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Old 08-24-2017, 07:26 PM
  #30  
Semisane
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Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: River Ridge, LA (Suburb of New Orleans)
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I wouldn't remove any of the thatch. That's what's building your top layer of organic matter over the long run. No-till is a process that gets better over time. You will get less and less grass over the next three years because you are not bringing up old grass and weed seed from the soil seed bank by tilling, and are terminating any grass and weed before it goes to seed.

Your mowing/spraying plan should work fine. But I see no need to mow that often. You only need to mow to prevent whatever is there from going to seed. If you have foot tall grass on the plot when you're ready to plant, that would be perfect. Spray it with a heavy dose of Glyphosate the week before you plant. Then throw your seed first, then any fertilizer you plan to use, then mow. The traffic from spreading the fertilizer and mowing will help move the seed down to soil level.

Winter wheat is perfect, as is ladino clover. I do a 50/50 mix of wheat and oats. But I'm quite a bit South of you and don't usually have the oats killed by extreme cold. I really don't know how oats do in your area. I think I would go with a 70/30 mix of wheat/oats.

I'm not a fan of Crimson clover. Some of the guys on my lease use it, and it's grown well for them. But my observation is my white clover plots get hit by our deer in the Spring and early Summer a lot more than their Crimson plots. That said, you should try some yourself - maybe the same 70/30 mix of Ladino/Crimson.

There's nothing wrong with adding peas to your mix. They are fairly expensive when compared to the other seeds and unless you have awfully large plots you can expect them to be completely wiped out before they get much growth.

Last edited by Semisane; 08-24-2017 at 07:29 PM.
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