Kill it or till it?

[ruttinbuc]

I just brush hogged (mowed) a couple of strips that may amount to almost an acre. I want to put in a patch of turnips for fall and winter. How would I go about killing the mowed vegetation and prep to get the plot started? The soil is pretty fertile and I was just going to broadcast the seed before a rain or tamp it in. I have no machines to do the work of discing and harrowing. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Sam16]

A fairly cheap way of killing everything is the cheaper version of Round-up. It's maybe 20 bucks per acre. Get yourself a sprayer and spray the strips. As for the tilling, i dunno what to tell ya without machinery. Maybe hire a local farmer for a couple hours?

[Ravin R10 man]

You need to find someone who can till the soil for you..seeding over sod with turnips would be a waste of time and money..get a good loose seed bed, and broadcast the seed before a rain and your good to go.

[deerslayer79]

Mowing is a good start,I have found that if it was tall,it will leave a dense mat of clippins that would promote new weed growth and it will also interfere with the amount of seed to soil contact you need.I don't know about your time frame of getting your turnips planted but here is what I would do,if you could fine the means,either from a friend or farmer you know.

1.let new growth start to emerge

2.spray new growth with roundup or a type of glyphosate

3.wait 2 weeks

4.till,till,till,either with disk of tiller,you need good seed to soil contact

5.plant your turnip seed at 4-5lbs an acre

6.lightly cover your seed to about 1/4 of an inch

this should bring on a awesome stand of turnips.

[wtnhunt]

If at all possible, would spray now and then come back and til or disc the ground a week later. Then spray again a week before planting.

[ruttinbuc]

Thanks for all the advice everyone. I'll be looking to renting some equipment for a day if I can find some. Thought about the rake and hoe method, but that would take me until spring with my schedule. Thanks again.

[sluggunner]

wtnhunt has it right, I can attest to that from past experience that has worked the BEST and that is to do exactly what he says. 1.) Mow the weeds. 2.) Spray them with roundup about 4 to 6 days later (when they are activly growing again.) 3.) Till thoroughly with a rotortiller. 4.) Spray1 week later with roundup to kill any new seedlings that are germinating as a result of the tilling that brought new weed seeds to the surface. Then 5.) Plant your turnips a couple of days later. Oh , I almost forgot the most important part! 6.) Go back in 6 to 8 weeks and shoot yourself a monster buck as it feeds on the food plot you planted!!