I'm gonna be planting all clover blend this mid July,don't have a disc is there any other way? Sent from my iPod touch using Tapatalk
Clover can be surface broadcasted and cultipacked or just ran over with ATV tires and get good germination. What is there now? I would also ask why you're considering planting in July. Fall planted (or late summer) would be ideal. Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S4.
If I plant in mid August how high would it get btw I live in mn Sent from my iPod touch using Tapatalk
Good luck with no disc. This is our 4th year planting I believe and it's the first we decided to go without a deep plowing of the soil. Instead we have repeatedly run a disc over the plots every couple weeks from spring until now. It has been a LOT more work and we have fought weeds more this year then ever. Your plot results depend on 3 factors within your control IMO. The ability to turn the soil (the more the better), lime (pH), and fertilizer. Rip the ground up any way you can and as much as you can and lime the hell out of it, blast it with fertilizer when you seed and maybe again mid grow and you will have great results. Skimp on any of those steps and your plots will be less then optimal all the way down to garbage. As for the clover I would seed WITH a broad leaf brassica or something like chicory because number one the deer LOVE both and more importantly they keep weeds at bay and allow the clover to take hold and spread as an under growth to a nice thick base that you can then supplement with a frost seeding next spring and starting next year you will have a lush clover plot that you can hunt over for 3-4 years with minimal care. I'm just not an advocate of telling people the "no till" or "throw and grow" methods are anything to expect good results from. Good luck and find some way to scratch that ground up baby!!
Check out my Antler King mini max plot thread. All done wirh only hand tools. It can be done with good results. I'm in MN as well.
I have a couple smaller plots in the thick brush that are hard to get equipment to. I have rented a small tiller it is made by stihl I think it is the 55ms it is one of those power heads that you can attach several different implements. I don't till deep because I would be constantly digging into roots of the surrounding trees. I just scratch the surface to loosen the soil. Not sure how big of a plot you are thinking but even with the small tiller you could do a half acre without too much effort
Tillage destroys soil organic matter and light disking simply turns seeds in the soil seed bank up to light and moisture exposure. Plowing at least has some advantages due to breaking soil compaction layers and turning seeds on top under too deep to grow. Weed and grass seed can lay in a soil bank for up to decades and still be viable. You'd be better off with chemical burn down and no-till than limited tillage. The only way limited tillage will work is perfect timing and residual selective herbicides. It's no wonder you have had a poor experience this year.
atlasman....each time you till you will battle weeds....it is churning up dormant seeds. I would spray kill and till/disc it once unless really needs a second time. I agree with pretty much everything else....especially the chicory/clover or throwing some brassicas in. The key is realizing clover is really all about "next year" growth as it isn't until established it truly explodes.
Our access to a good plow was limited this year so we went without. We will most likely go back to a 2 bottom turn next year. We have no desire to spread round up over 5-6 acres. Just personal preference. I may have been unclear. Our soil is in better shape this year then ever. It's just been more work. The multiple disc runs have created an excellent soil base that looks better then a home garden. We are thrilled with the plots so far. We shall see how the seed goes but we have had great results in soil half this smooth so we don't anticipate any problems. We need to work smarter next year instead of working harder.
