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Post by dusty20 on Feb 3, 2016 13:57:31 GMT -5
I am looking for some insight from those that have some background with food plots or experience farming.
The property I have is relatively new to me, I got it at the very end of last summer. I have a section of ground that has been farmed in the past by a member of the previous owners family. I am expecting him to continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Most of the ground around me is all ag so by the time October comes around it is starting to be removed. What I would like to do is add a little food to the mix. The area I would like to plant is one of the lowest areas on my property, it is currently covered by overgrowth in the summer and this time of the year it just appears to be dormant grasses and a travel way between woods.
The best I can tell this property stays relatively moist through the summer. not necessarily standing water but moist. Are there certain crops that will benefit the herd that will either thrive or withstand this type of ground? This is mostly going to be a trial basis by me but I would like to have a bit of a guided head start. Up until this point I was thinking of getting one of the whitetail institute sample kits (something like 10 packs of seeds that cover a 10x10 area each) and gridding up the area I want to plant to have a test to see not only what grows the best but what the deer prefer.
So what do you guys think, any insight?
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Post by throbak on Feb 3, 2016 14:47:33 GMT -5
Alsike clover Can do well in wet soils Frost seed now and use grass specific herbicides later clothodum worked for me well
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Post by dusty20 on Feb 3, 2016 15:18:17 GMT -5
Alsike clover Can do well in wet soils Frost seed now and use grass specific herbicides later clothodum worked for me well I have heard they do well in. I think they even do well in short periods of submersion right? |
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Post by steiny on Feb 4, 2016 11:02:08 GMT -5
"Moist" isn't a problem, you could grow about anything you want there. But if it is one of these places where water stands occasionally, that will kill just about everything if the water sits there long enough.
Burn the weeds off of it this March on a calm dry day, then plant with whatever you want. My go to plots are white clover, soybeans or turnips. Turnips plant in late summer.
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Post by Jamie Brooks 1John5:13 on Feb 4, 2016 11:54:57 GMT -5
Have you looked at the Whitetail Institute page? They give good details on what each product provides.
I'm wondering if the bigger problem will be cover for the deer. Do you have any thick unplantable areas? Are there any areas where the grass can grow tall?
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Post by dusty20 on Feb 4, 2016 15:51:48 GMT -5
"Moist" isn't a problem, you could grow about anything you want there. But if it is one of these places where water stands occasionally, that will kill just about everything if the water sits there long enough. Burn the weeds off of it this March on a calm dry day, then plant with whatever you want. My go to plots are white clover, soybeans or turnips. Turnips plant in late summer. The problem is that I don't know enough about it through the summer. It will certainly be a bit of science fair this summer. I love the thought of soy beans that they eat the leaves through the summer and the beans in winter and that they stand above the snow. |
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Post by dusty20 on Feb 4, 2016 15:55:35 GMT -5
Have you looked at the Whitetail Institute page? They give good details on what each product provides. I'm wondering if the bigger problem will be cover for the deer. Do you have any thick unplantable areas? Are there any areas where the grass can grow tall? I am planning to leave a bit of it untreated for cover. They will have woods on 3 sides of them with a known bedding area on the 4th. They do give decent details I guess I just didn't find the info on how much sun how much rain moisture content etc. |
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Post by throbak on Feb 4, 2016 16:09:14 GMT -5
In the bedding area get a # or so of Alamo switch grass and frost seed it now Switch grass seed is down in price now so this is a good time to experiment
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Post by Jamie Brooks 1John5:13 on Feb 4, 2016 16:19:26 GMT -5
Have you looked at the Whitetail Institute page? They give good details on what each product provides. I'm wondering if the bigger problem will be cover for the deer. Do you have any thick unplantable areas? Are there any areas where the grass can grow tall? I am planning to leave a bit of it untreated for cover. They will have woods on 3 sides of them with a known bedding area on the 4th. They do give decent details I guess I just didn't find the info on how much sun how much rain moisture content etc. Sounds like you'll be in good shape. On the wettest portion of my food plot, I planted Tall Tine Turnips. The deer did not go nuts for them, but they probably had never come across them before. Regardless, I won't use them next year, but they grew great. Here's something that says it does well in soils that hold moisture: www.whitetailinstitute.com/fusion-perennial/ |
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Post by jimstc on Feb 4, 2016 16:21:43 GMT -5
I have two fields like what you describe. I first planted a cover crop of radishes, clover, cereal rye and rapeseed. The rye can drop a tap root 40 inches deep. A cover crop will improve your soil tillage substantially. My goal was to break up the compaction of the ground and it worked great. Compaction = won't drain. The places in these fields that did hold water don't anymore. First though I leveled the ground with a chisel plow, a disk and a pulverizer. If you don't have access to those implements you can still broadcast seed the cover crop. Just need to scratch up the soil first. I drilled my seeds and their growth was explosive. I used all Beck's Hybrid seeds since I live a mile south of their headquarters. Only seed that was expensive was the radishes. Deer love them though.
Good luck!
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Post by dusty20 on Feb 4, 2016 16:54:51 GMT -5
In the bedding area get a # or so of Alamo switch grass and frost seed it now Switch grass seed is down in price now so this is a good time to experiment Good call. I would like to do that in a couple areas on my property that I don't really plan to trample through. Just give a few areas some additional cover. I do have some swampy area in the middle of my woods that I could through this along a bank or two. |
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Post by dusty20 on Feb 4, 2016 16:58:38 GMT -5
I have two fields like what you describe. I first planted a cover crop of radishes, clover, cereal rye and rapeseed. The rye can drop a tap root 40 inches deep. A cover crop will improve your soil tillage substantially. My goal was to break up the compaction of the ground and it worked great. Compaction = won't drain. The places in these fields that did hold water don't anymore. First though I leveled the ground with a chisel plow, a disk and a pulverizer. If you don't have access to those implements you can still broadcast seed the cover crop. Just need to scratch up the soil first. I drilled my seeds and their growth was explosive. I used all Beck's Hybrid seeds since I live a mile south of their headquarters. Only seed that was expensive was the radishes. Deer love them though. Good luck! Thanks! at this point I just have a traditional grading plow on the tractor, a bush hog and a cultivator. I'm hoping I can mow it, burn it, then cultivate the heck out of it until it looks like it will take a seed. It would be nice with a disk though. |
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Post by jimstc on Feb 4, 2016 17:08:33 GMT -5
I have two fields like what you describe. I first planted a cover crop of radishes, clover, cereal rye and rapeseed. The rye can drop a tap root 40 inches deep. A cover crop will improve your soil tillage substantially. My goal was to break up the compaction of the ground and it worked great. Compaction = won't drain. The places in these fields that did hold water don't anymore. First though I leveled the ground with a chisel plow, a disk and a pulverizer. If you don't have access to those implements you can still broadcast seed the cover crop. Just need to scratch up the soil first. I drilled my seeds and their growth was explosive. I used all Beck's Hybrid seeds since I live a mile south of their headquarters. Only seed that was expensive was the radishes. Deer love them though. Good luck! Thanks! at this point I just have a traditional grading plow on the tractor, a bush hog and a cultivator. I'm hoping I can mow it, burn it, then cultivate the heck out of it until it looks like it will take a seed. It would be nice with a disk though. Sounds like you have what you need . With the plow and the cultivator you will do great. One other thought, instead of burning, hit it with glyphosate. No residual and kills the roots.. Cheap too at TSC |
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Post by esshup on Feb 4, 2016 21:15:27 GMT -5
I like the sample pack from Whitetail Institute. It will tell you what deer in your area like, and what will grow for you. Here I can't get them to eat brassicas. 12 mil North or South of me they tear them up. Every place is different and if it wasn't for those sample packs it would cost a lot to see what they like to eat. The more variety you can put down, the faster your learning curve will be. Pay strict attention to planting depth, and before you plant make sure to get a soil test done. If the pH, and nutrients aren't correct in the soil, it won't grow.
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Post by steiny on Feb 5, 2016 6:55:35 GMT -5
Just an FYI esshup ...... It took several years of planting brassicas consistently on my place before the deer started using them heavy. Have heard the same from others.
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