1gr8bldr
Senior Member
I understand the science behind no till, and believe in it, yet in food plot application, for me, it's just not practical. I know very few who keep a field in the shape needed to run a notill over it. Unless the soil is that poor. So, I have come up with what works best for me. Not that I am arguing with proven science. I just realize that it's not likely that I will buy a notill drill. My food plots grow up head high during the summer. Most my neighbors food plots look like crap. 6 inches high of nothing and you can see the dirt from 30 yards away after setting all summer. My soil is primo. I no longer enjoy plowing it over and over and dealing with the thatch. So I roll it, 1st pass, I disc which smooths, 2nd pass. I drag once, 3rd pass. Then seed, then drag in seed 4th pass. In the past, I spent way to much time passing over and over. And the benefit is, that my soil has the green manure within and after rotting creates water retaining pockets or veins, and promotes deep root growth to survive droughts unlike notill. The best part is that I retain my moisture. I usually plant the same day that I turn it over. This year was problematic because I did not expect to get my tractor fixed, so I had planned on throw and roll. So I sprayed everything but realized it was to thick to ever get the seed through to the ground, so I never sowed it but instead tore into the tractor to find a blown head gasket. At this point, my trash had fell over. Big no no in rolling dirt. As long as it's vertical, it's amazing what I can cover. But once it becomes horizontal, then it will be a pain in the rear. So, I had to add 2 passes with a bush hog to my work load, trying to cut it up as much as possible. Other than a crick in my neck, I love to roll dirt. There is an art to it. Best thing though is driving up to a head high overgrown weed field, and 3 hours later driving away with a planted, beautiful food plot
