I prefer the earthway bag spreader. I think seeding is mostly by feel and just comes with experience. I like the bag spreader so I can actually feel the seed hitting my hand as I slowly open the gate. I never use the number settings. I will mix my brassica or clover seeds. I will put one fourth of the seed in and walk the entire one acre. I barely throttle open the gate. Sometimes a quarter of the seed takes two times around the plot to disperse. Then I repeat three more times. Lots of walking but I like and need the exercise..
There's no reason to introduce poison to your property. Glysophate and other chemicals are harmful to birds, rabbits, deer and humans. Think cancer. Stop. Some plants that you call weeds are not harmful to deer. You don't have to make a perfect city yard type food plot.
I'll be doing a couple of food plots on a friends property this year and trying to get as much knowledge as i can. With that said, this was the best instructional for spraying I've seen, so thank you.
One thing I would add to that is the mad dog disc? Hitch receiver disc. It goes anywhere your atv can go and works better than any tow behind disc. Now I dont use it on every plot, but if it's brand new, never been plotted area, it's great to break up ground after spraying. Then, you can broadcast lime and seed, then use the lawn roller.
That's actually not a bad idea at all, Travis. In fact, just a mid-May application of gly may be better than August by getting certain weeds before they produce seeds. I think I will produce another video this year and outline a May application for maintaining clover.
Good plan and low cost. I plan on pulling a lawn roller with my riding mower(not mowing). The mower deck starts crimping the grass over and the roller finishes the job. Food plots made simple......thanks for the video.
Thanks for the videos Matt! Just watched the whole series this morning. Do you do anything after you seed your plots, such as rolling it for good seed to soil contact, or just seed when we are going to have a few days of good rain? Im in Northern Kent county so dealing with a similar planting scenario.
Hi Brian! It doesn't hurt to roll after broadcasting if you've got the time, although I don't think it's critical. A good heavy rain after sowing will do more to help germination than anything, in my opinion. Good luck!
What a great group of videos. Just found your channel and genuinely appreciate the easy to understand information. Starting a new property this year with 3 acre size plots. Do i have to mow the clover’s each year or do you just spray as needed when the weeds get bad?
So the clover and base layer stays there year round? And then you simply overseed the rye and roller it in the late spring? my thought is that I could mow it late august and have a dove field ready to go possibly. Maybe roll strips into in to have the edge cover
You've pretty much got it. Establish perennial clover and then overseed rye (and radish) into the clover each year. You can either roll or mow the rye towards the end of it's life cycle.
Hi Mark. No, you do not need to re-seed perennial clover every year. On the years that I spray the clover for week control, I typically re-seed at about half the usual rate. Otherwise, I just monitor the clover and re-seed as necessary.
The Ammonium Sulfate helps with Hard water / well water use. Hard and well water can lower or neutralize your glyphosate before you even get it on the plant. I hooked up an RV water softener between my hose bib and the end of the hose to avoid having to use ammonium sulfate which requires your tank needing an agitator. As for calibration, I’ve found 5 to 7 mph with 25 gal and 2 qts of gly with a 3 nozzle boomless fimco to be a very good result.
Rolling after seeding is not a bad idea at all. If you get a good hard rain shortly after seeding, you should get good germination, but rolling may help and certainly can't hurt.
Hi Matt. I pretty much do the same as you. I only have about a quarter acre food plot. Mostly sandy logging landing. Been building up soil with rye and clovers. No till for last 3 years. Just ordered your book.
Matt, I re-watched your video this morning before testing my soil again. I see that you said you paid around $5 to ship it out. Last year I boxed mine up and it was over $15 through usps. Whats the best way to ship these out? Im only doing 2 this year.
..so after a soil test,your recommendation is just for adjusting pH and forgo any adjustments to the soil tests fertilizer requirements..or do you adjust if it's quite low? I've fertilized brushes I've pruned..williws,red ozier dogwood ,viburnum etc..just curious..do you give any of your fall annual food plots a nitrogen boost late season,like say winter rye grain?
Hi Ken. My views on soil amendments are evolving. The more I learn about Regenerative Agriculture, the more I'm inclined to let plants fix the soil and refrain from adding anything else myself. I certainly don't fault anyone for doing things the conventional way, but I've found I can grow attractive and plentiful food for deer and wildlife without adding lime and fertilizer, so that's what I do now. There are many roads to Dublin. :)
Thanks, Troy! I have used oats in the past and I know deer love them, but I stick with rye and wheat since they're more cold hearty and will provide a cover crop thatch the following year. Oats will not winter over like rye and wheat.
I thought the exact thing, David, the first time I tried it, but somehow it works. There's a few things you can do to help with your seed to soil contact. Sowing just before a heavy rain will improve germination dramatically. You can also roll over your field with a lawn roller after sowing to help settle the seed down into the clover. Finally, because germination is lower with this method, I seed at high rates. I use about 9 lbs per acre radish and up to 150 lbs per acre rye grain.
I have never thought about using radish in a clover plot sounds like something I would like to try, great tip. I do use clover and rye together and I mow the rye August 1st then again two weeks later, free seed. The deer loved it last year so much my father was complaining about his plot having no deer. I have found if you plant clover in the fall, it does not grow very good the first year, but the next year it will take off.
Hi Jack. Radish doesn't always germinate well in thick clover, but just enough that I think it's worth doing. I seed it pretty heavy at 9 lbs. per acre. Mowing rye in August is a good option. I talk about that in video #6 - Terminating Rye. You are exactly right about clover. Not much there the first fall, but the following spring it really takes off. Thanks for your comments!
Just read your last comment, 15 lb of clover and 9 lb of radish per acre seems pretty high. Not arguing just stating my opinion. Really enjoying your videos so far thank you for taking the time
They are high seeding rates, Steve. With this method of top-sowing, you don't get the same germination rates as covering the seeds with soil, so I generally seed at about double the normal rate.
Hey Matt ... excellent videos and system ... also purchased your book from Bezos ... thank you ... I'm in East Tennessee, so a "little" south of you in what most seed dealers call the transition zone ... could you recommend a source(s) for cereal rye? None of the box stores here (Tractor Supply, Rural King, Ag CoOps) stock pure rye, so I need to order it ... thanks again!
Hi Jeff. Thanks for the kind words. Yeah, my system is definitely geared toward a northern climate, so you may have to make some adjustments, but it should still work for you. Unfortunately, I don't have a recommendation on a source for rye. I have always been able to get it locally at coops, feed mills, etc. It's very easy to find up here. Good luck!
@@rep1989 Yes! Since talking to Matt, I found Hancock also … seeded their “killer clover” early this spring and put out some of their fall and winter mix last week on bare spots just to get something growing … thank you …
No better way to get micro nutrients back into your soil than doing it this way. Next year I'm going to do more of this. I've found that Buckwheat is also a summer cover crop that u can knock down in August the same way. I've had phenomenal results doing 2 years of Buckwheat with no weed spraying to eliminate weeds. U can tell that your 🍀 really benefits from that thatch layer locking in the moisture & controlling temps that will burn out 🍀 unless u have alot of rape mixed in to help it along. I like great tonnage planting in the fall but also realize keeping deer in there all summer is a key to not only a healthy herd but also turning a 150 class buck into a 170 by offering him better nutrition & a place he feels safe to be in w/o burning precious energy.
Hi Brian. At this point, I would probably just spray once as soon as possible and then go ahead and top sow your seeds anytime after you spray and before a rain event. You won't have a perfectly clean slate with only one herbicide application, but it will still give you a good plot this fall and you can deal with any weed issues next year.
Forage collards and purple top turnips have done ok for me, but i also have 100+ acres next to me of alfalfa, clovers, so maybe they just hit my small plots late season only.
I have been watching the videos. I may have missed it but I’m wondering what is your process for starting a new plot and maintaining it year around. From start to finish what are the steps besides the obvious soil test, clearing and amendments. Spray it, seed it then roll the weeds down? In the spring just roll and spray the rye? Then in the fall spray it, seed it and roll it again starting over?
You've pretty much got it, Kevin. I don't spray the rye after I roll it. I plan to do one more video where I summarize everything and spell out my program step by step. That should be helpful to you.
@@mattmorse awesome thank you! I really appreciate it! I’m picking up a roller tomorrow. I will definitely be following this routine. It’s so much easier and cheaper. I have been using a disc and have to spend several days discing and still have weed problems.
Here's a short version: FIRST YEAR 1. clear new food plot and apply 2 qt/ac glyphosate early June and early August. 2. late August, top-sow fall mix and 150#/ac rye SUBSEQUENT YEARS 1. late June: top-sow 9#/ac radish, roll with lawn roller 2. late August, top-sow 150#/ac rye WEED CONTROL YEARS 1. late June, roll with lawn roller 2. early August, apply 2 qt/ac glyphosate, late August top-sow fall mix and 150#/ac rye
Hi Eric. Thanks for the question. You should use one quart of ammonium sulfate per acre, so if you are spraying two acres with a 25 gallon sprayer, you would mix two quarts of dry ammonium sulfate with the 25 gallons of water.
Thank you! For a first year plot, I recommend spraying around June 1st and August 1st, give or take a week. With established plots that need some weed maintenance, once in early August. See video #7 Weed Control.
When mixing with water can you add too much water and dilute the 2 quarts per acre requiring more gly? If my sprayer needs 25 gals of water per acre or 5 gal per acre would I still just use 2 quarts per acre of gly even though one is more diluted?
The way I understand it, Kevin, you want the two quarts spread over an acre regardless of the amount of water needed to do that. The water is like the carrier, so, in your example, whether you use 25 or 5 gallons, in theory, the effect should be the same. Now, in practice, about 12 gallons of water per acre is typically used with the two quarts of gly as a mixing rate that works best with most electric pump sprayers and even manual backpack sprayers to cover an acre efficiently.
Sorry I missed your comment here, Kevin. I think I answered this same question on another video, but just for everyone's benefit, I use 3 lbs./ac ladino, 5 alsike, 7 medium red, 9 radish and about 150 rye grain.
If I do this mix of clover, rye and radish how many pounds per acre of each should I plant? I have tried making food plots in the past with store bought premix seed and it never does well.
@@mattmorse awesome thank you! What brand seeds do you recommend? Last year I bought wildlife management solutions seed and it didn’t do well. It was probably my fault but I want to increase my odds as much as possible.
I too break my plots into sections and pace the spreading of seed to ensure a more even mix...good info. I think one area people fail at, I know I did, is making sure they have an accurate square footage measurement of each field. This saves a lot of money on seed and soil amendments.
@@mattmorse that's probably more accurate than me using a range finder...but the satellite images of my property haven't updated since I put in my plots, so I made do 🤷♂️🤣
@@paulsell2438 Take a GPS and mark as many waypoints as you need then plot them on Google Earth and use the measuring device (Polygon in the ruler section). My GE maps are 2016 and I used this system for 2022.
Hey, neighbor! Truly is a small world. This program should improve your sandy soil over time if you keep adding to your organic matter with the rye plantings each year. Good luck this fall! Osceola County hunting gets a little better every year.
Good question. I generally plant all on the same day, but it's not necessary. You could spread it out over a few days if it's more convenient. Sometimes I will spread 100 lbs/ac rye and then come back in a few weeks and add another 50-100 lbs/ac rye. This "layering" approach gives you young rye at different stages in your plots which may keep it a little more attractive to deer in the early hunting season.
