I think it�s more ADD than OCD��I�d describe it as feeling like restless brain syndrome. Probably why I read too much as 257 says.

The test field where most of the pics are coming from is around 2 acres. I also have another 3-4 acres of orchards where I�m doing some minimal throw and mow and another 14 acres at the hunting club. I�m not 100% throw and mow or for that matter 100% anything other than trying to 100% understand how soil is suppose to properly function�..understand the different tools at my disposal�..and understand how my use of those tools impacts the proper functioning of that soil and the plant communities that sprout from it.

I was actually considering taking a little angle out and running my disk over this summer crop but after seeing the turnips sprout earlier in the spring I decided to go ahead without any disturbance. My topsoil is literally like a bag of potting soil now and getting a seed to sprout is not an issue. The only challenge now is just managing surface residue. I was still verging on having too much residue on the surface to get my seed down close enough to the soil surface but it still worked out pretty well even though it wasn�t optimal. What I want to have happen now is for the current plant community to go ahead and quickly canopy over all of this surface thatch. Once it does then it will change the conditions on the soil surface to where the thatch will stay continually moister and more like greenhouse conditions. That will speed up the decomposition process. Ideally we would like to have most of the surface reside in a well decomposed state when we get ready to broadcast on our fall cereal grains and clovers. I think that once it gets a dense canopy over it then the thatch is going to quickly disappear well before then. If this happens then I�m going to mow the field in another 4 weeks or so and �double crop� the summer biomass.

I�m still very likely going to pull my disk across the field this fall but it won�t be for the purpose of traditional sod busting. I want to have a dove hunt this fall but it requires me mowing the field down several weeks ahead of when I want to plant my fall mix. I�m going to go ahead and mow for the dove hunt but later when its time to plant my fall mix I�m going to use my disk in the manner of a hay tedder. I�ll broadcast the seed and then just pull the disk across the surface enough to stir things up and get the seed down to the surface. I think this should work well. A disk is just a tool like a hammer. It can be used to do more than just drive a nail.