage.

Not sure what I will do with all the extra time I will have going forward. <-----a nice problem to have.

 

[Foggy47]

I've been very lucky with weather since starting on my no-till journey last August. Prior to August....I had a drought....and all my plots were toast when I got started. So I nuked everything and started with a fresh piece of land.....10 acres worth in various plots. I FINALLY bought the drill in August last year.....and it felt like a leap of faith going full bore into regenerative ag. Last years planting went well.....and then we got good rains each week.....so I had a pretty good start.....tho my brasica didn't amount to much due to my late start.

This spring the rye and clover came in like gangbusters.....and I planted the GC summer release in late June and terminated (roller crimped) my Rye in early July. Timely rains came almost all summer long. I planted some brasica in July and again in late August along with winter rye and more brassica and clover. I put ALLOT of seed in the ground over this period.....but its all very well established now. Gratifying. I think I am done with fertilizer and I KNOW I am done with large scale tillage.

Not sure what I will do with all the extra time I will have going forward. <-----a nice problem to have.

EDIT: I apologize C&C. I really started to post about a small throw and mow plot I am doing.....which is before I posted most of those "green" pics. The green pics are all drilled plots.....and this thread is meant to be throw and mow. I got carried away. My bad.

 

[Crimson n' Camo]

It's all good......The principles of soil health and regen ag is really the main theme anyways.....

 

[35-acre]

OH....and while I'm at it .....here are some pics of the nearby plots I have now. About 8 acres of this stuff. Pretty dry here....but these plots are THRIVING. Good feeling to defeat a drought. The plots shown were drilled in with my Tar River Saya.....and I am overwhelmed with how nice these plots are doing. View attachment 45969View attachment 45970View attachment 45969View attachment 45970View attachment 45971View attachment 45972View attachment 45973

What's the taller plants in your pics?

 

[Foggy47]

What's the taller plants in your pics?

Came from my mix of Green Cover's Summer Release I planted in late June. I believe Ii's Sorghum / Sudan Grass (or is it sun hemp?? - I am not positive??). I have ran my drill over this stuff and have mowed some with my flail mower when mowing broadleaves. Still it has rebounded and has grown quite well. Seems to pop right up after the drill runs it down. I hope it will grow another foot or so......as it provides some security to the deer via vertical cover. I dont think it provides much for food as It does not have any seed heads.....tho I think it will provide some bio mass and fertilizing value as it decomposes.

 

[Garrett S]

Came from my mix of Green Cover's Summer Release I planted in late June. I believe Ii's Sorghum / Sudan Grass (or is it sun hemp?? - I am not positive??). I have ran my drill over this stuff and have mowed some with my flail mower when mowing broadleaves. Still it has rebounded and has grown quite well. Seems to pop right up after the drill runs it down. I hope it will grow another foot or so......as it provides some security to the deer via vertical cover. I dont think it provides much for food as It does not have any seed heads.....tho I think it will provide some bio mass and fertilizing value as it decomposes.

Mine looks nearly identical and those taller plants had seed heads (millet like) that get hammered after a day or two of seeding out.

 

[omicron1792]

Mine looks nearly identical and those taller plants had seed heads (millet like) that get hammered after a day or two of seeding out.

Mine also. Eventually they form seed heads, although I think they are sterile

 

[SD51555]

I think I am done with fertilizer and I KNOW I am done with large scale tillage.

Not sure what I will do with all the extra time I will have going forward. <-----a nice problem to have.

Wherever you've got good looking diverse plantings, and you plan to keep them green and continue diverse as you transition from crop to crop, I wouldn't fling another pellet ever again. I might run a full soil test once every 5 years to check pH and mineral balance. We can use that time figuring out how to get your flailing rig up to my place for throw and mow weekend, or maybe we skip the mow and drill right into my stuff and I'll do the chex mix crimp with my packer.

 

[35-acre]

Came from my mix of Green Cover's Summer Release I planted in late June. I believe Ii's Sorghum / Sudan Grass (or is it sun hemp?? - I am not positive??). I have ran my drill over this stuff and have mowed some with my flail mower when mowing broadleaves. Still it has rebounded and has grown quite well. Seems to pop right up after the drill runs it down. I hope it will grow another foot or so......as it provides some security to the deer via vertical cover. I dont think it provides much for food as It does not have any seed heads.....tho I think it will provide some bio mass and fertilizing value as it decomposes.

Thanks. I have something that looks VERY close to that too. I had planted an Egyptian Wheat one year as an attempt to screen part of my plot and I wasn't sure if what I have growing now is volunteer seed from that or just a weed.

 

[BenAllgood]

Came from my mix of Green Cover's Summer Release I planted in late June. I believe Ii's Sorghum / Sudan Grass (or is it sun hemp?? - I am not positive??). I have ran my drill over this stuff and have mowed some with my flail mower when mowing broadleaves. Still it has rebounded and has grown quite well. Seems to pop right up after the drill runs it down. I hope it will grow another foot or so......as it provides some security to the deer via vertical cover. I dont think it provides much for food as It does not have any seed heads.....tho I think it will provide some bio mass and fertilizing value as it decomposes.

These are the seeds in that mix:

Hubam Sweet Clover, Sunn Hemp, Red Ripper Cowpeas, Mung Beans, Guar Beans, 5518 Soybeans, Grain Sorghum, Impact Forage Collards, Black Oil Sunflowers, Baldy Spineless Safflower, Mancan Buckwheat, Clemson Spineless 80 Okra

 

[Foggy47]

These are the seeds in that mix:

Hubam Sweet Clover, Sunn Hemp, Red Ripper Cowpeas, Mung Beans, Guar Beans, 5518 Soybeans, Grain Sorghum, Impact Forage Collards, Black Oil Sunflowers, Baldy Spineless Safflower, Mancan Buckwheat, Clemson Spineless 80 Okra

Yep.....and I found it strange how long it took for some of those varieties to establish themselves. I planted that mix in late June.....into my standing 4 foot tall cereal rye. I then terminated the rye via roller crimping in early July. I would have liked to let it stand a bit longer as it was not even close to the boot stage......but I felt it may curtail the summer release crops so I terminated it.

I actually thought this planting was pretty much a loss.....as many of those varieties showed little growth over July and August. But lately......those varieties seem to have come on like gangbusters......along with additional planting of rye and clover planted in late August. Kinda surprised me.......and I am now digesting what I want to try next summer........or if I just let the rye reach the dough stage before terminating. Possibly just some sunn hemp and some sorgum in July? Dunno yet.

 

[SD51555]

Yep.....and I found it strange how long it took for some of those varieties to establish themselves. I planted that mix in late June.....into my standing 4 foot tall cereal rye. I then terminated the rye via roller crimping in early July. I would have liked to let it stand a bit longer as it was not even close to the boot stage......but I felt it may curtail the summer release crops so I terminated it.

I actually thought this planting was pretty much a loss.....as many of those varieties showed little growth over July and August. But lately......those varieties seem to have come on like gangbusters......along with additional planting of rye and clover planted in late August. Kinda surprised me.......and I am now digesting what I want to try next summer........or if I just let the rye reach the dough stage before terminating. Possibly just some sunn hemp and some sorgum in July? Dunno yet.

It'd be neat to see what a bunch of acres of WGF sorghum would do in your area. A small plot of it doesn't seem to go the distance once deer figure it out. But I wonder if that wouldn't be more coon and bear resistant than corn, and if big acres couldn't get it to endure into November. It would certainly double up your duff yield and make that sand about bullet proof into next season.

grass - WGF
grass - Awnless spring barley
grass - Rye
grass - Japanese millet
legume - Balansa clover
legume - White sweet clover
legume - Cowpeas
broadleaf - Chicory
broadleaf - Sunflowers
broadleaf - Baldy safflower
broadleaf - acorn squash
brassica - Collards

We could call that the FSD Ultimate Big Buck Buffet. If you could get all that to play together, it'd feed into December. Probably gotta get it drilled by June 20th and roll it July 5th to get the squash done on time.

Just an idea.

 

[scott from ithaca]

I've been very lucky with weather since starting on my no-till journey last August. Prior to August....I had a drought....and all my plots were toast when I got started. So I nuked everything and started with a fresh piece of land.....10 acres worth in various plots. I FINALLY bought the drill in August last year.....and it felt like a leap of faith going full bore into regenerative ag. Last years planting went well.....and then we got good rains each week.....so I had a pretty good start.....tho my brasica didn't amount to much due to my late start.

This spring the rye and clover came in like gangbusters.....and I planted the GC summer release in late June and terminated (roller crimped) my Rye in early July. Timely rains came almost all summer long. I planted some brasica in July and again in late August along with winter rye and more brassica and clover. I put ALLOT of seed in the ground over this period.....but its all very well established now. Gratifying. I think I am done with fertilizer and I KNOW I am done with large scale tillage.

Not sure what I will do with all the extra time I will have going forward. <-----a nice problem to have.

Hello - I've just joined the forum, and I've also just become an avid deer hunter. Well, I started three years ago at age 72. With what free time I have, I've steadily immersed myself in food plotting and hunting knowledge. Sadly, I've lived in great deer country (finger lakes of upstate NY) and never hunted. So, you might say that I'm cramming for finals. I've listened to a zillion podcasts whilst splitting wood and other chores around here and I've been impressed with Jason Snavely's regenerative ag themes. However, I don't have a drill and my plots are not that big, so what I'm wondering is "what exactly is throw and mow"? Once you get a plot established (I've done that) can I now, in the fall, just broadcast seed into it and mow over it before a rain? Is that enough to get germination for clover and brassicas?

Any thoghts much appreciated. I'm grateful this forum exists.

 

[omicron1792]

Welcome!

All your questions are answered in this thread.

Take a soil test. Fertilize and lime as you can. Throw a diverse seed mix and mow. Rinse and repeat.

 

[Foggy47]

Hello - I've just joined the forum, and I've also just become an avid deer hunter. Well, I started three years ago at age 72. With what free time I have, I've steadily immersed myself in food plotting and hunting knowledge. Sadly, I've lived in great deer country (finger lakes of upstate NY) and never hunted. So, you might say that I'm cramming for finals. I've listened to a zillion podcasts whilst splitting wood and other chores around here and I've been impressed with Jason Snavely's regenerative ag themes. However, I don't have a drill and my plots are not that big, so what I'm wondering is "what exactly is throw and mow"? Once you get a plot established (I've done that) can I now, in the fall, just broadcast seed into it and mow over it before a rain? Is that enough to get germination for clover and brassicas?

Any thoghts much appreciated. I'm grateful this forum exists.

In a nutshell that is exactly what throw and mow is. Broadcast your seed and then mow over it to give it some cover and hopefully a bit of moisture retention. Also the mowing helps get the seed to settle down to the ground so it can germinate and take root.

You may need to control some weeds as well (?) and having something to pack your seeds might be helpful too.....but lots of guys here do a throw and mow plating as you say.

 

[Catscratch]

It's been hot and dry lately. Lots of rain around us. I was in downpours 3 days in a row at work... 6 miles away our place didn't get a drop. Makes TnM difficult.

Soooo.... I tried a new one for me and soaked some seed before putting it out. Figured overnight would be about right. Next morning the seeds had swelled, the bucket were overflowing and split! Lol.

Went ahead and broadcast then mowed. Chances of cooler weather and maybe rain this week. We'll see.

 

[Catscratch]

I did plant some pumpkin at the base of trees I've been watering.

 

[Catscratch]

And since it's been a couple of yrs since i planted pumpkins (needed to break a squashbug cycle) I threw some kids out into a plot with a pickaxe (needed to break the baked crust) and a hundred seeds or so. The kids did good!

 

[PatinPA]

It's been hot and dry lately. Lots of rain around us. I was in downpours 3 days in a row at work... 6 miles away our place didn't get a drop. Makes TnM difficult.

Soooo.... I tried a new one for me and soaked some seed before putting it out. Figured overnight would be about right. Next morning the seeds had swelled, the bucket were overflowing and split! Lol.

Went ahead and broadcast then mowed. Chances of cooler weather and maybe rain this week. We'll see.View attachment 54057View attachment 54058View attachment 54059View attachment 54060View attachment 54061View attachment 54062

How do the pinto beans work out for you? I've never even heard of that. Do you get much germination using TNM? I like the outside the box thinking

 

[Catscratch]

How do the pinto beans work out for you? I've never even heard of that. Do you get much germination using TNM? I like the outside the box thinking

They (pinto and other food grade beans/peas) work as well as soybeans for me. No real issues getting the larger seeds to germinate if I get some rain.