Food plot questions

[mjhaverkamp]

Ok I have about 30 acres mowed and ready to spray, where is the best place to buy gly ? I have a seeder ( similar to a no till ) should I plant then spray or vice versa ? Fertilize now or wait to see if I get the plots to come up and then fertilize ? I am still a little concerned about spraying, I have a boomless sprayer that supposedly will cover 30 feet, my small plots will not be a problem but I do have aboiut a 20 acre field that concerns me as far as knowing where I have sprayed, was thinking if I planted first then sprayed I may be able to see my tractor tracks a lot easier, what do you pro food plotters think ?

[Walker]

To answer one of your questions. There is a dye you can put in the spray tank so you know where you've sprayed.

[RMW]

If you overlap with gly it won’t hurt nothing just kill grass and weeds better. Gly is a contact killer with no residual in soil. You can get gly at Simplot or local co-op. I’d put no less than 2 quarts per acre and add extra crop oil for better burn down. If you’re not disking in your fertilizer I would wait till you see a really good chance of rain then put out, you could lose a good portion of your N in your fertilizer if just sits in plot without being watered in.

[txbowman12]

In full disclosure, have never done something that large (20 acres). If it was me, I would leave big strips of it in native pasture anyway, so I wouldn't be that worried about missing spots. Having cover in the food will encourage a lot more daytime use. The more random the better. Deer love feeding on edges.

In terms of order of operation, I would spray, let it die, then seed and mow. More surface area to get a better kill and a damaged plant may not take up the gly as well. Also gets the benefit of dropping the dead grass on top of the seed and acting like mulch. I don't bother with mowing at all in the spring, just let it die down around the new plants as they come up. Keeps the seedlings better protected as they come up.

I think you are better off fertilizing after seedlings are established, but done is better than perfect, as long as it gets watered in you'll be good

Edit to ask. What are you planting?

[mjhaverkamp]

In full disclosure, have never done something that large (20 acres). If it was me, I would leave big strips of it in native pasture anyway, so I wouldn't be that worried about missing spots. Having cover in the food will encourage a lot more daytime use. The more random the better. Deer love feeding on edges.

In terms of order of operation, I would spray, let it die, then seed and mow. More surface area to get a better kill and a damaged plant may not take up the gly as well. Also gets the benefit of dropping the dead grass on top of the seed and acting like mulch. I don't bother with mowing at all in the spring, just let it die down around the new plants as they come up. Keeps the seedlings better protected as they come up.

I think you are better off fertilizing after seedlings are established, but done is better than perfect, as long as it gets watered in you'll be good

Edit to ask. What are you planting?

A lot of the grass was dead or dormant and about 12-18 inches tall, that is why I mowed it first so the gly will be able to get on the new grass, going to plant dove promo millet, brown top millet, foxtail millet. peredovik black oil sunflowers, and iron clay cow peas in the 20 acre patch, planting deer spring mix in the other 12 acres of plots. Will spray after planting, the research that I have done says that will work perfectly fine. Going to wait until it has sprouted before fertilizing.

[txbowman12]

A lot of the grass was dead or dormant and about 12-18 inches tall, that is why I mowed it first so the gly will be able to get on the new grass, going to plant dove promo millet, brown top millet, foxtail millet. peredovik black oil sunflowers, and iron clay cow peas in the 20 acre patch, planting deer spring mix in the other 12 acres of plots. Will spray after planting, the research that I have done says that will work perfectly fine. Going to wait until it has sprouted before fertilizing.

I broadcast and spray all the time. Germination rates are actually improved by pushing the seed down in the soil where I drove over the seeds while spraying.

You didn't ask my opinion, but I've never had great luck with sunflowers and cow peas germinating well via broadcast. Millet and milo will come up just fine. That could just be because they got wiped out as soon as they popped up, so you might be fine. But if it was me, I'd mix in a little sunn hemp to fill any nitrogen void if the cow peas don't take. Sorghum sudangrass on the edges will give great cover

[mjhaverkamp]

I broadcast and spray all the time. Germination rates are actually improved by pushing the seed down in the soil where I drove over the seeds while spraying.

You didn't ask my opinion, but I've never had great luck with sunflowers and cow peas germinating well via broadcast. Millet and milo will come up just fine. That could just be because they got wiped out as soon as they popped up, so you might be fine. But if it was me, I'd mix in a little sunn hemp to fill any nitrogen void if the cow peas don't take. Sorghum sudangrass on the edges will give great cover

I have a conservation seeder, its very similar to a no till drill, has a cultipacker on it as well. It is made by John Deere / Frontier, it is the 7 footer.