11 days to a successful lawnmower plot

[Native Hunter]

The necessary ingredients=
A good kill on existing vegetation
The correct amount of thatch
A great amount of rain
The right amount and mix of seed
Developing your technique via practice

My mix = wheat, oats, buckwheat, rape, red clover, ladino clover, radish, chicory

 

[KSQ2]

Looks great! Too bad you have to have that “great amount of rain”. Nothing in my outdoor experience is more frustrating than putting in all the work and getting very little results because the sky will NOT open up. I can’t imagine what farmers feel like.

 

[Native Hunter]

Looks great! Too bad you have to have that “great amount of rain”. Nothing in my outdoor experience is more frustrating than putting in all the work and getting very little results because the sky will NOT open up. I can’t imagine what farmers feel like.

Notice that in getting these results that I defied conventional wisdom and planted a month too early for fall plots. The reason I did that was because the rain forecast was a slam dunk. I could have possibly waited a month and been okay, but there is also a chance that we could be in a terrible drought by then. Droughts at that time of the year are becoming common here.

 

[T-Max]

I held off on planting mine since the forecast has been 0% chance for at least a week. Well, it has rained 3 out of the last 5 days… .35”, .40”, and .55” so far tonight. I keep telling myself it will be better soil moisture when I do plant. Great looking start, Native!


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[KSQ2]

Looks like it’s gonna fizzle before it gets to us.

 

[jlane35]

Did you order your wheat last year? We have been getting great rain but my seed delivery hasn’t happened yet because the company doesn’t have rye yet. And I don’t get wheat anymore because they don’t get wheat seed until later into the Fall.

 

[Native Hunter]

Did you order your wheat last year? We have been getting great rain but my seed delivery hasn’t happened yet because the company doesn’t have rye yet. And I don’t get wheat anymore because they don’t get wheat seed until later into the Fall.

I have two great local places for getting seed. One of them keeps extra wheat and will have it from last year. The other one will call the place their supplies come from and get what you want in the next delivery truck. My buckwheat seed came in the next day after I told them I wanted it, and they don’t charge extra for shipping. It was even a tad cheaper than I was seeing it advertised on the Internet. And, if I had ordered from the Internet, I would have had to pay for shipping too.

 

[jlane35]

Damn!!

I’m ordering through Kings Agriseed but you can’t do it direct. It needs to go through a vendor. Great product and I have no issues besides not getting wheat for fall planting.

I also order enough between myself and my friend that it only costs around 100 dollars to have a pallet dropped off at our business.

 

[Native Hunter]

Damn!!

I’m ordering through Kings Agriseed but you can’t do it direct. It needs to go through a vendor. Great product and I have no issues besides not getting wheat for fall planting.

I also order enough between myself and my friend that it only costs around 100 dollars to have a pallet dropped off at our business.

There was a heavy item I wanted a couple of months ago and I was in no hurry for it. I asked the local Tractor Supply if they would get it on one of their regular deliveries and not charge shipping. They said NO. It would be like $200 for shipping. I went to one of the other places I told you about and they got it $20 cheaper on regular price and no shipping cost. It pays to have good local people who aren’t tied by corporate strings.

 

[T-Max]

We went to tractor supply to buy a pallet of protein pellets for the cattle once and they only had like 3 bags in stock. We went to the service desk with an associate and they ordered a pallet for us. The shipping was over $200! For a normal item they normally stock. He just looked at us with the blankest stare... Needless to say we waited until the next week when their normal shipment came in and bought a pallet. Dumb....

 

[Native Hunter]

We went to tractor supply to buy a pallet of protein pellets for the cattle once and they only had like 3 bags in stock. We went to the service desk with an associate and they ordered a pallet for us. The shipping was over $200! For a normal item they normally stock. He just looked at us with the blankest stare... Needless to say we waited until the next week when their normal shipment came in and bought a pallet. Dumb....

On the item I wanted, they wouldn't even drop the shipping cost with me willing to wait for it to come at their convenience. By going to the other place I saved $220.

 

[Drycreek]

I only go to TSC if the item I need is not available anywhere else. I haven’t liked them in a log time. Customer service is nonexistent.

Well, I meant to comment on how you have the makings of an excellent food plot about two months earlier than I will be able to, but you got me stirred up talking about TSC ! That’s ok though, as we have had copious amounts of rain in July, which is unheard of, and my spring plots are still going strong.

I too, use my local feed store whenever I can, he even gives me free caps !

 

[jlane35]

I’m going to start holding seed for the following year.

I just checked and Green Cover doesn’t have any Rye either. We are getting pounded with rain and I feel like I’m missing out.

I’m seeing if King’s has the triticale I ordered in stock so I can at least start doing half my plots.

I’m only 13 days before my 8 weeks to first frost date.

 

[Cedar Ridge]

Native. We’ve been getting a ton of rain at my farm also. I would love to have my Fall plots in but I’m afraid of my wheat getting too mature. Is that not a concern for you? Also, do you mind sharing the seed per acre you used for your blend?

 

[Native Hunter]

Native. We’ve been getting a ton of rain at my farm also. I would love to have my Fall plots in but I’m afraid of my wheat getting too mature. Is that not a concern for you? Also, do you mind sharing the seed per acre you used for your blend?

Hello Cedar Ridge. Good to hear from you. I do have a minor concern about the wheat getting too mature but no concern with the oats. If they do slow down on eating the wheat, they will pick back up on it in the late winter when it gets really cold.

I have a greater concern of getting a severe fall drought when it comes the proper time to plant. That has been happening a lot the last few years. I would rather have wheat too mature than no wheat at all. In two recent years, it got so dry that my plots planted at the “correct time” didn’t come up until the following spring.

I will also mention that I will only do this early planting if the extended rain forecast is a slam dunk. Otherwise, I will wait until early to mid September and take my chances.

Shown below is a rough estimate per acre of the plots shown above:

wheat 20 lb
oats. 20 lb
buckwheat 20 lb
rape 1 lb
red clover 8 lb
ladino clover 5 lb
radish 1 lb
chicory 1.5 lb

In another plot I did a few days later, I used a bob mix and added some grains to it. I haven’t posted pics of that one yet, because it is just now germinating. Will hopefully post pics of it in a few days. It won’t look as good as the above ones, because I only had a tiny amount of buckwheat in it.

 

[Cedar Ridge]

Thanks, Native.

Really appreciate your insight. I've had the same issues you've had the last few Falls in that Mother Nature left me high and dry when I planted at the "right" time and it severely limited the amount of groceries I had hoped to be able to provide for the critters over the Winter. I've been watching you plant some of your plots early for these same reasons but I was considering "early" to be late Aug / Memorial Day. It wouldn't have occurred to me to plant this early even with all of the rain that we've been seeing. This is one of the reasons I try to keep an eye on what you're doing.

This is the first year I've ever fully committed to planting Summer plots and my fields are currently loaded with either 4' tall buckwheat (the soybeans / cow peas I mixed in were wiped out early) or a mixture of that same buckwheat and the thickest grain sorghum I could have imagined. I've honestly been trying to figure out where to go from here since the buckwheat is now going to seed and the grain sorghum will be maturing probably about the time I would normally have been planting my Fall mix. I never dreamed we would get this much rain over the Summer so I wasn't quite prepared for how I would proceed if we did.

Been kind of thinking about either mowing or disking in the buckwheat to see what kind of second stand I would get from it and then broadcasting my Fall mix in ahead of a rain some time in late August. As for the fields that are heavy with grain sorghum, was thinking about leaving wide borders of it so the deer can take advantage of all the grain it's produced and then mowing it down some in the center of the field and planting my fall mix inside that "jungle". I definitely went heavier than I should have on the grain sorghum but, again, I never dreamed we'd have all the moisture we've gotten this Summer. Feast or famine I suppose.

I will definitely continue following along on this one as I'm very interested to see how things progress for you. Dang sure looking good so far. Again, thanks for always sharing the things that you're doing and for being so willing to help the rest of us along when questions come up.

 

[Native Hunter]

Thanks, Native.

Really appreciate your insight. I've had the same issues you've had the last few Falls in that Mother Nature left me high and dry when I planted at the "right" time and it severely limited the amount of groceries I had hoped to be able to provide for the critters over the Winter. I've been watching you plant some of your plots early for these same reasons but I was considering "early" to be late Aug / Memorial Day. It wouldn't have occurred to me to plant this early even with all of the rain that we've been seeing. This is one of the reasons I try to keep an eye on what you're doing.

This is the first year I've ever fully committed to planting Summer plots and my fields are currently loaded with either 4' tall buckwheat (the soybeans / cow peas I mixed in were wiped out early) or a mixture of that same buckwheat and the thickest grain sorghum I could have imagined. I've honestly been trying to figure out where to go from here since the buckwheat is now going to seed and the grain sorghum will be maturing probably about the time I would normally have been planting my Fall mix. I never dreamed we would get this much rain over the Summer so I wasn't quite prepared for how I would proceed if we did.

Been kind of thinking about either mowing or disking in the buckwheat to see what kind of second stand I would get from it and then broadcasting my Fall mix in ahead of a rain some time in late August. As for the fields that are heavy with grain sorghum, was thinking about leaving wide borders of it so the deer can take advantage of all the grain it's produced and then mowing it down some in the center of the field and planting my fall mix inside that "jungle". I definitely went heavier than I should have on the grain sorghum but, again, I never dreamed we'd have all the moisture we've gotten this Summer. Feast or famine I suppose.

I will definitely continue following along on this one as I'm very interested to see how things progress for you. Dang sure looking good so far. Again, thanks for always sharing the things that you're doing and for being so willing to help the rest of us along when questions come up.

I like your idea of a plot inside the "jungle." My plots that get used the most in daylight are those where deer can make two jumps and be immersed in NWSGs that are 7+ feet tall. Good luck and stay in touch.

 

[dogghr]

Great summation of plot planting. I too planted earlier because of rain coming in. They germinated few days after rain so was worth my while
I also buy all my seed from local feed store. Some prices haven’t changed in 5 years according to my records that I keep.

TnM is very dependent on moisture and right amount of thatch. Too much thatch is almost worse than none.
My planting mix is very close to yours except my grains are overseeded mid Oct to Mid Nov after plot is browsed. Grains are not nearly as moisture dependent as other seed.
Whatever the reason , weather changes have restructured our planting times.

You did fail to mention your 20ft of soil!!! But we shan’t quibble over that vs my shallows!
Good stuff


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[Native Hunter]

Great summation of plot planting. I too planted earlier because of rain coming in. They germinated few days after rain so was worth my while
I also buy all my seed from local feed store. Some prices haven’t changed in 5 years according to my records that I keep.

TnM is very dependent on moisture and right amount of thatch. Too much thatch is almost worse than none.
My planting mix is very close to yours except my grains are overseeded mid Oct to Mid Nov after plot is browsed. Grains are not nearly as moisture dependent as other seed.
Whatever the reason , weather changes have restructured our planting times.

You did fail to mention your 20ft of soil!!! But we shan’t quibble over that vs my shallows!
Good stuff


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Good to hear from you Old Timer! You can't have any of my topsoil!

 

[Native Hunter]

This is an update. Pics taken yesterday.

Buckwheat is being grazed hard. I estimate 25% of tops already eaten.

Other species are slowly coming up under the buckwheat very well.

We have turned dry. The buckwheat is helping to shade the other stuff coming up from the hot sun. This is a great benefit in holding moisture. More rain forecasted in a few days.