re: Planted summer plots today

Going from the tillering stage to flowering, the carbon-to-nitrogen ratio might change from 18:1, where it is going to mineralize nitrogen as it decomposes, to 50:1, where it is going to immobilize a lot of nitrogen as it decomposes. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. A lot of nitrogen that could have leached out of the soil is being retained and will be released to the crop as the season progresses. It does mean that nitrogen needs to be managed differently, though

Cover Crop strategies

Or are you talking about crimping vs mowing or spraying?


Edit: I thought you were asking about timing.

Another benefit is that you can mount a crimper on the front of your tractor to crimp and plant in one pass.
When you spray to terminate crops they may stay standing for a long time before they even fall. Especially grasses that we use a lot in fall mixes. You could kill it then mow it after it does, but then you will have windrows through the field and now you have made a total of at least 3 passes across the field. (Spray, mow, plant)
Just mowing it may not kill it and the mowed crop could out compete the planted crop.
A crimper won’t kill everything in the field either. If you do it when grasses are too young they will stand back up.

As I said I am an idiot. I can just tell you from personal experience we do not fertilize anymore. Our soil Ph has gotten right, and we are now having the red clay turn to the black soil. When we sprayed and drilled we had to fertilize. Now that we crimp and follow the plan that was laid out we dont and have seen serious changes in the deer.

I only have ten acres of food plot area as of now. After logging it could triple. Do you guys think it’s worth it to crimp or spray?

And I personally think that putting a crimper on the front end and drill on the back would be very difficult to navigate smaller plots

You know what I like about the Genesis Drills? They come with the presets for calibrating for GreenCover. I suck at math and that’s worth my time

I watched that yesterday. Really good video!

I’m not sure the method of termination has an impact on what deteriorates into soil (though chemical sprays cost and do change pH I believe). I want to try a crimper to break the stems on my cereal rye so it won’t stand back up - I want it to lay flat and smother weeds.

I’ve done 2 fall/winter crops and neither was crimped, neither suppressed weeds good enough in the subsequent spring/summer. But, there were other factors - like neighbor’s cows that thinned out my crop.

I’m not saying what I’m doing is the only way or the best way, but I am seeing changes I like in my soil and in the deer herd, I believe. Time will tell. But I rent a Truax drill, I have bought local and Green Cover Seeds and prefer the latter, and I’ve sprayed herbicide twice (hired it sprayed). Lots of variables, it might take a long time to figure it all out.

I’m having a hard time justifying buying A $12k implement to use 2 days a year. But, I might get there. For now I’ll rent and borrow if I can. But I sure do want to try a crimper.

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I’m having a hard time justifying buying A $12k implement to use 2 days a year. But, I might get there. For now I’ll rent and borrow if I can. But I sure do want to try a crimper.

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I’d rent one if I could find one to rent

I haven’t. I wouldn’t even know where to buy it, but there isn’t many feedlots around MS Delta. You did just give me a thought though.

Companies that get the grease from restaurants have to cook that grease to get the water out of it. I was told it was extremely fertile and the government demands that they get rid of it.

If there is a local grease company around you, you might can call them and work out a deal for them to spray it on your land and get paid for it. There are regulations that would have to be met first. If you have pasture land/haying operation it might work great for you.

I will say that I don’t know a bunch about this crap. I just know they are required to get rid of it and usually have to “lease” the land where they spray it. It might be that you can’t graze it for a couple days or it might not be. You made me think of a conversation I had with an owner a few years back because he was complaining about having to pay people to get rid of “fertilizer” when people should be paying him for it, and he was even having to pay someone to bush hog it down. I could see how a deal could be made with a “win win” outcome.

Thank you all for the replies this is all very interesting to me. You have me thinking a crimper maybe isn’t as much a gimmick as I first believed.

However if a crimper works and saves so much money why don’t farmers whose whole liveleyhood depends on input cost participate in the same practices? Seems like they would be moving in this direction if it works that well wouldn’t they?

The ability to turn poor soil to black soil is VERY interesting to me. I’m spraying and flattening with a Great Plains NT drill and getting a similar result but not using the same principles to guide me. Going to see how this does and perhaps change as I research more and see how the current system progresses.