Throw and grow X- treme Radish

[BigJakeL]

Anyone ever use Throw and Grow X-treme Radish? Or any throw and grow product? If so when did you plant it and how did it work for you?

[LABS4ME]

My personal belief is 'throw and grow' will give you minimal results at best. You may see some of the seed take, but the majority will not flourish without a properly prepped seed bed. Great marketing idea, buy it, throw it, shoot a buck.... reality will prove otherwise...

Good Luck!

Ken

[LandDr]

"Throw n Grow" or "No plow" or any of the other marketing like that are gimmics. What they have you do is put down 3 times as much seed or more in an effort to get "something" to maybe grow. You can take anyone's seed and put down 3 times as much and probably have the same results.

Bottom line is...the better the seed bed prepared, the better the planting you do means the better the results. Better seed placement and better seed-to-soil contact means better germination and better results.

Farmers don't "throw n grow" their corn and beans.

[BigJakeL]

I, figured the throw an grow part was a wack idea anyways so i did a little plowing and then planted I was mainly wondering if anyone used this product or radishes for a food plot. I know my grandfather use to plant them in his field for the goats and sheep to eat on his little ranch. Just wasnt sure how the deer would take to it

[Jason_Gundersen]

I planted turnips last year and they came good and deer did eat them... however the deer would eat oats and winter rye before they ate it,even after hard frosts... I dont think I will plant them again since rye and oats are much easier to make a successful plot

[LABS4ME]

radishes are a brassica and thus become much more palatable after some frosts. The frosts shut the plant down and the starches in the leaves convert to sugar making it more enticing for the deer to eat.

I know some farmers who fallow entire fields for a summer in radishes and yes they do get hit. I wouldn't know how well it would work as by fall they are turning them under. Kije anything what works fro one guy on his particular land, may not have the same draw on someone elses land. All you can do is try and see what the deer like and what you can successfully grow.

Good Luck!

Ken

[Jason_Gundersen]

Yea the deer are all going to have different palates just gotta figure out what they cant live without... May take a couple years of experimenting but the funnest part about hunting is trying to get in there head

[Powerstroke]

If they've never been exposed to radish or turnips, it will take a couple seasons to learn to like them. They are always an easy, effective plot so keep trying them and they will get more attention.

As far as no plow, no till options. Its not just talk. I've done this several times with good results. Obviously there are certain plants that require extensive seedbed prep to be efficient. However if you're looking to do a basic plot or something in the middle of the woods, a no-till method might be your only choice.

Farmers don't "throw and go" but Mother Nature does and it seems to be working pretty good for nature.

[Jason_Gundersen]

I am going to be trying a new "throw and grow" plot this year were there is NO WAY I could get my tractor or ATV in... Im taking to short cuts tho heavy weed killing, whipping, raking, liming and fertilizing should be interesting

[Powerstroke]

That has been my plan in the past no-till plots. We hit with Glyphosate (roundup), weed whip to knock down dead vegetation, spray again if resprout is heavy. Depending on your seeds, you can just broadcast into the new mat of vegetation after 2 weeks and the gly has dissipated.

If there is not a dense mat of sod and roots, you can rake it up, throw down some lime and fert, seed and depending on the seeds, you can drag using the back of the rake to bury the seeds if thats required.

I've done a couple plots this way. Most turn out well if there is enough water and light. Those are usually the two most limiting factors.

[Jason_Gundersen]

^^^ same exact thing I'm in the process of doing...EXACTLY

[LandDr]

Just to clarify...I didn't mean that just throwing seed on the ground won't work...I meant that these companies are using it as a marketing gimic in that "their seed" is the only seed you can do this with. You can take any companies seed and throw it on the ground...if you throw enough down, something will grow.

However, any step you can take to improve the seedbed for increased seed placement and seed-to-soil contact, you will get A LOT better germination and A LOT better results. Raking, dragging or anything to work the ground up a little will really help the seeds into the ground...they don't have to get very deep to germinate.

Rain is your MAJOR friend when it comes to food plots with little or no site prep. Rain hitting the ground moves dirt around and cover up seed as well as creates more moisture at the surface for starting seed. However, if your site goes thru a dry spell, it will be very vulnerable to those dry conditions at the surface.

Glyphosphates are great if you have limited or no tillage. But...if you have good tillage equipment at your site, mechanical cultivation can be just as effective as spraying gly. It really goes back to the way our grandfathers farmed...prior to chemicals...they would do an early tillage, then a second tillage 4 to 6 weeks later, and then plant immediately following the last tillage. This sets the weeds back and allows the newly planted seed to emerge quickly. The quicker they emerge, the faster the canopy and the better the weed control. The only gly I use is on my RR Corn and Beans, otherwise I use mechanical tillage and timing. You can set your calendar to it...do your first tillage and then mark the calendar to return in 4 to 6 weeks to do your second tillage...and plant immediately after for best results.

Land Dr

[LandDr]

Mother Nature does "throw n grow", but her success rate is about 10 to 15% of the seed the drops on the ground actually finds the opportunity to grow. That is why plants drop so much seed in masses to have the chance that something will grow.

For example, a native prairie we planted moved into the next field about 10 feet in 15 years...that is less than a foot a year. For all of the seed dropping on the ground, that stand only moved about 10 ft in 15 years.

It may appear that Mother Nature is doing well, but most vegetation we see along the roads and out in the fields was planted. Or, the native vegetation that has not been touched has had 10,000 to 12,000 years to get established...since the last glaciers were here and gone.

Land Dr

[InTheNorthwoods]

That has been my plan in the past no-till plots. We hit with Glyphosate (roundup), weed whip to knock down dead vegetation, spray again if resprout is heavy. Depending on your seeds, you can just broadcast into the new mat of vegetation after 2 weeks and the gly has dissipated.

FYI, glyphosate has no residual killing effect and only effects actively growing vegatation.

Meaning, you can spray round up and plant right away with no adverse impact.