No till milo with conventional old JD drill
- Thread starter Brinktown
- Start date
Brinktown
Member
We were short on time. So we planted it without tilling. Our drill is an old JD with single disc openers. We ran it through the tall rye/weeds first in hopes the seed would make it to the soil before we matted down the vegetation. I don’t think any of the seed was actually planted in the soil, but some made it to the surface. Some of the seed was caught in the mat of vegetation.
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Brinktown
Member
We completely overshot the recommended seeding rate by probably 4x. I went back and forth down the strips with the drill until the seed was gone, knowing we weren’t getting the best seed to soil contact. By the end, the rye was matted down. I followed with the cone spreader and 13-13-13. Finally, I ran over the strips with a heavy dose of gly to kill the weeds. Completed all of this on June 9th.
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Brinktown
Member
July 7 we went back to check on the milo and mow the remaining standing rye.
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Brinktown
Member
August 4 we returned to plant brassica mix and checked on the milo. The mat of rye did an excellent job of holding moisture in the soil and preventing weeds. Corn fields across the county had plants curled up from the drought and our milo looked great.
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Brinktown
Member
Mennoniteman
Well-Known Member
You've got some very nice pics of your experiment, and also a beautiful crop of milo. Milo, millet, and sorghum are easy to start, it's too bad that soybeans aren't that easy to seed. And free seed is always a bonus! What is the process to get the seed?
Brinktown
Member
By the end of October, the milo in some of the strips was more than half eaten by the deer. Some strips were 1/3 eaten. It was pretty much wiped out by middle to late November. The strips probably totaled 1.5 acres spread in several plots with relatively high deer density.
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Brinktown
Member
Difficult to see in this photo, but I watched several deer bend over the stalk just below the seed head and strip the seed off.
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Redonthehead
Member
Nice! Thanks for the pictures
Brinktown
Member
Overall things turned out great and we saw first hand the benefits of no till planting. Planning to try a real no till drill for future plots.
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Brinktown
Member
Thanks! We joined the local chapter of quail forever. The chapter receives seed from the national organization and we asked for some. I think you can get beans, corn, milo, mixes
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FarmerD
Active Member
Very nice!! Just a couple of ideas for you to consider. Maybe mount a weed wiper on the bucket of the tractor and use a 50/50 solution of glyphosate and water to kill everything before your planter comes thru. You just can't go real fast, but you don't have to haul much water.
https://www.google.com/search?q=wee...jZThAhXQneAKHZMEDOQQ_AUIDygC&biw=1600&bih=796
The 2nd picture in post #3, if you went with some heavier springs, up front, that would give you more downforce(?). It wouldn't work in my Georgia red clay, but if you have lighter soil, you may get closer to no-till. Not perfect, but if you've got good soil, something to consider.
https://www.google.com/search?q=wee...jZThAhXQneAKHZMEDOQQ_AUIDygC&biw=1600&bih=796
The 2nd picture in post #3, if you went with some heavier springs, up front, that would give you more downforce(?). It wouldn't work in my Georgia red clay, but if you have lighter soil, you may get closer to no-till. Not perfect, but if you've got good soil, something to consider.
Brinktown
Member
Interesting ideas! Thanks! I haven’t thought about a weed wiper before. Would be nice to avoid the gly mist in the air. Do you think the wiper would be as effective?
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FarmerD
Active Member
That's all I ever use any more. Just makes my life simpler. This is a 3/4 acre of clover that was taken over by grass. Killed the grass and some tall broad leaf weeds. Short broad leaf weeds not so much, but it released the clover and it thickened up nicely. I weed wiped 12 acres and used 1 gallon of glyphosate and 1 gallon of water.
