First time food plot question

[Aetheling]

I put in my first plot. Directions for my area (Montgomery County) said plant mid September. Plot is lush and thick. Oats, winter wheat, clover, barley, and turnips. So my question is when will they eat it. So far they just walk through it. Is it a late season thing?

[Drycreek3189]

The first thing I see, with just that picture, is too many turnips. Turnips (all brassicas actually) need to be a very small part of your planting in the south. Brassicas go over well for late season where it get very cold, here, not so much. Everything else in your mix is great. I’m not saying they won’t eat the turnips, they might, but I’ve planted them, as well as other brassicas, and they went uneaten. It will definitely be eaten late season if they eat them at all. All of this is my opinion, but it’s based on 15 years or more of planting lots of different seeds on several different places. Fall plots, in my mind and from my experience, need grains and clovers more than anything else. The grains will provide in the fall, and the clovers will flourish in the spring as soon as the soil warms up.

I’m still looking for the perfect seed mix for spring/summer planting in East Texas small plots.

[Aetheling]

The first thing I see, with just that picture, is too many turnips. Turnips (all brassicas actually) need to be a very small part of your planting in the south. Brassicas go over well for late season where it get very cold, here, not so much. Everything else in your mix is great. I’m not saying they won’t eat the turnips, they might, but I’ve planted them, as well as other brassicas, and they went uneaten. It will definitely be eaten late season if they eat them at all. All of this is my opinion, but it’s based on 15 years or more of planting lots of different seeds on several different places. Fall plots, in my mind and from my experience, need grains and clovers more than anything else. The grains will provide in the fall, and the clovers will flourish in the spring as soon as the soil warms up.

I’m still looking for the perfect seed mix for spring/summer planting in East Texas small plots.

I hand casted the seeds and the turnip seeds seemed to have been at the top of the bag so they are heaviest in the area I began in. The majority is clover and grains.

If the deer dont eat the turnip greens I sure as hell will lol.

[Drycreek3189]

I hand casted the seeds and the turnip seeds seemed to have been at the top of the bag so they are heaviest in the area I began in. The majority is clover and grains.

If the deer dont eat the turnip greens I sure as hell will lol.

OK, then there may be too many acorns or something else they are eating. On one place I hunt, the deer aren’t hitting the corn, but they are definitely hitting the Elbon rye that I planted. On another, they hit the corn first, then the plot. Who the hell knows why they do what they do ?

The second pic is a mix from Green Cover Seeds it has rye and several clovers plus some kind of brassicas. We’ll see if they eat the greens, but I’m betting they don’t I added a half bag of rye to it to increase they grains.

Well, when I edited it the pics reversed positions, so the pic with the pine tree in the middle of the plot is the mix

[SaltwaterSlick]

Soon as the akern's is gone or soured from all this rain...

[Keith]

The first thing I see, with just that picture, is too many turnips. Turnips (all brassicas actually) need to be a very small part of your planting in the south. Brassicas go over well for late season where it get very cold, here, not so much. Everything else in your mix is great. I’m not saying they won’t eat the turnips, they might, but I’ve planted them, as well as other brassicas, and they went uneaten. It will definitely be eaten late season if they eat them at all. All of this is my opinion, but it’s based on 15 years or more of planting lots of different seeds on several different places. Fall plots, in my mind and from my experience, need grains and clovers more than anything else. The grains will provide in the fall, and the clovers will flourish in the spring as soon as the soil warms up.

I’m still looking for the perfect seed mix for spring/summer planting in East Texas small plots.

What's your favorite at this point? I would like to throw out something in the far corner of my yard that doesn't require plowing or actual planting.

[RMW]

If you want the deer to eat it, I would plant BFO oats and Whitetail Institute Winter Peas Plus. For those of you that want a throw and grow without planting or disking Cereal Rye is your ticket.

[Drycreek3189]

If you want the deer to eat it, I would plant BFO oats and Whitetail Institute Winter Peas Plus. For those of you that want a throw and grow without planting or disking Cereal Rye is your ticket.

As he said, cereal rye (Elbon rye), not rye grass.

[dbaio1]

Hit dat plot with some 33 or 34 -0-0 and once they take a bite they wont keep walking thru it. When we first starte plots 25 years ago ours looked like yours early until all natural food sources were hit hard. Regional biologist recommended this to us and it made a difference in short time.After the first year or so plots would start getting hit as soon as sprouting started. We learned quick small plots need to be bigger to not stay mowed down.

[Drycreek3189]

Actually, this is my first year in a long time to plant something other than wheat in the fall. I planted Elbon rye this year because the guys on the habitat forums sing its praises. It is said to have alelliopathic (sp) properties that suppress the growth of weeds and I can use that. The deer seem to eat it as well as wheat so I’m gonna give it a shot. It’s all of the plot in the bottom pic above and probably half of the top pic. All of the deer I saw yesterday feeding in the rye plot never went near the feeder, but the bunch in that pic grazed that rye for a good half hour.

[Aetheling]

Hit dat plot with some 33 or 34 -0-0 and once they take a bite they wont keep walking thru it. When we first starte plots 25 years ago ours looked like yours early until all natural food sources were hit hard. Regional biologist recommended this to us and it made a difference in short time.After the first year or so plots would start getting hit as soon as sprouting started. We learned quick small plots need to be bigger to not stay mowed down.

How many pounds per acre do you use?

[spidermonkey]

With Drycreek on this one. Cereal grains and clover in NE Texas seem to do best for fall plots for draw, good production, and deer love em. I’ve had the same results with any type of brassica, grow good, look awesome and thick, but my deer don’t care for em. After a HARD frost, all the sugar from the root goes to the the leaves, and they’ll eat em then. But, it’s usually pretty late around these parts before that happens. And even then, it’s not like they trip over themselves to get at em. Plant nearly 4 acres every year in this, and it’s always done real well. My .02. Good Huntin, and God Bless, Rusty

[dbaio1]

How many pounds per acre do you use?

We plant 75 lbs forage oats, 50 of winter wheat, 50 cereal rye, 10 lbs ladino and 10 lbs arrowleaf, 5 lbs Daikon radsish, 5 lbs forage turnips and 5 lbs of rape per acre. Some plots have chicory and some lablab.

[Arrowsmith]

I have 4+ acres planted on our farm here in Iowa. It about 70% cereal rye. I also planted 6 lbs of Northwoods Whitetails Sweet Feast Brassicas, 100 lbs of Cool Season combo, and about 10-12 lbs of Imperial Whitetail Clover. My wife found the 18 pound bag of Imperial Whitetail Clover at the Amish discount grocery for $14.99. We couldn't believe it. That's a $140.00 bag of clover. I am going to frost seed the remainder of the clover this spring. All my brassica plots are over seeded with cereal rye.

My Amish seed dealer sells the rye by the bushel (56lbs) I broadcast 5 bushels plus I had some volunteer back from last year. If I could only plant one thing it would be cereal rye. The deer here pound it.

Dry Creek (Don) is right. Cereal rye is a great weed suppressor and a great soil builder. Even here in Iowa it will for the most part stay green all winter. It will also be the first thing to really pop in the spring. I mow some of mine when it's about 2 feet tall in late April/ early May and let some get 5-6 tall and go to seed. The tall stuff is great fawn cover.

The deer here will eat the green tops of the turnips and radishes until they get wilted by frost. Later this winter they will eat the bulbs flush with ground and then dig up the remainder. By February my brassica plots look like a mine field.

[SaltwaterSlick]

We plant 75 lbs forage oats, 50 of winter wheat, 50 cereal rye, 10 lbs ladino and 10 lbs arrowleaf, 5 lbs Daikon radsish, 5 lbs forage turnips and 5 lbs of rape per acre. Some plots have chicory and some lablab.

I think he was asking about how much fertilizer you put down...