No-Till Food Plot Planting | Drilling Joint Vetch for Soil Health & Weed Control
CHIPPER GIBBES | PRINCIPAL BROKER
VIDEO SUMMARY
Want to improve your food plots while protecting your soil? In this video, Chipper Gibbes demonstrates a no-till planting technique by drilling joint vetch directly into a standing, mature cool-season crop. Instead of bush hogging or disking, he runs the drill right through last year’s wheat and scattered clover as it begins to yellow and die back.
This no-till method uses the existing crop residue to suppress weeds naturally, recycle nutrients, and improve soil health. As the old plant material decomposes, it enriches the soil, conserves moisture, and builds long-term fertility—providing the perfect conditions for the new seed to thrive.
By making just one pass with the drill, you save time, reduce soil disturbance, and strengthen your food plot system. No-till planting not only creates healthier food plots but also supports sustainable land management practices that benefit both wildlife and soil health.
FULL TRANSCRIPT
Click To Expand Full Transcript
[00:00:00:00 - 00:00:23:14] Chipper Gibbes
Hey folks, summer food plot season here and I'm drilling joint vetch into a standing, mature crop from the cool season last year. This is a wheat field with some scattered clover, and as you can see, it's turning yellow and it's beginning to die back. But I'm drilling straight through it. I'm not doing anything to it. I'm not bush hogging it or anything.
[00:00:23:14 - 00:00:53:12] Chipper Gibbes
I'm just running the drill right on through. And what I'm hoping is going to happen—I've done this in the past—is you can use the dead plant material to suppress weeds, and it also will decompose and recycle the plant material and nutrients into the soil and build soil health. So this for me is a lot better than disking and dragging, trying to prepare the seed bed, and waiting for the right moisture conditions to then plant.
[00:00:53:14 - 00:01:13:26] Chipper Gibbes
Making one pass with a drill. And I think it's healthier for your soil. And then hopefully, once the summer comes to an end and those plants start to mature, I can bring my winter annuals—my cool season annuals—back and drill straight through again and start the cycle over again.
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