Neat No Till Experiment..

[LET EM GROW]

I help run a Poor Mans No Till Food plot page on the Facebook.. So i thought id share here since a couple people have tried using no till broadcast methods.  We did a trial last year on our no till page in planter pots, about spray on exposed seeds, and thatch covered seeds etc. People were saying they were getting terrible results with trying no till practices. And we were getting baffled on how.. As long as moisture is present now and in the future. It works in most all soils..

We learned if you put too much spray down at once, it will begin the germination process, but also sucks the gly/chemical into the new sprout and kills it.. By keeping the spray to a mist(like normal) you should be golden. Not giving the seed enough water to pop.  Luckily the dead matter in no till practice covers the seed and protects them well..

People along with Jeff Sturgis say you can spray the seed and it wont effect it. Well in reality it doesnt, but if you apply too much it sure does, due to enough moisture from water chemical mix.. the seed starts doing its thing and your left with a lower germination rate.. 

Cell 1 Thrived

Cell 2 Had basically zero germination

Cell 3 Had near great germination but slightly less than cell 1

Cell 4 Had great germination like cell 1

Cell 5 had a slightly lower germination rate but plenty good for food plotting.

Cell 6 as you expect grew as it should.. 

I cant seem to find the result photo.  

But kinda neat, thought id share...   

 

I know some people try to avoid using spray and with the right practices and seed blends while using these methods it can be achieved. But you have to be dedicated to the plot and results as well, and keep planting seasons rotating... 

[Five Seasons]

interesting stuff. I never tried a no till, but did some very small plots years ago with hand tools. I would wonder if one of the limiting factors isn't the tilling but the soil itself. With how important soil tests are with traditional plots, are they not equally important for no till? I would wonder too if no till plots are even more likely to be guys not investing in sampling and fert. 

[LET EM GROW]

On 7/29/2022 at 11:29 AM, Belo said:

interesting stuff. I never tried a no till, but did some very small plots years ago with hand tools. I would wonder if one of the limiting factors isn't the tilling but the soil itself. With how important soil tests are with traditional plots, are they not equally important for no till? I would wonder too if no till plots are even more likely to be guys not investing in sampling and fert. 

Its still just as important. Soil tests are a must if you want top notch results. and If you have the funds and time to do as they require you to, to get your soil up to par. I don't and I'm cheap so lol. Strictly planting no till, and using good seed BLENDS you will create Organic matter fast and that is natural fertilizer and works in place of fert. Your also not destroying the biology and livingness in the soil when you till soil. 

Seed blends with bulbs, grains, annual clovers and such will produce phenomenal soil in a quick matter of time. Roll it down over top of your new seed and spray with gly.. or crimp if you can time it right.  

[Robhuntandfish]

I watched an episode of mossy oak gamekeepers about this and then also some utube videos after.  I am going to try this on a couple of spots this season. I mowed this weekend, then going to wait two weeks, seed over the areas i want plotted, then mow again.  They say the seed will filter down and the two weeks worth of mowing will act as a thatch and keep in the moisture. I like this plan a lot better than trying to til with the equipment we have.  

27 minutes ago, LET EM GROW said:

Its still just as important. Soil tests are a must if you want top notch results. and If you have the funds and time to do as they require you to, to get your soil up to par. I don't and I'm cheap so lol. Strictly planting no till, and using good seed BLENDS you will create Organic matter fast and that is natural fertilizer and works in place of fert. Your also not destroying the biology and livingness in the soil when you till soil. 

Seed blends with bulbs, grains, annual clovers and such will produce phenomenal soil in a quick matter of time. Roll it down over top of your new seed and spray with gly.. or crimp if you can time it right.  

 

Edited August 1, 2022 by Robhuntandfish

[LET EM GROW]

36 minutes ago, Robhuntandfish said:

I watched an episode of mossy oak gamekeepers about this and then also some utube videos after.  I am going to try this on a couple of spots this season. I mowed this weekend, then going to wait two weeks, seed over the areas i want plotted, then mow again.  They say the seed will filter down and the two weeks worth of mowing will act as a thatch and keep in the moisture. I like this plan a lot better than trying to til with the equipment we have.  

 

IT works great, but spray is a must or your vegetation will come back and take over your plot. :/ But otherwise yes it will work. If you get the right seed blends in the dirt you can do this without spray. Whether mowing it down or rolling/crimping it.. 

[Robhuntandfish]

8 minutes ago, LET EM GROW said:

IT works great, but spray is a must or your vegetation will come back and take over your plot. :/ But otherwise yes it will work. If you get the right seed blends in the dirt you can do this without spray. Whether mowing it down or rolling/crimping it.. 

unfortunetly spray isnt an option there. So trying to come up with a good plan.  Our best success so far is frost seeding clover so we will continue with that.  And last year the spot that didnt get flooded out grew in nicely from tilling, but our way of tilling is just too much work. Either have to come up with a better way or better equipment.  

Edited August 1, 2022 by Robhuntandfish

[Five Seasons]

can you do a backpack spray? It really doesn't take much gly for small plots to make a big impact.

[Nomad]

The farm does a lot of no till beans , I plan to kill some deer in them each year .

[LET EM GROW]

1 hour ago, Robhuntandfish said:

unfortunetly spray isnt an option there. So trying to come up with a good plan.  Our best success so far is frost seeding clover so we will continue with that.  And last year the spot that didnt get flooded out grew in nicely from tilling, but our way of tilling is just too much work. Either have to come up with a better way or better equipment.  

If your trying to establish fall plots, you'll have to start with adding a Rye or Wheat to your fall plots.. When these grow back in the spring time.. You'll want to seed into these plots in early-mid  June, then mow them down over the freshly spread seeds. Here is where you'd want to spread buckwheat as your summer crop. You'd then after 6 weeks or so, want to spread your fall blend into it and to terminate that with a mower or roller(isnt 100% without GLY) after you spread your fall seeds into it. This is the type of rotation you'd have to get into to eliminate spray and tilling. And without a total kill off you'll combat some weeds with every planting. but if you can time your rains and your seeds as they mature to terminate for your next planting. you can make it work if mother nature does her part.  Or stick with a heavy till each time. You can get cheaper used small farm cultivators on craigslist or estate sales. Or invest into a decent atv drag of some sort and if you till once, till again in a couple weeks, and again a couple weeks later you can stay ahead of weeds.. but its really not good in terms of soil health.