Will my crop grow if I broadcast the seed but don’t drag or disk it in?

By Grant Woods,

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← Grant's Answers — Food Plots
Question
Hello Growing Deer Team/Dr Woods. I need your help to tell exactly what this seedling is. Best I can match it to is one of the “greens”. We are preparing food plots but the neighboring new hunters mistakenly disced and planted in our field. We don’t want to undo any good thing that has been done. The ground is pretty soft and broken up. Do you think we would be ok just to broadcast over their seedlings without dragging the field to cover our seed? And what do you think this seedling is? Thanks for your help.

Matt,

The two factors that makes broadcasting seed work are adequate soil moisture and seed to soil contact.  An easy way to insure both these factors are working in your favor is to insure plenty of bare ground is showing and broadcast the seed either just before or during a rain!  I really enjoy planting during a rain (but not a lightning storm).  

The rain will serve to insure there’s adequate soil moisture and literally splash some soil over the seeds or push the seeds into the soil.  This technique works best with smaller sized seed like clover or brassicas.

Unless there’s lots of weeds growing in the plot, you should be fine using this technique.  The bigger question is if there are adequate soil nutrients available.  Remember that plants are only nutrient transfer agents.  Plants won’t grow as much or taste as good (be as attractive to deer) if they are malnourished).

Enjoy creation,

grant