Throw and Mow ?

[Deernut3]

How many have done this and how did it turn out? I prefer to disc my plots but due to severe time constraints I had to broadcast and mow a couple of them. I pretty much cleaned out all the seed I had left Rye grass, Abruzzi rye, Daikon radish, Inoculated red clover and a bit of Turnips. With the rain thats coming I couldn't stand to see that seed sit in the shed.

 

[GeorgeShu]

After two years of minimum tillage, one light trip with the harrows, I decided to just do throw and mow on all my plots this year. I had done it for several years top seeding on my Durant plot and it worked just fine. I planted 16 days ago expecting rain, waited a week and got 1.8 inches from a big thunderstorm, nothing since. Checked plots on Sunday and fine germination on grains, greens and radishes. Clovers take a little longer to emerge. Also spread fertilizer two days after planting.
Hope to go look at them tomorrow, if so I will post some pics.

 

[1gr8bldr]

If you have good soil, as I do, I had to turn because I would never get my seed near the ground. If your soil is poor, it should fall through since it will be thin. I had good results on 2 small plots last year. Heavy thatch is good to hold the seed in place. To thin and a bush hog can blow the seeds into piles.... and to much rain can float the seeds into clumps. In the future, I will mow mine about 15 + inches high, seed, then mow again lower so that the seed has a chance of getting through.

 

[GeorgeShu]

The amount of vegetative matter on a plot is an issue. It can depend on soil quality but that is not all. Biggest factor is what is/was growing on the plot prior to seeding and how that growth was managed. If there was a summer plot or even a fallow plot that produced a bunch of vegetation that was still green and lush at overseeding I guess it’s possible some of the new seeds could get hung up but bush hogging should shake them out and allow them to reach the soil or thatch bed and germinate.
You can manage the vegetation by mowing earlier at an intermediate level and allowing the cut material to dry down and or get pushed down by rain to the thatch bed. One could also kill the growth with Glypho and allow it to stand and dry down, dropping leaves etc. as preparation for seeding, then mow down closer to the ground.
If there is little vegetative matter in the plot then problems of runoff moving seeds can be an issue. In that case using a rake or light drag or even a narrow at a very shallow draft to scuff the surface may be of help. This would not exactly be a “throw and mow” operation but more an overseeding.
There are issues with any technique, do the best you can with what you got.
I choose to go with the throw and grow method as I believe it provides for better soil health than with typical tillage. If you want to learn more about that view the vids in the sticky above. It is also a time saver and reduces tractor trips and costs.
Good luck how ever you chose to operate, it’s all good.

 

[Deernut3]

Those plots had been mowed about two months ago so they were not really thickly vegetated, I guess we'll see how they do.
I wish posting pics with a phone was a little easier, I have to e-mail it to myself, open it in paint, resize and then post.

 

[GeorgeShu]

Here are some pics from some of my throw and mow plots as well as an overseeding and mow in my Durana plot. In one of the pics the previous crop was buckwheat and was thrown and mowed into the remains of last year's fall plot. Other pics are of plots in which the summer growth was from Alyse Clover. I did not kill any of these plots except for the Durana plot that was sprayed with Cleth and 24dB. Much of the Alyce clover is still living and making food for both the deer and nitrogen for the coming crop. There is various amounts of thatch in each plot. I got pretty good germination on the wheat and rye grain, waiting for more rain to see about the radishes, greens and clovers.

 

[BCPbuckhunter]

Here are some pics from some of my throw and mow plots as well as an overseeding and mow in my Durana plot. In one of the pics the previous crop was buckwheat and was thrown and mowed into the remains of last year's fall plot. Other pics are of plots in which the summer growth was from Alyse Clover. I did not kill any of these plots except for the Durana plot that was sprayed with Cleth and 24dB. Much of the Alyce clover is still living and making food for both the deer and nitrogen for the coming crop. There is various amounts of thatch in each plot. I got pretty good germination on the wheat and rye grain, waiting for more rain to see about the radishes, greens and clovers.
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Can't beat that George. I left a lot of my alyce clover standing as well and it is putting on good seed head. I broadcast some medium red and crimson int them to see if I can get decent germination from this rain. If not I will wait another couple weeks and put more medium red and crimson on them and mow it down. I want to see how good of germination of the free alyce clover I get from it next year. I have had some alyce come up where I didn't plant it this year so I am experimenting.