Food plot and a little work today

[unclefish]

In my experience the peas and soybeans are vulnerable right now looking at your pics. As long as they don't eat the cotyledons (first leaves the emerge) it will regrow if eaten. Not sure about the Sunn Hemp at this point....I've heard it is very browse resistant but I have no experience with it yet.

I like your thoughts on the EW screen. Not sure how much you fertilized it already but if you haven't...I would put some N on it right now and then again when its about ~3 feet high.

[unclefish]

Well my food plot screens are off to a great start. Mix of EW and WGF sorghum. Put some heavy N on it since the rains have likely washed alot of the previous fertilizer away. Will hopefully hit 10 feet tall by the late summer.






The Sunn Hemp is struggling somewhat. Germination was poor and the plants that did are not the height I thought they would be by now. The 12 inches of heavy rain since May 1 may or may not have contributed to it. I really don't know.

SH is in the middle of the pic. I also have a TON of wooly croton (dove weed) coming up volunteer.....couldn't get rid of that even if I tried....Lol.

[unclefish]

I also planted 40 lbs of sunflowers and got pretty good germination. But they deer have eaten almost every single plant. They are selectively picking them out and devouring them.

The clover is loving all the rain.


Getting some sedges and other grass like plants but not much actual grass at all.


I did broadcast some more Sunn Hemp seed that I had leftover from this year's batch. Not giving up on it just yet.



Oh and the deer are just pounding the protein even with all the rain.

[Nailhead]

Nice UF! Things are looking great. Maybe the sun hemp will come on strong over the next moth. I'll keep my fingers crossed. Clover looks awesome.

[unclefish]

Nice UF! Things are looking great. Maybe the sun hemp will come on strong over the next moth. I'll keep my fingers crossed. Clover looks awesome.

Thanks.

Alot of what I have tried to do has been experimental using as little equipment, tillage, and work as possible.....just to see what works and what doesn't. I still have alot more to learn but it sure is fun to play on your own piece of dirt.

[Nailhead]

Thanks.

Alot of what I have tried to do has been experimental using as little equipment, tillage, and work as possible.....just to see what works and what doesn't. I still have alot more to learn but it sure is fun to play on your own piece of dirt.

Amen to that!

[macoop]

Wow your food plots look great. I like the way you are planting a variety and seeing what works the best. Keep posting up progress pictures so we can see what your plots look like.
I plowed up my beans last Sunday and left the milo. My germination rate was really low on the beans so I decided to start over. I think I figured out what my problem was on the drill so this go around should be better.

I bought a new (to me ) John Deere 4020 and I can't wait to re-plant and start a new plot. A lot of my lablab mix washed out on me on my high fenced food plot but I'm going to leave it and see what happens. I've got sunn hemp and sod buster radishes that I'll plant in my new plot.
I'm hoping I can re-plant on Saturday or Sunday.

[BaseKAM36]

Looks very good

[unclefish]

Wow your food plots look great. I like the way you are planting a variety and seeing what works the best. Keep posting up progress pictures so we can see what your plots look like.
I plowed up my beans last Sunday and left the milo. My germination rate was really low on the beans so I decided to start over. I think I figured out what my problem was on the drill so this go around should be better.

I bought a new (to me ) John Deere 4020 and I can't wait to re-plant and start a new plot. A lot of my lablab mix washed out on me on my high fenced food plot but I'm going to leave it and see what happens. I've got sunn hemp and sod buster radishes that I'll plant in my new plot.
I'm hoping I can re-plant on Saturday or Sunday.

Sucks to have to start over but sometimes it's the only thing going you can do. Hope you got your drill dialed in and get a good crop of beans!

[unclefish]

A few protein pics I got this morning......love the Covert!

This is an old protein feeder but it works great and the coons still haven't figured out a way to get to the pellets.






Preggo does about to pop.


It's interesting to watch how different deer groups wait to eat at the feeder. Bucks come in first and when they are done the does come in. Definitely an order in the hierarchy.

[EastTexun]

Plots are looking good! I have tried sunflowers several times to allow the beans to vine on something and the deer seem to get them just as fast as they do the legumes, and I end up with a pretty empty field. This year my legumes seem to have gotten a head start on the deer, which I attribute to lots of rain and plenty of forbs to eat while the legumes mature. Have you planted the Durana in the past? If so, how long does it normally go until it gets too hot, or will it perenniate?

I still haven't planted my SH due to some explosive Arrowleaf clover. I may get some drilled in 2 weeks or so, depending on my existing plots.

[EastTexun]

A few protein pics I got this morning......love the Covert!

This is an old protein feeder but it works great and the coons still haven't figured out a way to get to the pellets.

It's interesting to watch how different deer groups wait to eat at the feeder. Bucks come in first and when they are done the does come in. Definitely an order in the hierarchy.

I have noticed the same thing, especially when it comes to bachelor groups of bucks resulting in does not getting any protein action. I am going to try putting 2 different protein feeders in 1 pen this year to see if they will "split up" and utilize both feeders at the same time or not. My pens are plenty big enough, but it will be interesting to see what happens. I would place them about 50 yds apart, but I am too cheap to build more feeder pens and the hogs make pens a requirement.

[unclefish]

I have noticed the same thing, especially when it comes to bachelor groups of bucks resulting in does not getting any protein action. I am going to try putting 2 different protein feeders in 1 pen this year to see if they will "split up" and utilize both feeders at the same time or not. My pens are plenty big enough, but it will be interesting to see what happens. I would place them about 50 yds apart, but I am too cheap to build more feeder pens and the hogs make pens a requirement.

I'm thinking about doing the same thing and put my 1200lb protein feeder alongside the small one.

[unclefish]

Its kind of a weird phenomenon but since I'm very close to Lake Somerville and the lake is over 11.5 feet high and still rising...I'm seeing way more deer than I normally do at my place. I suspect the high water is pushing them out of the bottoms and on to drier pastures and they are loving the protein and the goodies that are planted.

[DUKFVR]

HOPEFULLY they like what they have found & become residents for ya!!