- My Forums
- Tiger Rant
- LSU Recruiting
- SEC Rant
- Saints Talk
- Pelicans Talk
- More Sports Board
- Coaching Changes
- Fantasy Sports
- Golf Board
- Soccer Board
- O-T Lounge
- Tech Board
- Home/Garden Board
- Outdoor Board
- Health/Fitness Board
- Movie/TV Board
- Book Board
- Music Board
- Political Talk
- Money Talk
- Fark Board
- Gaming Board
- Travel Board
- Food/Drink Board
- Ticket Exchange
- TD Help Board
Customize My Forums- View All Forums
- Show Left Links
- Topic Sort Options
- Trending Topics
- Recent Topics
- Active Topics
Started By
Message
No Till Drill Planting
Posted on 10/9/24 at 8:35 pm
Posted on 10/9/24 at 8:35 pm
Our club has differing opinions on whether or not no till drill planting is better than discing, broadcasting, and covering. Curious to know how others feel.
So a couple of years ago our neighbor purchased a no till drill that eliminates the need to have to disc, smooth, broadcast, and cover. Essentially now we just have to clip, spray, and drill. However we only clip once a year and spray a couple of weeks before planting, leaving a bunch of grass that we drill through when planting. Fields don’t look nearly as nice as when we would do it the old fashioned way. Neighbor is very knowledgeable and says that disc is actually detrimental to the soil and also when you disc it turns up dormant seed that your food plots are then fighting for nutrients with. He says that the grass is there and that’s all that matters. Maybe it’s just the fact that when I’m on a plot and it doesn’t look as green is playing mid games with me.
Thoughts?
So a couple of years ago our neighbor purchased a no till drill that eliminates the need to have to disc, smooth, broadcast, and cover. Essentially now we just have to clip, spray, and drill. However we only clip once a year and spray a couple of weeks before planting, leaving a bunch of grass that we drill through when planting. Fields don’t look nearly as nice as when we would do it the old fashioned way. Neighbor is very knowledgeable and says that disc is actually detrimental to the soil and also when you disc it turns up dormant seed that your food plots are then fighting for nutrients with. He says that the grass is there and that’s all that matters. Maybe it’s just the fact that when I’m on a plot and it doesn’t look as green is playing mid games with me.
Thoughts?
This post was edited on 10/9/24 at 8:39 pm
12
Posted on 10/9/24 at 8:46 pm to LSUTiger23
The drill gets better seed to soil contact than anything aside from maybe a cultipacker on wet soil.
No till plots are going to be uglier for years before you eliminate weeds (I’m in this phase) and we even had failures last season mostly due to drought.
If you want pretty plots, keep discing and covering. Planting rye grass.
If you want to grow larger bucks with bigger racks
Kill more doe’s
Do summer plots
Stop feeding corn
Stop planting rye grass
Kill weeds with discing and herbicide when you need to
Plant nutritious food
Give bucks more birthdays
And most importantly, manage your habitat by getting sunlight to the ground and putting fire to it.
We are in year three with the drill and we do all of the things above.
Year 1&2 we had one shooter buck on camera and about 6 total bucks. All year.
Now we have dozens of bucks with about four shooters.
We are not killing bucks this year unless it’s unquestionably the largest buck we’ve ever seen.
No till plots are going to be uglier for years before you eliminate weeds (I’m in this phase) and we even had failures last season mostly due to drought.
If you want pretty plots, keep discing and covering. Planting rye grass.
If you want to grow larger bucks with bigger racks
Kill more doe’s
Do summer plots
Stop feeding corn
Stop planting rye grass
Kill weeds with discing and herbicide when you need to
Plant nutritious food
Give bucks more birthdays
And most importantly, manage your habitat by getting sunlight to the ground and putting fire to it.
We are in year three with the drill and we do all of the things above.
Year 1&2 we had one shooter buck on camera and about 6 total bucks. All year.
Now we have dozens of bucks with about four shooters.
We are not killing bucks this year unless it’s unquestionably the largest buck we’ve ever seen.
Posted on 10/9/24 at 8:51 pm to The Levee
All good advice. When you plant with your drill, is there a ton of grass from the spring and summer still in the plot? Granted, most of the grass in our plots is dead from spraying, but you just can’t see the grass very well.
I know this sounds stupid because deer could care less what it looks like, as long as it’s there. LOL
I know this sounds stupid because deer could care less what it looks like, as long as it’s there. LOL
Posted on 10/9/24 at 8:52 pm to LSUTiger23
Moldboard plow, disc multiple passes to break up the clumps and then land roll or drag smooth.
Then no till drill and maintain any weeds with spray.
I believe this is the best way because it buries seeds deep with the moldboard. We’ve had areas with almost zero weeds come up afterwards vs using a shallow disc only.
If you have very little topsoil then probably a bad idea though
Then no till drill and maintain any weeds with spray.
I believe this is the best way because it buries seeds deep with the moldboard. We’ve had areas with almost zero weeds come up afterwards vs using a shallow disc only.
If you have very little topsoil then probably a bad idea though
Posted on 10/9/24 at 9:13 pm to LSUTiger23
Depends.
We just got a crimper fabricated for us and if we drill we go in the same direction as the crop is laid down. If that makes sense. This year we disced lightly and are putting fire to the Regen plots.
We disced the new plots that have never been planted.
That drill can get through dead or dying grass
We just got a crimper fabricated for us and if we drill we go in the same direction as the crop is laid down. If that makes sense. This year we disced lightly and are putting fire to the Regen plots.
We disced the new plots that have never been planted.
That drill can get through dead or dying grass
Posted on 10/10/24 at 4:48 am to The Levee
Was going to add, if dead grass is too thick burn prior to drilling. You don’t have to do it every year.
Try 1/2 of your plots this year. If you like it do the other half next year.
Try 1/2 of your plots this year. If you like it do the other half next year.
Posted on 10/10/24 at 6:17 am to LSUTiger23
I bought a no till drill three years ago. I consider it to be the best piece of equipment that we have at our place.
We have since moved into something called Regenerative Agriculture 100% on our plots. Regenerative ag seeks to make the soil healthy and as a result what grows in it more nutrient rich and what eats it more healthy.
We haven't put a drop of herbicide or fertilizer down in two years. We don't disc anymore as everytime you turn over the soil you kill the vast majority of microbes in the soil that help your plants and soil be healthy. If you leave the soil alone the microbes and fungi in the soil with time will flourish and they will help work with your crops to allow them to pull the nutrients they need in the soil. (this is a very complex system and this is absolute cliff notes).
A no till drill can ABSOLUTELY get through thick beds of plants and weeds to get the seeds into the soil. We planted last weekend in some areas into 6-8' standing crops and in other areas where crops didn't do as well weeds the drill cut right though everything and easily got the seed into the ground 0.5" deep.
We will bush hog a field before planting only if it has a lot of weeds in it. Then we plant our fields with the NT drill. Then if it's mostly crops we pull a roller crimper after drilling to lay the crop down and terminate it. The layer of thatch protects the soil and the microbes within it keeping soil temperatures lower. It also adds humid acid and other nutrients to the soil as it decays.
We have been very happy with the process and have enjoyed it immensely. We keep live plants in the ground 365 days a year for the wildlife and the soil and it's NEVER a mono culture it's always a mixture of 7-18 seeds planted in the same place.
We are still very early in the process and it hasn't taken off yet where we are getting what we want every time but we are very happy with it so far and can see improvement and we are hopefully making our dirt and our wildlife stronger from doing so.
Dirt to Soil By Gabe Brown is a great book to start if interested in the process. Jason Snavely has a good podcast on it as well.
We have since moved into something called Regenerative Agriculture 100% on our plots. Regenerative ag seeks to make the soil healthy and as a result what grows in it more nutrient rich and what eats it more healthy.
We haven't put a drop of herbicide or fertilizer down in two years. We don't disc anymore as everytime you turn over the soil you kill the vast majority of microbes in the soil that help your plants and soil be healthy. If you leave the soil alone the microbes and fungi in the soil with time will flourish and they will help work with your crops to allow them to pull the nutrients they need in the soil. (this is a very complex system and this is absolute cliff notes).
A no till drill can ABSOLUTELY get through thick beds of plants and weeds to get the seeds into the soil. We planted last weekend in some areas into 6-8' standing crops and in other areas where crops didn't do as well weeds the drill cut right though everything and easily got the seed into the ground 0.5" deep.
We will bush hog a field before planting only if it has a lot of weeds in it. Then we plant our fields with the NT drill. Then if it's mostly crops we pull a roller crimper after drilling to lay the crop down and terminate it. The layer of thatch protects the soil and the microbes within it keeping soil temperatures lower. It also adds humid acid and other nutrients to the soil as it decays.
We have been very happy with the process and have enjoyed it immensely. We keep live plants in the ground 365 days a year for the wildlife and the soil and it's NEVER a mono culture it's always a mixture of 7-18 seeds planted in the same place.
We are still very early in the process and it hasn't taken off yet where we are getting what we want every time but we are very happy with it so far and can see improvement and we are hopefully making our dirt and our wildlife stronger from doing so.
Dirt to Soil By Gabe Brown is a great book to start if interested in the process. Jason Snavely has a good podcast on it as well.
Posted on 10/10/24 at 6:30 am to LSUTiger23
Don’t worry about pretty plots.
Posted on 10/10/24 at 6:57 am to LSUTiger23
No till drill is the way to go. Honestly your prep is lacking more on the process. you need to cut and spray sooner and maybe burn the thatch before you plant. Or cut your plots twice before you spray and seed. something to mulch the thatch a little more so its an asset as fertilizer sooner.
Posted on 10/10/24 at 7:13 am to LSUTiger23
if you have access to it, no till drill is 100x better than disk and broadcast
Much better for soil health in general
Much better for soil health in general
Posted on 10/10/24 at 7:54 am to LSUTiger23
Something that is often overlooked in no-till is pH. Concentrating nutrients and decomposing organic matter in the top layer of soil can drop pH more than conventional tillage where all that is mixed into a larger volume.
No-till is superior but you have to be all in. Collect soil samples, correct deficiencies especially in pH or NPK, and it will pay off.
No-till is superior but you have to be all in. Collect soil samples, correct deficiencies especially in pH or NPK, and it will pay off.
Posted on 10/10/24 at 8:31 am to Da Hammer
quote:
Jason Snavely has a good podcast on it as well.
Could you link this?
Posted on 10/10/24 at 8:53 am to LSUTiger23
I would love to do no till drill but we don’t have one. Better for soil health as others have mentioned. I’ve listened to some deer habitat podcasts and apparently they are available for rent cheap at county ag extensions offices up there, but haven’t heard of anything like that in Louisiana.
Posted on 10/10/24 at 8:55 am to LSUTiger23
I would clip another time.
No till is the way to go if you have that option.
No till is the way to go if you have that option.
Posted on 10/10/24 at 9:06 am to Da Hammer
What brand of no till drill/crimper do yall use? I’d like to start but it’s hard to justify $10k plus on implements that I’ll use once or twice a year. Seems like a better thing to rent
Posted on 10/10/24 at 10:04 am to PetroAg
Posted on 10/10/24 at 12:15 pm to The Levee
I am not savy enough to link a podcast unfortunately. He has a free pod cast for several years and last year started a subscription one.
His pod cast is called Drop Tine podcast he likely still has the free podcasts out there. The pay one is Drop Tine Innovators it's well worth the cost what ever it was... maybe $100 or so? I can't remember it's been about a year since I subscribed.
His pod cast is called Drop Tine podcast he likely still has the free podcasts out there. The pay one is Drop Tine Innovators it's well worth the cost what ever it was... maybe $100 or so? I can't remember it's been about a year since I subscribed.
Posted on 10/10/24 at 12:18 pm to PetroAg
I use a Great plains 1065NT. I plant about 170 acres in the fall and about 125 in the spring so it makes a lot of sense for us. A few or our neighbors pay me to plant their stuff so it helped make it make sense.
The biggest reason I got one initially was it was just two of us doing the farming on about 5000 acres of hunting lease and private land and it was just way too much work to spray, clip, burn, disc, cultipack, seed and then cultipack again for two people.
The NT drill eliminated all of that and I can plant our place in three full days. That made the cost worth it in itself. Many co-ops and NCRS offices rent them FYI.
The biggest reason I got one initially was it was just two of us doing the farming on about 5000 acres of hunting lease and private land and it was just way too much work to spray, clip, burn, disc, cultipack, seed and then cultipack again for two people.
The NT drill eliminated all of that and I can plant our place in three full days. That made the cost worth it in itself. Many co-ops and NCRS offices rent them FYI.
Posted on 10/10/24 at 5:19 pm to PetroAg
quote:
What brand of no till drill/crimper do yall use? I’d like to start but it’s hard to justify $10k plus on implements that I’ll use once or twice a year. Seems like a better thing to rent
Live in Texas? You can use mine for free
Posted on 10/10/24 at 9:14 pm to LSUTiger23
Da Hammer pretty much tells the truth here. I read Dirt to Soil, and committed to the 5-yr experiment. Just finished year 3. Get my seeds in a fall mix I plant late September or early October, and in a summer mix I plant in April. Green Cover Seed puts a complex of inoculants on the seeds to help restore bacteria, fungi, etc to the soil. I have rented a NT drill and that’s a game-changer. I have also tried to tolerate weeds and smother them with my crop, but I’m using herbicide if I have weeds and it gives my next crop a much better start and result. No lime, no fertilizer, and as little herbicide as I can get by with. My plots have steadily improved, it’s been amazing. My pH has gone from 5 to 6.3-6.7. Earthworms are back, and my sandy soil has structure. I’m planting less than 10 acres but plan to increase it. Deer started walking through the plots, heads down, not looking at the corn feeder - haven’t bought any corn in a couple of years.
Page 1 of 2
Popular
Back to top
Follow TigerDroppings for LSU Football News