Food plot and a little work today

[Backwoods101]

Lol, you got me scratching my head again. Im going to have a little bald spot on top of my head that im going to name 'Unclefish's food plotting for dummies'. I've always thought you needed to get rid of the layer of dead debris in order for new growth to prosper. How do you build a heathy thatch and maintain the proper depth?

[unclefish]

Lol, you got me scratching my head again. Im going to have a little bald spot on top of my head that im going to name 'Unclefish's food plotting for dummies'. I've always thought you needed to get rid of the layer of dead debris in order for new growth to prosper. How do you build a heathy thatch and maintain the proper depth?

I'm just a novice at this but here are my thoughts. First of all you ask great questions and I like having discussions on this....so anyone please chime in on this!

Thatch gets a bad rap to me. Yes you need the seed to contact the soil or some organic variation of soil (thatch) in order to get seed to germinate. Thatch breaks down very quickly here in Texas and turns into organic matter. Once the seed reaches that organic matter it will thrive! The more organic matter your soil has....the bigger/better crops you can grown in it.

I broadcast seeds into the standing grass/weeds/etc..those seeds hit the soil (hopefully with lots of organic matter already in it). When you mow the grass/weeds over the top of it and then get a good rain...the thatch becomes a moisture rich insulating cover for the seed that excels at helping the seed germinate. The bottom is contacting wet soil and the top of the seed is contacting wet thatch. Very small seeds will get buried just under the soil and still have the thatch layer over the top.

Once it germinates that sprout reaches for the sky. It will shoot up through the dead thatch layer. It has no problem growing through that layer. Meanwhile since the roots are covered with thatch....it helps insulate and conserve moisture to that plant all through its growing cycle.

Seeds that are just broadcast on top of the bare ground don't have the benefit of the wet thatch layer to help germinate it (unless its small like a clover seed....then it gets buried into soil).

Every year you plant new crops and don't till the soil.....the organic layer gets larger and larger in the soil. You can see it.....especially in sandy soils...it will be a rich dark color right on top....and sandy underneath. You can literally change the composition of your soils by planting organic rich material plants and letting them decompose on top and keeping your soil covered.

Look at these soil pics from a guy on QDMA forums that has been doing this alot longer than I have.

This is when he started.......sandy soil...no organic matter.



After one year of not tilling, planting rye and letting it decompose on top of the soil. Look at that black streak of organic matter.

[elgato]

Great explanation.

[Backwoods101]

Wow!

[Backwoods101]

Within the next week I want to broadcast something to thicken up my plot. Should I go with rye as a addition to my plot instead of oats?

[jkelbe]

I'm picking up what you're putting down. That looks fantastic. I will have to try this. I have a nice weed patch I need to mow. Might by some cheap seed to try this with this fall/winter, and give me something to broadcast into this spring.

Now when to you apply the Gly / Roundup, before or after you mow?

[jkelbe]

Within the next week I want to broadcast something to thicken up my plot. Should I go with rye as a addition to my plot instead of oats?

I did a quick research on this at the beginning of September. My google skills came up with deer prefer Oats over Rye.

But also, I have to go back and double check, but what is the difference between Elbon Rye and other variations, and why does Unclefish like it so much.

[unclefish]

Within the next week I want to broadcast something to thicken up my plot. Should I go with rye as a addition to my plot instead of oats?

I would go with cereal rye. Oats will work too but won't grow as thick and tall in the spring as rye.

[unclefish]

I'm picking up what you're putting down. That looks fantastic. I will have to try this. I have a nice weed patch I need to mow. Might by some cheap seed to try this with this fall/winter, and give me something to broadcast into this spring.

Now when to you apply the Gly / Roundup, before or after you mow?

Either way works but I prefer to spray and then wait a week to see if I got a good kill....then I broadcast seeds and then mow.

You could do it the other way too....this year that's what I did when my sprayer broke. I broadcast and mowed then came back two days later and sprayed. Turns out I missed a few spots with the sprayer and now I can't spray them without killing my new food plot sprouts.

[unclefish]

I did a quick research on this at the beginning of September. My google skills came up with deer prefer Oats over Rye.

But also, I have to go back and double check, but what is the difference between Elbon Rye and other variations, and why does Unclefish like it so much.

My deer will eat both so the growth benefits and cold tolerance of the Rye win out if I had to choose one.

Once you plant in this same plot year after year and the deer get used to feeding in it....it probably doesn't matter what you plant.....they will eat it.

[Cardinal]

Unclefish, just wanted to commend you on this thread and the work on your place. I have been lurking for the last couple of years and this is one of my favorite threads. Good luck the rest of the way and hopefully you will see the rewards of your work.

[unclefish]

Unclefish, just wanted to commend you on this thread and the work on your place. I have been lurking for the last couple of years and this is one of my favorite threads. Good luck the rest of the way and hopefully you will see the rewards of your work.

Thank you sir! Appreciate it!

I'll take some of el gato's scrub deer any day!

[jbhlsu]

Great thread as I just finished reading all of it...learned a lot and I just started my first plots 2 weeks ago. How many acres do you have Unclefish?

Joe

[unclefish]

37 beautiful and thick creek bottom acres.
Wish I had 10 times that. Maybe the deer would get bigger.... Lol.

[jbhlsu]

37 beautiful and thick creek bottom acres.
Wish I had 10 times that. Maybe the deer would get bigger.... Lol.

Yea...I hear you. Just purchased 55 acres and starting the process now. Your deer herd has come along way though. Good luck and keep posting up your skills....