I'd go for it, I usually do not plant my cereal grains here in MI until now. Maybe add some radishes with the grains, good luck!
kabic, I think you would have much better success spraying gly and then seeding.
If you have 3' tall stuff maybe cut it in half broadcast and then mow it short that way you won't have too much on top of the seed, just a thought. I've rolled tall stuff down and had lots of thatch, it did work out but it took quite a bit longer.Ok, I am going to go for it. I just ordered two 4.5# bags of the Greens & Grains from Grandpa Ray. It will be here in a couple of days. I figure I don't really have much to lose since the plot is trash right now anyway.
I walked the area some today when I ran home for lunch. It is thick. I have two areas of concern to be honest. 1) In the broadcast of the seed, will it even ever reach the ground. 2) Is just what you said, the thatch being so thick that the seed never germinates.If you have 3' tall stuff maybe cut it in half broadcast and then mow it short that way you won't have too much on top of the seed, just a thought. I've rolled tall stuff down and had lots of thatch, it did work out but it took quite a bit longer.
Sure did.bueller, did you spray, broadcast and drag all on the same day?
Sure did.
I find that I get much coverage and therefore a better kill when I spray without mowing. PLUS I can do it all in a matter of a couple hours. Mowing and spraying in the same day is not likely to give you an excellent kill as some of your target weeds/grass will be sheltered by the cut stuff. And some of your targets plants will likely survive a mowing shortly after a spray because the plant has yet to uptake the chemical enough. Mowing and spraying a couple weeks later will give you a great kill.Looks awesome. Still learning here so I have another question. Why spray, spread, and roll versus mow, spread, and roll? I'm trying to learn the ins and outs of both methods and which would be best for me next year.
Yeah, I worded that in the wrong order. I meant to have mow after spread. I was basically wondering why some people don't spray and just mow where some spray and don't mow.
If my plot was last years plot of WR, oats, clover, etc, would that need to be sprayed or could one spread and mow in that case? I can see spraying for sure if the plot had weeds and grass to get rid of.
The only time I spray my cereal grains is if there is a lot of grasses creeping in otherwise I broadcast and roll the grains down, you could broadcast and mow.Yeah, I worded that in the wrong order. I meant to have mow after spread. I was basically wondering why some people don't spray and just mow where some spray and don't mow.
If my plot was last years plot of WR, oats, clover, etc, would that need to be sprayed or could one spread and mow in that case? I can see spraying for sure if the plot had weeds and grass to get rid of.
I'm trying a variation of this method this year on a plot I was hoping to use a more "traditional" approach. This plot was planted a couple of years ago with limited success and not touched since then. I sprayed the plot in April, it was tilled shallowly in mid/late May and broadcast + cultipacked RR soybeans on Memorial Day weekend. Life got in the way and I never made it back to do any follow up spraying. Well we made it down to the cabin this weekend and a "bean plot" not quite what I found...
There were soybeans mixed in with all the other stuff, but the grasses took over and browsing was pretty evident.
The original plan was to spread fertilizer, lightly disk it in, and then broadcast+cultipack a brassica blend. I did not have the time available to turn that plot over with the equipment I have at my disposal, so I changed plans. I broadcast the fertilizer, then the brassica seed, sprayed with gly, and cultipacked it. Now I'm in a wait and see mode. I'm pretty sure that my planting method should be sound enough, just hope I can get some help from the weather. I am a bit concerned about being too light on the seed and getting it spread evenly. First time spreading brassicas with the tow behind spreader and it took a bit of trial and error to get it coming out of it at a not too slow or fast rate. The plot is roughly 3/4 acre and I spread 5# of seed. So, we'll see what it looks like in a month when I head down to do the rye/oat/clover plots...
Here's my sprayer at work making sure he's going the right speed! But I think he liked the cultipacking step better... ;)