flip dirt for clover ?

[Bigeight]

Sprayed a 5 acre area prepping for a perennial clover plot I plan to put in this week. It was a failed bean planting this spring so it was flipped 4 months ago. Had a bunch of grasses coming up in it, which got sprayed last week. Nice and brown now.

I usually turn the top few inches mixing in my fertilizer, put my winter rye down, culdipack, put my clover down, then culdipack again to press the seed into the firm seedbed.

Should I think about skipping those steps?
Just broadcast my fertilizer, rye and clover then culdipack ?
I'm putting down 6-28-28

Wonder if I'm working too hard

 

[Elkaddict]

Personally, I turn it unless there is a tone of bare dirt

 

[MarkDarvin]

Unless your clover and rye won't reach the dirt, I'd just throw it all on and walk away.

 

[Elkaddict]

Around here, birds would eat a significant amount if not compacted into the soil

 

[FL Plotter]

you can spread the rye and fertilizer on top of the thatch. Disc it lightly or deeply....I've never covered rye too deep. Then spread your small seed (clover, chicory, radish, whatever) and cultipack. That puts you at 2 passes over the ground....once to disc. Once to cultipack.

Lots of literature I read says to cultipack before you put down the small seed, then cultipack again after to prevent the small seed from dropping down in the deep disc furrows. The extra pass is just not worth it to me for a food plot.

 

[dogghr]

You don’t say what clovers you are planting. But throw and mow works really well if your soil is up to speed with ph and amendments and if a couple seasons of rotations have been done.
No tillage at my place for last 3+ years and my first throw and mow was done 9 years ago first season of foodplotting my place before it was the rage it is today.
These days I don’t spray, mow previous rotation at 1 ft height couple wks prior, then try to plant when rains coming, throw seed and let nature do what she’s been doing since the beginning of time.
How about an example of WC, chicory, and alfalfa plot? Others have even better examples. Sure is a lot cheaper and easier.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Bigeight]

I will be planting Durana at about 6#/acre. First attempt at Durana and want to give it a fair shake compared to my normal mix...but cant ignore the success other have been having with throw and now methods.

Appreciate the feed back so far !

 

[dogdoc]

I personally would work the fertilizer into the soil. Gets the potash and phosphorus working much much faster since they are so slow to work down into the soil. Sure, you might stimulate some weed seeds by discing but since it’s a cool season planting most native seeds that germinate will die with the first freeze. So if it was me I’d do the shallow discing/tilling like your original plan.

 

[SwampCat]

I had no luck with durana and tnm the only time i tried. I think for a higher rate of success, I would lightly disk to expose bare ground, spread seed, and cultipack. That is what works best on most of my acreage. Your ground may be different. On my ground - clover is the hardest plant to establish.

 

[MK111]

I would turn it to. Throw and grow doesn't work on my farm. 30-40 turkeys in a flock moves in and eats all the seeds. The turkeys doesn't seem to hurt the radish-turnip too bad but oats they ate every seed in 1 ac in the amount of 100 lbs.

 

[dogghr]

^^^^ Thats why I mow and leave stubble 12" tall. Deer and turkey hate getting poked by old rye or wheat and gives chance for growth and root formation to occur before stress of browse. In addition the stubble attracts bugs such as grasshoppers that the turkey would much rather eat than a dry seed. I average about 40+ turkey on my place, not including other seed eaters.

 

[CTM1]

you can spread the rye and fertilizer on top of the thatch. Disc it lightly or deeply....I've never covered rye too deep. Then spread your small seed (clover, chicory, radish, whatever) and cultipack. That puts you at 2 passes over the ground....once to disc. Once to cultipack.

Lots of literature I read says to cultipack before you put down the small seed, then cultipack again after to prevent the small seed from dropping down in the deep disc furrows. The extra pass is just not worth it to me for a food plot.

No idea how big your tractor and disc are but for me my 30Hp and 5 foot 3pt disc cannot even flip dead sod etc.

 

[Bigeight]

Appreciate all the replies. I think I'll stick to my normal approach. Till in the fertilizer/make a seed bed. Spread my Rye, culdipack, broadcast my clover, culdipack again.

Thanks again