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Post by mgderf on Jun 17, 2021 20:07:36 GMT -5
I have put in several very, VERY small food plots, in a concentrated area surrounding my shoot-house.
I fully expected all of these to be decimated by the deer since they are so small in size, but I've been pleasantly surprised.
I put out, among other things,
foraging oats
rape seed
turnips
red clover
alfalfa
brasica
I over-seeded all of these areas, using probably 4 times the seed density suggested.
I threw out seeds more than a month ago, then re-seeded the same areas about 2 weeks later, and again 2 weeks after that.
My thoughts were even if decimated, it would provide at least some nutrition/sustenance.
Well, every last plot has deer tracks running in so many different directions that you can't follow one set of tracks.
Even with all of this traffic I still have an ever-growing plot of food coming in, and growing well.
I can't really even tell that the deer are eating on the plots.
I can't imagine why they would not be eating it, unless it's just not big enough yet to interest them.
I've always heard though that deer like new growth...
We'll see I guess.
With the small size of the plots I was not expecting to have anything left come deer season, but it looks like my micro-plots just might survive.
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Post by esshup on Jun 17, 2021 21:39:54 GMT -5
Put a cage over an area that the deer can't reach into. That will tell you.
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Post by Mack Apiary Bees on Jul 19, 2021 7:13:09 GMT -5
Yesterday I cut a lot of oak and two maple trees lower branches so I can cut the grass without hitting them. About a dozen trees. I left them on the ground. I was worn out. Made an instant food plot.  |
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Post by budd on Sept 16, 2021 8:17:58 GMT -5
Mowed off the sweet corn stalks, ran the disc over it a few times and planted winter rye yesterday. Finally got a nice rain last night, should really make that rye pop.
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Post by lawrencecountyhunter on Sept 16, 2021 9:04:24 GMT -5
Mowed off the sweet corn stalks, ran the disc over it a few times and planted winter rye yesterday. Finally got a nice rain last night, should really make that rye pop. Do you add any nitrogen to your rye? I put mine in Tuesday, not sure if it will be required or not. |
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Post by budd on Sept 16, 2021 11:42:15 GMT -5
Mowed off the sweet corn stalks, ran the disc over it a few times and planted winter rye yesterday. Finally got a nice rain last night, should really make that rye pop. Do you add any nitrogen to your rye? I put mine in Tuesday, not sure if it will be required or not. no I did not. |
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Post by budd on Sept 24, 2021 18:59:13 GMT -5
Mowed off the sweet corn stalks, ran the disc over it a few times and planted winter rye yesterday. Finally got a nice rain last night, should really make that rye pop. Do you add any nitrogen to your rye? I put mine in Tuesday, not sure if it will be required or not. How is your rye doing? Mine is up about 3 inches. |
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Post by lawrencecountyhunter on Sept 24, 2021 20:22:19 GMT -5
Do you add any nitrogen to your rye? I put mine in Tuesday, not sure if it will be required or not. How is your rye doing? Mine is up about 3 inches. Really well, probably about 6" after 1.5 weeks. There a few thinner areas I'm going to oversees in a week or two. |
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Post by lawrencecountyhunter on Mar 24, 2022 12:39:39 GMT -5
I ordered a Packer Maxx cultipacker earlier this week, I'm excited to get that thing in and assembled.
I think I have a fairly solid plan for this year and moving forward after that. I currently have about 2 acres of rye, decent coverage in some spots and pretty sparse in others.
I intend to terminate the rye in May with gly, after I'm done turkey hunting. Then, I'll broadcast buckwheat in June and do another spraying of gly at the same time. In August, I'll broadcast a clover mix alongside some brassica in the standing buckwheat. Roll the buckwheat down with the cultipacker and terminate it with gly. Follow up in September and/or October with rye to fill in any bare spots in the plot.
I did a DIY soil test last year, this year I'm sending one in to Whitetail Institute for their official recommendations on lime and fertilizer.
By next year, the plan is to have an established clover spot going into spring, and I'll just maintain that clover plot through spraying/mowing and fertilize as needed. I expect that I'll add rye each fall to thicken up bare spots.
I'm also going to watch for sales on fruit trees this year to add around the edges of the plot.
Sounds simple, right? We shall see how it goes.
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Post by treetop on Mar 24, 2022 16:14:02 GMT -5
Congrats on the the packer been looking for a used one no luck at all and when you do you might as well buy new for what they want
So what’s your area like I’m farm ground every were I’ve not had good luck with food plots I’ve planted corn beans clover wheat beets and some high dollar stuff off the net the deer do use them but not enough to really make it worth the effort. I will do it again this year and probably every year after but it’s hard to compete with all the food around me
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Post by parkerbow on Mar 24, 2022 18:18:15 GMT -5
I ordered a Packer Maxx cultipacker earlier this week, I'm excited to get that thing in and assembled. I think I have a fairly solid plan for this year and moving forward after that. I currently have about 2 acres of rye, decent coverage in some spots and pretty sparse in others. I intend to terminate the rye in May with gly, after I'm done turkey hunting. Then, I'll broadcast buckwheat in June and do another spraying of gly at the same time. In August, I'll broadcast a clover mix alongside some brassica in the standing buckwheat. Roll the buckwheat down with the cultipacker and terminate it with gly. Follow up in September and/or October with rye to fill in any bare spots in the plot. I did a DIY soil test last year, this year I'm sending one in to Whitetail Institute for their official recommendations on lime and fertilizer. By next year, the plan is to have an established clover spot going into spring, and I'll just maintain that clover plot through spraying/mowing and fertilize as needed. I expect that I'll add rye each fall to thicken up bare spots. I'm also going to watch for sales on fruit trees this year to add around the edges of the plot. Sounds simple, right? We shall see how it goes. I am starting a new food plot this year and am thinking about planting buckwheat this summer and then when it dies out I will use gly and then plant oats and clover in the fall. Where do you get your buckwheat seed at? I seen it on amazon for 35.00 for 10lbs. |
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Post by lawrencecountyhunter on Mar 24, 2022 19:33:26 GMT -5
Congrats on the the packer been looking for a used one no luck at all and when you do you might as well buy new for what they want So what’s your area like I’m farm ground every were I’ve not had good luck with food plots I’ve planted corn beans clover wheat beets and some high dollar stuff off the net the deer do use them but not enough to really make it worth the effort. I will do it again this year and probably every year after but it’s hard to compete with all the food around me About 100 acre ag field to the west, 50-ish acres hay to the east. Timber north and south. I'm sure it won't hold them completely, hopefully just during the daylight. |
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Post by lawrencecountyhunter on Mar 24, 2022 19:36:28 GMT -5
I ordered a Packer Maxx cultipacker earlier this week, I'm excited to get that thing in and assembled. I think I have a fairly solid plan for this year and moving forward after that. I currently have about 2 acres of rye, decent coverage in some spots and pretty sparse in others. I intend to terminate the rye in May with gly, after I'm done turkey hunting. Then, I'll broadcast buckwheat in June and do another spraying of gly at the same time. In August, I'll broadcast a clover mix alongside some brassica in the standing buckwheat. Roll the buckwheat down with the cultipacker and terminate it with gly. Follow up in September and/or October with rye to fill in any bare spots in the plot. I did a DIY soil test last year, this year I'm sending one in to Whitetail Institute for their official recommendations on lime and fertilizer. By next year, the plan is to have an established clover spot going into spring, and I'll just maintain that clover plot through spraying/mowing and fertilize as needed. I expect that I'll add rye each fall to thicken up bare spots. I'm also going to watch for sales on fruit trees this year to add around the edges of the plot. Sounds simple, right? We shall see how it goes. I am starting a new food plot this year and am thinking about planting buckwheat this summer and then when it dies out I will use gly and then plant oats and clover in the fall. Where do you get your buckwheat seed at? I seen it on amazon for 35.00 for 10lbs. I haven't bought any yet, but Northwoods Whitetail will ship 50 pound sacks to my house for a little less than I can get it at the feed shop in town. I think it's around $90/sack delivered to my home. They say to use 50 lbs/acre, so I'll need two sacks. |
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Post by parkerbow on Mar 24, 2022 19:45:31 GMT -5
I am starting a new food plot this year and am thinking about planting buckwheat this summer and then when it dies out I will use gly and then plant oats and clover in the fall. Where do you get your buckwheat seed at? I seen it on amazon for 35.00 for 10lbs. I haven't bought any yet, but Northwoods Whitetail will ship 50 pound sacks to my house for a little less than I can get it at the feed shop in town. I think it's around $90/sack delivered to my home. They say to use 50 lbs/acre, so I'll need two sacks. Thanks for the info. |
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Post by esshup on Mar 24, 2022 22:30:41 GMT -5
Congrats on the the packer been looking for a used one no luck at all and when you do you might as well buy new for what they want So what’s your area like I’m farm ground every were I’ve not had good luck with food plots I’ve planted corn beans clover wheat beets and some high dollar stuff off the net the deer do use them but not enough to really make it worth the effort. I will do it again this year and probably every year after but it’s hard to compete with all the food around me Farm ground here too, and I have had really good luck with turnips/daikton radish/sugar beets. The plot is there after the corn comes out of the field and the deer keep it mowed like I ran the lawnmower over it, and then later in the winter they paw up the bulbs. |
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Post by esshup on Mar 24, 2022 22:37:04 GMT -5
I ordered a Packer Maxx cultipacker earlier this week, I'm excited to get that thing in and assembled. I think I have a fairly solid plan for this year and moving forward after that. I currently have about 2 acres of rye, decent coverage in some spots and pretty sparse in others. I intend to terminate the rye in May with gly, after I'm done turkey hunting. Then, I'll broadcast buckwheat in June and do another spraying of gly at the same time. In August, I'll broadcast a clover mix alongside some brassica in the standing buckwheat. Roll the buckwheat down with the cultipacker and terminate it with gly. Follow up in September and/or October with rye to fill in any bare spots in the plot. I did a DIY soil test last year, this year I'm sending one in to Whitetail Institute for their official recommendations on lime and fertilizer. By next year, the plan is to have an established clover spot going into spring, and I'll just maintain that clover plot through spraying/mowing and fertilize as needed. I expect that I'll add rye each fall to thicken up bare spots. I'm also going to watch for sales on fruit trees this year to add around the edges of the plot. Sounds simple, right? We shall see how it goes. So, what does the Packer Max do differently than my smooth barrel roller that is 4' wide and weighs 750# when filled with water? |
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Post by lawrencecountyhunter on Mar 25, 2022 7:08:27 GMT -5
I ordered a Packer Maxx cultipacker earlier this week, I'm excited to get that thing in and assembled. I think I have a fairly solid plan for this year and moving forward after that. I currently have about 2 acres of rye, decent coverage in some spots and pretty sparse in others. I intend to terminate the rye in May with gly, after I'm done turkey hunting. Then, I'll broadcast buckwheat in June and do another spraying of gly at the same time. In August, I'll broadcast a clover mix alongside some brassica in the standing buckwheat. Roll the buckwheat down with the cultipacker and terminate it with gly. Follow up in September and/or October with rye to fill in any bare spots in the plot. I did a DIY soil test last year, this year I'm sending one in to Whitetail Institute for their official recommendations on lime and fertilizer. By next year, the plan is to have an established clover spot going into spring, and I'll just maintain that clover plot through spraying/mowing and fertilize as needed. I expect that I'll add rye each fall to thicken up bare spots. I'm also going to watch for sales on fruit trees this year to add around the edges of the plot. Sounds simple, right? We shall see how it goes. So, what does the Packer Max do differently than my smooth barrel roller that is 4' wide and weighs 750# when filled with water? I don't know from experience, just academically speaking, the ridges built into the roller supposedly help with better seed to soil contact. Also should be less prone to run-off/erosion with the ridges rather than a completely smoothed out surface. It is basically a ridged lawn roller though. |
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Post by esshup on Mar 25, 2022 12:33:44 GMT -5
I don't know from experience, just academically speaking, the ridges built into the roller supposedly help with better seed to soil contact. Also should be less prone to run-off/erosion with the ridges rather than a completely smoothed out surface. It is basically a ridged lawn roller though. Thanks!! Yes, I agree with that. |
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Post by treetop on Mar 25, 2022 13:23:17 GMT -5
So, what does the Packer Max do differently than my smooth barrel roller that is 4' wide and weighs 750# when filled with water? I don't know from experience, just academically speaking, the ridges built into the roller supposedly help with better seed to soil contact. Also should be less prone to run-off/erosion with the ridges rather than a completely smoothed out surface. It is basically a ridged lawn roller though. The just about spot on |
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Post by budd on Mar 26, 2022 9:28:17 GMT -5
I've been watching for a used one for some time now. I'll keep using the home made lawn roller until I find one.
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