food plot

[prohunter]

Thanks bowboxer, me too, if i could just keep neighbors from killing everything that walks ,for them if its brown its down.
Jim

[motorbreaker]

Im planning on doing just a small one acre mixture patch of White Clover, brassica, and chicory. Good fall blend, and if its an early corn harvest like I suspect, the deer could hit it really hard. Ill post pics after labor day

 
I was also thinking of planting some brassica and chicory in
the 1 acre spot where the deer have destroyed the soybeans
we planted.
I have never planted neighter of these types of plants.
Can someone tell me what is the latest you can plant
these types of seed?  Thanks, Jake

[3 to 1]

motorbreaker,

I planted some brassica two weeks ago and its popped up and as big as my thumb. Its a small speratic patch, but the deer are already nipping at it. Most seed companies suggest planting 30 - 45 days before the first frost. If you plant NOW you may have some mature plants before the frost. I didn't expect to have deer activity so soon, I hope I have plants left by the end of October. They say brassica really flavors up after the first frost, I don't know if I will have any left. Its a really small patchy plot, but its working great.

[easports]

Pro

Thanks for your response. It's sort of depressing that this process takes so long to achieve. My game plan was to start in the spring with the lime and be ready to plant now in September. Due to the difficulty of this location in getting equipment on this property, I've decided to have a small group of guys (who are looking for work) take picks and rakes and hand turn the soil. One of the many problems with this property is stones. The stones vary from the size of a softball to a bowling ball and since the plot size is small 15 yards by 15 yards (two plots), this may be the best way to interact the lime with the soil. As you mentioned, it will still take time to adjust the PH but I still want to attempt to plant this fall. I wish there was a better way to deal with the stones. My back can't handle that kind of punishment so I'll let the younger boys deal with it.

We will see what happens.

[prohunter]

easports

I have the same problem here in middle tn ,it just seems that i grow rocks ,i just keep chuckin em over the hill.
Can you get access to a rototiller ,because if you turn the soil your puting your lime under but if you till ,the lime will still be up top, where your seed is.
Just be sure to drag your seed in ,bigger seeds go under soil ,and clovers and tiny seeds go on top.
Hope this helps Jim

[fave]

Wow, some great tips out there. Question for you planters...is there some less expensive forage oat that can be bought other then "Buck Forage Oats" that works as well? I use the stuff butt I'm planting alot more now and it's getting costly. [&o] I planted my last two plots on the 9th and 10th of Sept. It works exceptionally well in midstate WI where I live and hunt.

[easports]

Pro

Just an update: got the guys on the property Saturday to turn over the soil. Man what a back-breaking job. I helped for 30 minutes then called it a day. Sorry not working on my birthday besides that's something I would pay for and did. Got up the next morning early to hit the land with lime, fertilizer and seed. Unfortunately I missed the rain which was forecasted for Sunday morning. It came earlier than expected…what do you do?

Now I wait and pray for rain and hope for the seeds to take hold. It will be interesting to see what takes in the next 10 days. We have a junior hunt day the 25th of this month and I working hard to give my 13 year old a great opportunity that day. Hopefully it will pay off for him.

[prohunter]

Fave

I have never used buck forage oats ,but i have used oats from the co-op or your local farm and feed store and they come up very good, i like to plant wheat, millet and crimson clover and rye it makes a good food plot and is great for hay field.
I think i gave 7.50 for 50lbs of seed oats and wheat is about the same, i think you can money this way if you use alot of it.
Jim

[fave]

Jim,

I'm just curious. Where do you plant your food plots. I'm in central WI. Very sandy. Oats and wheat take right off with little effort. My clover requires some maintenance. My soil test called for 9 tons of lime /ac. 2 tons per was sufficient as most of the other would have leached out before it was ever used. Most of my plots are on x-christmas tree land so I need to work at getting it back to nuetral. Now it's working and I want to plant more. I love doing it, but it can get a little costly, hence the reason for my search for cheaper oat seed. The picture of the buck on my last post was taken on Saturday the 11th of September. Usually they are all rubbed off by now. It would be cool to see him this weekend still in velvet on the back of my truck. The buck in this post was later that same day. This is not customary. I think alot of guys were out working on stands or something and they must have nudged the deer passed my camera. Nice bonus for me, I hope they do the same this weekend. Thanks for the tip.

Fave

[prohunter]

Hello fave, The xmas trees make the ground very acidict its a wounder that you didnt have to use more lime than that.
Maybe if the ground is that sandy you can have some top soil broght in.
I dont think clover does very well in sandy soil i lived in michigan and tried to plant some in sandy soil and it did not grow it came up but died,but the bigger seed did well.
I am in middle tn just north of cookeville, its a great place to live and hunt i love it here.
Most of my food plots have top soil almost a foot deep ,i think you have to some richer soil to hold clover, but you can plant some crop seed like soy beans or corn the deer will go after that way before the clover and soy beans make a great late season kill zone, but check your game laws frist to see if you can do this or not.
You can just broadcast this it doesnt have to be in rows. hope this helps Jim