Food plot and a little work today

[EastTexun]

What type of clover was it? Could you tell?

There is Crimson clover all over the Woodlands. I pass it every day going to and from work. I wish mine perenniated as well as it does around here.

[unclefish]

What type of clover was it? Could you tell?

There is Crimson clover all over the Woodlands. I pass it every day going to and from work. I wish mine perenniated as well as it does around here.

I really don't know what kind it was. I'll know more when it blooms a little later on.

[Backwoods101]

How's your mineral spot doing?

[unclefish]

Not much use at the minerals yet. This past week the plot activity has dropped off dramatically too.

[Palmetto]

Posted this on another thread but I was walking my native pasture the other day and noticed it was full of clover. I didn't plant it and it was everywhere.....probably close to 10 acres of it. Lots of stuff for the critters to eat right now.

OH man....we are ate up with it. These warmer days really have it coming on, and I really have to keep an eye on my cows. Im not complaining, as I have calves dropping everywhere. Im still feeding hay daily to keep some roughage in their bellies.

I have noticed that the deer still keep my fertilized durana ate down tight, while there is native white top clover ankle deep everywhere. The native looks just like Durana.

[JAB71]

Fish,

I have purchased sunn hemp, cow peas, and soybeans. I checked the ranch yesterday and my oats have grown to about a foot tall. I am very nervous about throwing the seed into the grown oats, then shredding, then cultipacking. I am afraid that the ground may be to compact or the seed may not get down to the soil.
The only alternative is to disk up all the oats and plant seed into disked soil then cultipack.
What do you think? I could do a trail and do half in oats and half in disked soil?

the other concern I have is that in your sunn hemp trial the soil was probably not near as compact as my soil. I disked it 6 months ago before I planted the oats.

I welcome all replies

[unclefish]

JAB71 if you have hard compacted soil you would be better off disking and planting to get a good crop. For the larger seeds (beans/peas) it really helps to have a layer of "duff" (fluffy soil from lots of organic matter). This duff layer builds over time when you don't till and organic matter falls and decays on top of the soil.

The sunn hemp would probably do fine since it has a smaller flatter seed.

A trial of both would make a great thread!

[deer farmer]

Fish,

I have purchased sunn hemp, cow peas, and soybeans. I checked the ranch yesterday and my oats have grown to about a foot tall. I am very nervous about throwing the seed into the grown oats, then shredding, then cultipacking. I am afraid that the ground may be to compact or the seed may not get down to the soil.
The only alternative is to disk up all the oats and plant seed into disked soil then cultipack.
What do you think? I could do a trail and do half in oats and half in disked soil?

the other concern I have is that in your sunn hemp trial the soil was probably not near as compact as my soil. I disked it 6 months ago before I planted the oats.


I welcome all replies

I have a food plot like u describe. located where it does not get a lot of deer traffic. I will mow, then disk and sow my beans and disk again and then drag. it works but it might not be the economical or fastest way but I double the seeding rates and I get good growth of my new planted beans.

[JAB71]

I disked up half of the food plots yesterday. Im gonna try both methods and hopefully have some pics for you guys.
method 1. disk, plant, multipack
method 2. throw seed on ground with oats in field, shred, cultipack

[unclefish]

Awesome JAB71. Can't wait to see the difference. Did you plant the same seeding rate for both?

Any predictions?

I would bet the SH will do good in both but the peas/beans will be better in the traditional method.

[JAB71]

I haven't planted yet. Just disked the areas I'm going to plant. Probably this next week Ill plant.

Also, I was talking the the guys at turner seed last week and he was telling me about a new seed that will be available next year called guam. not sure on the spelling He said it was high protein and the deer love it. He thinks it will take off like sunn hemp. It is also going to be half the cost. It will be around .90 for a lb. I paid 1.80 per lb for the sunn hemp.

[EastTexun]

Fish, how are your clovers doing? I was out at my place on Tuesday to meet a forester and my food plots look like a golf course. The deer knocked down the oats enough to really release the crimson and the arrowleaf is coming along nicely. My exclosures show a ton of utilization so far.

[unclefish]

Interesting about the guam. Will try and research it.

Haven't been to my place in 2 weeks but the last time I was there the rye and oats was getting tall and starting to shade out the clover. The use if my plots has dropped off pretty good. Plenty of other stuff to eat I guess.

I'm gonna either mow it or spray it with some grass selective herbicide called clethodim. It works great at killing grass and leaving the broadleafs alone like chicory and clover. That should really get the durana plots going.

I'm gonna head there this weekend and check on my balance fixation clover plot. It's in a different location from the main plot. Curious to see how it's doing.

[Huntin]

I am in Ellinger and planted two and a half weeks ago. Beans (all kinds), clover, corn, lettuce and radish. Also ferilized with triple 13 this year. Some of the oats are still growing from has year. I had a lot of deer two years ago and not so many last year. Trying to get them coming back. I also put up a protein feeder and another corn slinger. Not sure what else to do to draw them in

[unclefish]

Huntin - sounds like you have the food covered. I'm not sure how big your place is but probably more important than food are good bedding areas. The thicker the better and minimize intrusion into them. My place is small but I have a bedding area that I enhanced by hinge cutting trees and making it very thick. I can count on seeing deer come from that bedding area when I'm hunting.

I wouldn't see half the deer I have if I didn't have good bedding areas on my place and close by on my neighbors place.