Are there any of these worthy no tills ?


Is there any one plant such as wheat or oats that works better over all?

Not sure I'd buy into any "throw and grow", unless your throw is a no till drill. As far as oats or wheat I'd go oats every time.

They all need dirt contact to work, a rake and work gets that, sun hitting the location does as well. Ryegrass is the easiest to get going but deer seem to prefer oats, wheat and rye (the actual grain grasses) to the easier growing ryegrass. The other seeds in those mixes have not grown well for me except in a few cases the clover but it gets eaten quickly.

The Brassicas can do well if the turkey let them. Had a great looking plot going and the Turkey mowed it down.

Most "THROW & GO" seeds will go, straight down a birds throat. I put a 100 lbs of oats out several years ago without doing any till work. About 2 days later I could not find a seed.

They all need dirt contact to work, a rake and work gets that, sun hitting the location does as well. Ryegrass is the easiest to get going but deer seem to prefer oats, wheat and rye (the actual grain grasses) to the easier growing ryegrass. The other seeds in those mixes have not grown well for me except in a few cases the clover but it gets eaten quickly.

The Brassicas can do well if the turkey let them. Had a great looking plot going and the Turkey mowed it down.

If yu can shred grass over it then it can work ok as well.

I'll 2nd that - put out 100# of oats over a half-acre without dirt-work - I might as well have just thrown it away; If I had planted 1 cup of it with a hand-rake it would have done better than the 100# !
For me I think the sun just baked the seed into dust, or ants/bugs feasted on it.

Rye-grass seed on that other hand does great just throwing on top, but deer never touched it here.

This year gonna at least try scratching in a 40# bag of whole oats using my tractor&box-blade rippers, followed up with a chain-link drag.

I have great luck with it for very small plots and will sometimes add any of whole oats, wheat, turnip, forage radish, and rye grass with it. The Rye grass mostly because it comes up quick so more for a cover crop while the rest get's established. But I only throw it out if it is immediately before a rain. Like storm clouds on the horizon or even throwing it out while it is raining. Otherwise like others have posted, it will all go to the birds and red ants. Often too I will come back after it has started coming up good and throw the cheapest or leftover fertilizer I have. And only if there is a good chance of rain in the forecast.

years ago, i used to take a wooden crate and added bolts..I drug this around with a lawn mower with cinder blocks for weights ...this tilled it up with no problem ...just took many times to get below the grass..so I mowed the grass real low. I would suggest instead of oats ...I planted as layer of pinto beans and corn..the pintos after 6 inches tall deer ate them up like candy...the corn came up slowly but deer love to chew on corn stalks...works great...especially in a pen. When I planted oats in a pen ..deer only ate them after the first freeze...so I don't use oats. I now just rely on corn. Now very expensive these days. If I had a couple of acres in a pen I would plant soy beans..I have no experience with this but I think it would be great. Just for grins. My guess is that the deer would destroy the beans unless you could keep them out until the stalks get a couple of feet high. If we have a big acorn crop we will have to find something to compete with acorns.

I put triticale down last fall with no till/drill and it absolutely took. Conditions were soft dirt, 50% sun, and damp. I will say the one consideration is that it took later than I wanted it to which is where I think a till/drill would help.

Are there any simple hand tools or drill attachment s that would be enough to get thr seeds down some?

If you have an atv (or could even use pickup)...a drag harrow can get you there pretty easily. Use it with teeth down and forward first (most aggressive), then teeth down and facing the rear to smooth it out and then after seeding to work in seed. If planting small seed, flip the harrow over (teeth up) to smooth and work in seed so the seed doesn't get buried too deep. Will work way easier when their is a little moisture in the soil.

Available in a couple of sizes: https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200641648_200641648

Read the label on the Throw and Grow products and you will see the highest % see will be Rye grass and maybe a few brassicas/clovers/etc. Ryegrass will grow anywhere if you get the rain. Birds and such will not bother it. If you can time rains right and plant oats/wheat/rye/turnips/clover on wet soil and get a rain the next day or so, you can be successful. I have done it with oats and ryegrass in the hill country using a road feeder, right before a rainy period. If you have livestock on the place then be aware they will camp on the plots all the time and probably wipe them out....if the deer don't. A 50# bag of Gulf Rye is not that expensive and can cover 2-5 acres depending on the rainfall and soil type.

A 4-tine cultivator rake, if soil isn't too hard.

I keep a bucket of wheat/rye mix seed in my Ranger and anywhere the hogs root up the ground, I throw seed there and drag a rake over it. It germinates just fine thanks to my bacon powered rototillers.

Doesn't have to be deep - a nail drag like you'd use on a baseball field will work (add weight depending on soil type)...and then once you've broadcast your seed drag over it with some chainlink or similar to cover the seed. Both can easily be pulled with a truck - no special tools required.

We all tend to over complicate everything.

+1 on throwing seed wherever hogs tear up the ground. Have been doing this for a few years and generally works great.

As others have said, generally not worth it using the "throw and grow" idea. Even with that bag of seed, you are better off just tilling or clearing the land for better seed to dirt contact.

You can also go straight to a coop or elevator and get seed a lot cheaper to plant. Sadly, most of the stuff in the stores is generally all about marketing and not results. Same for minerals and protein. You can go buy the raw stuff cheaper and just do it yourself.

I throw and mow and it works really well. Just need enough grass or weeds to make a good thatch that covers the seed.

Regular old feed oats grow great and for a fraction of the cost of fancy packaged seed.

Did well at that little spot of mine I used to have

Thanks