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Post by Sleazy E on Jun 25, 2007 15:24:24 GMT -5
OK I am considering putting a couple of small plots on my families land..... Here are the questions..... one of the areas I have to plant is an old logging trail that runs down hill.......... what could/should I plant that will thrive and last in such a small area on an incline.... most of it gets plenty of sun for several hours a day......
The other small plot is in a nice weed field area.... I am thinking of planting Oat's... and Turnips and maybe something else there... (considered a dozen rows of corn since it all beans around there this year) Anything that i should plant along with these. I am wanting a food plot that will last most of the season at least.... but has something available before season starts to keep them interested.
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Post by tmarsh83 on Jun 25, 2007 17:58:05 GMT -5
Clover is hardy and will grow about anywhere. If you want to get some really good stuff go with the whitetail instittute stuff, if you are worried about it being dry on that incline, go with the extreme, here tell it will grow most anywhere,
if you want to do it on the cheap, just some plain old ladino clover would be a pretty good bet.
Clover is some good stuff, it is hardy, and grows almost anywhere, and for deer attraction and nutrition it is pretty tough to beat, you will have some brassicas with your turnips, and the oats are a great choice also, variety, covering all your bases, thats all you can ask for.
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Post by firstwd on Jun 25, 2007 20:36:46 GMT -5
Go with sweet corn if you can deal with the coons. It will give you something to munch on during squirrel season.
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Post by drs on Jun 26, 2007 6:49:38 GMT -5
After having your soil tested for pH and minerals; I suggest planting the following:
(1) On the sloping incline, plant a mixture of Alsike Clover, and Korean Lespedza
(2) On your other food plot(s) plant Grain Sorghum, as this will provide food for many species of wildlife.
Important: Our soils here in the Midwest tend to lack enough magnesium so you might apply this in the form of Epsom Salts (Ag. Grade) to your soil.
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Post by hornharvester on Jun 26, 2007 10:44:22 GMT -5
I would go with some kind of annual because anything thats a perennial will have to be mowed or sprayed each year or the weeds will get it. Deer like nice young, tender plants. Any kind of fall plot will be just that in the fall and attract more deer. Clovers attract good in the summer but fall plots work better in Oct and Nov. I found turnips and brassics to work the best in the fall and take less work. Good luck with what ever you plant. h.h.
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Post by tmarsh83 on Jun 26, 2007 22:45:20 GMT -5
I'm gonna have to disagree on the annual thing. Once they die off you are going to have to work the soil to get the weeds out of it, there is not root system to keep the weeds down. Put in a clover, keep it mowed a couple times a year and the weeds won't be bad at all.
Otherwise you are going to have to plant at least once a year, twice if you want to mix it up, and thats means work and prep every year...
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Post by jajwrigh on Jun 26, 2007 23:08:37 GMT -5
Where is a good place to get turnips? I finally have a few small areas that I could plant...or is it too late? The areas that I hunt could use some winter food plots.
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Post by hornharvester on Jun 27, 2007 5:24:37 GMT -5
Rural King sells Shot-Plot which is red top turnips and brassics for 12.95 a bag. It will plant 1/2 acre. You don't plant it until the second week of August. I had better luck with it for fall and winter plots than I did with clover blends. From my experience the deer hit the clover hard in early spring to late summer. After a couple frost and a good freeze the clover is done but the turnips and brassics are just getting started. The frost will make the turnip leaves sweet. As I said earlier deer like young, tender plants. There are many different things you can plant. it all depends on what time of the year you want the deer to use them. h.h.
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Post by hornharvester on Jun 27, 2007 5:33:16 GMT -5
I'm gonna have to disagree on the annual thing. Once they die off you are going to have to work the soil to get the weeds out of it, there is not root system to keep the weeds down. Put in a clover, keep it mowed a couple times a year and the weeds won't be bad at all. Otherwise you are going to have to plant at least once a year, twice if you want to mix it up, and thats means work and prep every year... I plant annuals every year and all i do is either mow, disc and plant or plow in spring and leave it turned over until mid august then dis and plant. The key to what I plant is when i want the deer to use the plot. Another thing i do is plant winter wheat in the fall and then seed clover on top of it in the spring and fertilize. The deer eat the green wheat in fall, winter and spring and after the wheat matures the rabbits will cut it down and a nice stand of clover appears. h.h. |
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Post by tmarsh83 on Jun 27, 2007 7:14:23 GMT -5
The type of clover you buy makes a huge difference. If you buy a clover mix from an elevator and put it out, deer will eat it, but they won't go nuts for it. It's too stemmy. It's made for cattle. Deer aren't cattle. If you put out clover, you really should be putting out imperial, or tecamote, or some other "whitetail clover." It is totally different stuff. And in the case of Imperial, it doesn't shut down after a frost. Now, it won't receive the same attention as it does early in the year, but it doesn't become worthless and dormant either.
That is where brassicas come in handy, because that first frost kicks that last sugar cycle, and they really turn on from that first good hard frost.
The type of clover you get makes a difference...
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Post by LawrenceCoBowhunter on Jun 27, 2007 7:41:36 GMT -5
Regular clover form the feed store works great,it's all I use now days.I bought into the hype of the "big buck" clover when I was younger because every hunting show was pushing it and it grew "big" bucks.I have as many deer in the cheap stuff as I did the pricy stuff on a daily basis.I've been using it for 12 years now and I'm 100% positive it is as good as the Whitetail Institute,BioLogic or whatever else is out there.JMO
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Post by tmarsh83 on Jun 27, 2007 9:20:42 GMT -5
deer will still eat it., and if you keep it mowed it makes a huge difference, but deer are not grazers, they do not like stemmy browse, they like young tender lush plants, cattle hay does NOT produce that. You can improve it with mowing, but it isn't the same thing.
Also, I don't know if you will want to put annuals in on that slope because of runoff, letting bare ground sit on a slope is begging for a downpour and all your top soil to be at the bottom of the hill. I really think a perennial is going to be the way to go on that slope.
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Post by esshup on Jun 29, 2007 19:00:36 GMT -5
Here in N. Central In, I am on very sandy soil (Starke County Gold?). I have had good luck with Extreme, and Alpha-Rack. I planted Buck Forage Oats the last week of August last year, and the deer kept it mowed like a lawn all the way until the end of December. I tried the different brassica blends from a variety of companies, and the deer here don't seem to like the stuff, even after a frost. I was told to sow the 100#/acre of Oats or Winter Wheat the last week in August, and then overseed with 20#/acre of ladino clover the 3rd week in September by one of the "pro" hunters that worked for a seed company. He said (when nobody was around) that for that type of seeding, the locally bought stuff would be O.K., but if I were to put out a straight plot of clover, then I should use one of the Whitetail deer specific blends. Two things that I've found out are of the utmost importance in making a food plot. 1) get a soil test done, and follow the directions on what to apply to the letter. 2) Make sure to plant the seeds the correct depth, then cultipack it to get good seed to dirt contact. Use a ruler or other measuring device to get the correct depth. I've done all of my planting with a John Deere 345 with 42" hydraulic tiller, tow-behind broadcast spreader for fertilizer and lime, a cheap old IH 6 disk disk that is about 45" wide, a section of chain link fence and a 48" wide lawn roller. I spread the seed with the tow-behind broadcast spreader or the over-the-shoulder bag type broadcast spreader. It's better to spread the seed lightly and have to go over the plot twice than to spread it heavier and run out before you get the whole plot covered. Been there, done that!  |
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Post by solohunter on Jun 30, 2007 5:43:38 GMT -5
Rural King is now selling a Loggers' Trail seed mix......Solohunter
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Post by Sleazy E on Jun 30, 2007 10:17:17 GMT -5
Well being as I am poor..... I am going to do all of my planing by hand with an old walk behind tiller and a graden rake ..... I know it is going ot be a lot of work but I hope in the end it will be all worth it.... maybe in a few years when the wife is out of school and has a job.... I will buy a 4 wheeler and some food plot attachments for it and expand my plots.
I walked through Rural King today.... just getting an idea of whet it is going to cost me.... guess I better save some pennies cause I was thinking it is going ot be cheap.... and it is not horrible but more expensive then I thought.
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Post by hornharvester on Jun 30, 2007 10:31:39 GMT -5
Sleazy,
If you want to do this for the least amount of money then plant cleaned oats and winter wheat mixed, available at you local elevator, then early this spring sow on red clover and more fertilizer. The wheat/oats will be good for this fall and the clover will be there next year. you get two crops for the work of one and less expensive. you can buy the clover by the pound at the elevator too. h.h.
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Post by Sleazy E on Jun 30, 2007 11:23:18 GMT -5
Thanks HH,
I have not checked at the local CoOp yet.... but I will check them out this week and see what it will cost... Another question just came to mind... should I buy the stuff now... or they still have plenty end of July and beginning of August?
What do you use to kill the weed bed that already exists? I considered some stuff I saw at Rural King but it said that it kills all vegitation for up to a year (not exactly what I am looking to do cause I want the plot to grow)
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Post by tmarsh83 on Jun 30, 2007 12:01:22 GMT -5
Roundup, just make sure you dont accidently get the residual. Regular Roundup kills and then washes out.
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Post by hornharvester on Jun 30, 2007 15:20:22 GMT -5
Oats and wheat are usually available any time. For a couple acres I would plant 3 bushel to the acre so that would be 3 bushel of each and mix 50/50. Make sure you get cleaned oats and wheat or you'll end up with unwanted weeds next year. Use 200 - 300 lb of at less 12-12-12 or better fertilizer per acre. Don't skip on the fertilizer as that is what makes your plants and draws the deer.
Round up or equivalent will kill the weeds. TSC sells their brand for a lot less than name brand Round UP and it works just as good. Mow first and then spray, wait a couple weeks and work up the soil and plant. Try to get it in around the fist part of Sept and you should have a nice plot by the time deer season opens.
If you plant 2 acres it will cost you about 50.00 for 6 bushel of oats and wheat, about 80.00 - 90.00 for 10 bags of fertilizer, 20.00 - 30.00 for Round Up and what ever you spend on fuel. I think the red clover is about 4.00 a lb. So, two acre food plot will be around 170.00 or less plus fuel. h.h.
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Post by Sleazy E on Jul 1, 2007 8:10:54 GMT -5
That is very reasonable.... I figue to plant 2, 1 acer plots....
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