Fall no till food plot question

You don't mention where you are located, but I want to second DrunkenTigah's comment that it may still be too early to plant. I hunt in SW Mississippi and anything planted before Oct. 1 is going to be wiped out by army worms.

I've been using a "throw-and-mow" planting strategy (poor-man's no till) for several years and don't even bother spraying - I plant wheat, clover and some brassicas (usually daikon radish) which outgrow the grass and weeds I mow down.

The thatch helps more in the morning to hold dew and will help, but it’s no substitute for rain and fall temps. I would cut and spray now, then wait until you see rain in the forecast in Oct to throw seed. This would give you a chance to let the volunteer seed you’re about to knock down onto the soil a chance to germinate, then if you spray again when you plant you’ll have cleared out a lot of the weed pressure.

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I’m in the Florida panhandle. Usually Oct is very dry so I was hoping to take advantage of this heavy rain and soggy thatch to lock in moisture. Is that wrong?

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The Florida panhandle has the essentially the same weather as here - and I assume the same pest-problems - and all I can tell you is that I never plant before Oct. 1 because of army worms. Planting right before a rain is not as important with throw-and-mow because the thatch layer protects the seed until it rains. There is one catch to that: if you have hogs - and I do - you have to worry about them rooting around in the fresh thatch and leaving they seed uncovered. I always have my seed and fertilizer ready to go byOct 1 and then wait to plant no more than a few days before rain.

Bushhog it with the deck raised about a foot off the ground. There will be enough stubble left to help prevent thick clumps although I go back and lightly rake areas that look too matted to allow seed penetration. Wait a couple of weeks for new growth to start and then spray it. Plant and fertilize in mid-late October.
This is my third year of no plow and this process has worked very well in three plots. I plant turnips, rape, clover, cereal rye and wheat. Overseed it heavy!
I will never disk my plots again!

I can’t disc due to the hogs we have. What I’ve found to work is bush hog then spread smaller seed they won’t go after, rape, turnip, etc. If you can spray you’ll have better results, too.

Still haven’t got a rain after we planted Sept 28. and nothing on the forecast. Hopefully it pops up if we get a shower here pretty soon

I'm going to try the domain no bs mix this season see how it goes. No machinery or equipment cane knife and a rake