Food Plots Food plot size, shape, and location

hbg1 said:
You mentioned to me that you bush hog your clover in may when it heads out, isn't the most important time of year for antler growth spring and summer? Seems you would want something during these months that really promotes the growth
Click to expand...
The crimson clover and wheat that I grew in the fall and winter seed out and die in mid-May (they are both annuals - you only get one growing season out of them), so that is when I plant my summer crops. I spread the summer seed into the standing dead clover/wheat and then mow all the dead material down onto the seed. Works very well, even for larger-seeded plants like soybeans. I wait for the crimson to seed and die because that allows me to have next fall's seed already on the ground. The crimson clover seed heads contain way more seed than what is needed for planting a tilled plot, so I don't have to buy/spread any in the fall. If you don't let the seed die and dry, it won't germinate the following fall.

And as for early spring, Nature takes care of that. The early growth of plants in spring is incredibly digestible and nutritious, and deer often stop using the plots all together once green-up starts. They move back to the plots by mid-June.
 
BSK said:
The crimson clover and wheat that I grew in the fall and winter seed out and die in mid-May (they are both annuals - you only get one growing season out of them), so that is when I plant my summer crops. I spread the summer seed into the standing dead clover/wheat and then mow all the dead material down onto the seed. Works very well, even for larger-seeded plants like soybeans. I wait for the crimson to seed and die because that allows me to have next fall's seed already on the ground. The crimson clover seed heads contain way more seed than what is needed for planting a tilled plot, so I don't have to buy/spread any in the fall. If you don't let the seed die and dry, it won't germinate the following fall.

And as for early spring, Nature takes care of that. The early growth of plants in spring is incredibly digestible and nutritious, and deer often stop using the plots all together once green-up starts. They move back to the plots by mid-June.
Click to expand...
is the sorghum and buckwheat very nutritional
 
hbg1 said:
is the sorghum and buckwheat very nutritional
Click to expand...
The buckwheat yes, but the deer don't use it very heavy in summer. However, it is a good soil-builder. The deer don't eat sorghum plants, but they eat the seed-heads once they've matured in fall. Yet I never let them get that far. I was only growing it for mulch to mow down onto my fall seed.

This year, I'm going to move away from the sorghum. Although it is great "green manure" producer, having it in the plots prevents spraying with any type of herbicide during the summer, and I'm having problems with foxtail and fescue invading my summer plots. So, this year I'm going to switch to a summer mixture that will allow spraying a grass-killer over the plots in summer. My mixture will mimic a product sold by Eagle Seed. It will have forage soybeans, cowpeas, buckwheat, and sunflower. I will be able to spray that plot with clethodim to kill grasses mid-summer.

And for those that don't think soybeans will grow with throw-and-mow planting techniques, here are my summer plots about 15 days after planting (soybeans and sorghum). You can see all the young soybean plants coming up through the thatch. The one mistake I made last year was not throwing enough soybean seed. That was only 40 lbs/acre. And it is critical that the seed be broadcast before mowing. Then the plot can immediately be sprayed with Round-up after seeding and mowing. In the past, I didn't like throw-and-mow because I mowed first, waited a week for some regrowth, and then sprayed with Round-up. That was followed by broadcast seeding. In that situation, large-seeded plants like soybeans or any type of peas will not germinate well, because the seeds aren't making contact with the soil and have nothing covering them. Seeding then mowing is critical.
 

Attachments

  • plots48.webp
    plots48.webp
    224.2 KB

Latest posts

Back
Top