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Post by Hoosier Hunter on Jul 10, 2007 17:53:53 GMT -5
Is there something you can still plant in July that will be benefical this fall.
The place we hunt in Greene county is in the middle of 1000's of acres of forest. This location has a 50 acre field that's all grown out in broom sage. Once farmed some years ago. It's really the only field around for some distance. I see deer grazing in the greener spots but think a food plot or two placed near the edges would do good.
I figured I would mow it close to the ground and just roto till the ground. I don't have access to any real farm equipment in that area.
Any suggestions on what could be planted? How to prep the soil..fertlizer, lime?
It takes me an 1-1/2 hours to get there so I can't always get out there to keep it maintained.
Thanks
HH
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Post by indybrad on Jul 10, 2007 18:22:01 GMT -5
Most planting dates for clover in the fall are Aug 1st to Sept 15th. I'm going to try my first plot of clover this year and I might overseed with turnips. I've allready sprayed with roundup and here in a couple weeks I'm going to till it up and spread the fert and lime. Then come back in Aug and broadcast the clover seed and cultipac the dirt. I didn't get a soil test, but I've read that if you don't get one just put down 300lbs of tripple 13 per acre. As for the lime, the ag lime is less expensive and lasts longer. There is pelletized lime that you can buy in 40 lb bags. It's more expensive and only lasts abuout 2 to 3 months. I'm just going to put down about 400lbs per acre and see what happens.
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Post by hornharvester on Jul 10, 2007 18:40:59 GMT -5
Pretty much what Brad said. Turnip and rape are a good mix for fall plots. Planting time is mid August. I bought another bag of Shot Plot today for 15.00 that will plant 1/2 acre. This has worked for me the last 4-5 years and the deer are really on it during the hunting season. I'm also planting Pro Graze which is a clover blend in the same plot and next spring hit it again with more fertilizer. Next summer it will make a good stand of clover for the deer until i plow it up in late July and do it again. h.h.
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Post by Hoosier Hunter on Jul 10, 2007 19:10:05 GMT -5
So would I be better off just applying ROUNDUP right now? Then tilling it up in late August and planting or is already too late for the ROUNDUP?
I didn't think the clover would produce much for this season. Also I was thinking that clover pretty much wilts and goes dormant after the first frost not making much food for late November into December?
Where can you get turnips and rapes?
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Post by indybrad on Jul 10, 2007 21:31:49 GMT -5
It's not to late. I would spray roundup or any other grass and weed killer that does not have a pre emergent in it asap, if you want to plant this year. Get the concentrate that you mix with water. It should be dead in about 2 weeks. Then you can till and put down the fertilizer and lime. Wait about another week and broadcast the seed. I'm no expert, but I've been doing alot of reaserch and asking alot of questions. It will also come up better if you roll something over the seed bed like a cultipacker.
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Post by tmarsh83 on Jul 10, 2007 22:15:12 GMT -5
HoosHunt...
depends on the clover you get, farm stock cattle clover goes dormant, the whitetail clovers from whitetail institute, tecomate and others are more of a year round performer.
You might seed clover with oats also. The oats come up a little quicker, give the deer a good graze, and let the clover take hold.
Roundup now, till, roundup again, then plant
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Post by hornharvester on Jul 10, 2007 22:34:54 GMT -5
H.H.
You can get Shot Plot which is turnips and rape at Gander Mountiain or Rural King. Id spray weed killer now and till and plant in August. Put in your clover too and it will be there next spring. h.h.
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Post by solohunter on Jul 11, 2007 4:25:01 GMT -5
So would I be better off just applying ROUNDUP right now? Then tilling it up in late August and planting or is already too late for the ROUNDUP? I didn't think the clover would produce much for this season. Also I was thinking that clover pretty much wilts and goes dormant after the first frost not making much food for late November into December? Where can you get turnips and rapes? Last winter the deer were pawing through the snow to get to the clover in my plots. It was nice and green under there. I am spraying another plot this weekend with Round-Up to get ready for fall planting. I am going to try a Logger Trail mix from Rural King, inexpensive. Solo |
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Post by Hoosier Hunter on Jul 11, 2007 5:27:22 GMT -5
Thanks everyone. Think I'll be putting down some roundup this weekend.
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Post by solohunter on Jul 11, 2007 19:37:18 GMT -5
Thanks everyone. Think I'll be putting down some roundup this weekend. Great ;D Solo |
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Post by danf on Jul 12, 2007 20:53:47 GMT -5
Depending on how good your coverage is (or how good you can get it!) on the R-up and how tall the weeds are, I might consider waiting until 3 weeks or so before you plan on planting before you spray.
If the weeds are tall, spray now. If they are short (knee hieght or shorter) I would wait.
The reason for this is simple- the taller the weeds, the less likely you are to get good all-around coverage. If you spray now, you will be able to see what you may have missed and spray a second application. However, there is an increased likelihood that there will be more seeds that germinate between now and when you plant- especially if you are thinking later in August. If you spray now, I definately would not till until you are ready to plant- tilling will only disturb the seedbed which will bring up more weed seeds.
I'm by far not a forage expert, but I did learn a thing or two the 4 years I was at Purdue in the Horticulture department! I'm also a certified pesticide applicator, so if you have any questions on herbicides at the very least I can help interpret labels if I'm not otherwise familiar with the product...
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Post by hornharvester on Jul 13, 2007 10:55:20 GMT -5
Thanks everyone. Think I'll be putting down some roundup this weekend. I checked my plot that been laying since i plowed it up back in late April or early May it has a lot of foxtail. I think this weekend or early next week I'm going to spray it with generic round-up before i disc it. I'll be planting around the 7-15 of August. This year I'm going to put Pro Graze in with the Shot Plot so the clover from the Pro Graze will be there next spring and make a nice clover plot next year. h.h. |
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Post by hornharvester on Jul 14, 2007 20:16:47 GMT -5
So would I be better off just applying ROUNDUP right now? Then tilling it up in late August and planting or is already too late for the ROUNDUP? I didn't think the clover would produce much for this season. Also I was thinking that clover pretty much wilts and goes dormant after the first frost not making much food for late November into December? Where can you get turnips and rapes? Last winter the deer were pawing through the snow to get to the clover in my plots. It was nice and green under there. I am spraying another plot this weekend with Round-Up to get ready for fall planting. I am going to try a Logger Trail mix from Rural King, inexpensive. Solo Solo, I was at Rural King today and saw their seed display. Looks like they have a pretty good selection of different seeds for different kinds of plots. They have perennial and annuals at good prices. If i didn't have my seed already I would have bought some of theirs. Any of you guys that are looking for seeds for shady spots that Logger Trail mix is made just for it. h.h. |
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Post by Hoosier Hunter on Jul 16, 2007 16:11:52 GMT -5
H.H. You can get Shot Plot which is turnips and rape at Gander Mountiain or Rural King. Id spray weed killer now and till and plant in August. Put in your clover too and it will be there next spring. h.h. I went to Rual King today and didn't see any turnips. They had plenty of food plot stuff in the hunting department but no/nothing with turnip. I did see some some rape/chicory mix, clover and other brassicas. Guess I'll head up to Gander Mountain. |
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Post by hornharvester on Jul 16, 2007 17:33:33 GMT -5
H.H.
I saw two different turnip blends at Rural King. They had Shot Plot and Rural Kings brand and i cant remember what the name was. Read the label and its tells what in them. It wasn't Loggers Trail but the next highest priced one. The label I read was 40% Purple Top turnip and it was a brassics mix. h.h.
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Post by indybrad on Jul 16, 2007 21:29:17 GMT -5
Went and checked the area I sprayed yesterday. The grasses, weeds, and Lespadiza were about 3 to 4 feet tall 2 weeks ago when I sprayed. Everything that the roundup hit was dead. That stuff sure does work well. I mixed 6oz per gal. and put it on thick.
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Post by Hoosier Hunter on Jul 17, 2007 10:12:07 GMT -5
Sunday we mowed the plot areas. Figured the Roundup would work better if the 3 foot grass was cut down.
As far as planting goes. If I mix clover in there too is that a bad thing? Just figured then next year the clover would take over and no planting would be needed. However I don't want the clover and turnip/rape to compete this fall.
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Post by hornharvester on Jul 17, 2007 11:53:03 GMT -5
The clover will grow under the turnips and rape. Next spring hit the plot again with some fertilizer and the clover will take right off. You usually need to mow the clover a couple times to keep the weeds down.
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Post by Hoosier Hunter on Jul 18, 2007 11:18:46 GMT -5
Ugh! I took a soil sample last weekend and sent it off to the Mossy Oak labs for testing. Today I get an email that I didn't send enough soil to test.  I probably had about a 1/2 cup. I read somewhere on their site that "very little soil is needed for testing". Now I'm not sure what to do  . Should I just wing it?, take some general educated advice from fellow food plotters here? or take the 4 hour roundtrip drive back to Greene county for another sample. |
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Post by hornharvester on Jul 18, 2007 14:31:44 GMT -5
I wouldn't worry about it and go ahead and fertilize and plant. The soil in my area is real close to being neutral. Most soil here will test out between 6.5 and 7.2. Use 300 lb of fertilize per acre and you should have a very good plot. h.h.
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. Should I just wing it?, take some general educated advice from fellow food plotters here? or take the 4 hour roundtrip drive back to Greene county for another sample.