Food Plots Help with late summer grasses

[tellico4x4]

BSK,
I've always mixed the lab lab with peas, Milo, dwarf sunflowers & buckwheat. The taller stuff gives structure for the vines to climb and deer never have gotten on it hard until late summer or early fall

 

[BSK]

I'm basically starting over on this plot. Grasses even choke out 50% of the fall planting on this spot. Although I have some much better soil after planting it for 5 years now.

After just two years of throw-and-mow planting, I'm already impressed with the results. The above picture of the naturally reseeding clover is taken in the exact same spot I took the picture below, of what my plots looked like after tilling and then rain washing away the thin powdery veneer of "soil" around the rock. Now I'm already starting to see the beginnings of a true soil profile on top of the chert rock base.

 

[BSK]

BSK,
I've always mixed the lab lab with peas, Milo, dwarf sunflowers & buckwheat. The taller stuff gives structure for the vines to climb and deer never have gotten on it hard until late summer or early fall

That plot is gorgeous!

I realize the sunflower is there for the vining plants to climb on, but I would probably have to forgo that plant as I plan on spraying these plots with clethodim in mid and late summer to combat the foxtail and fescue grasses.

 

[backyardtndeer]

In my limited experience, without burning it down, you will probably continue to have the same problems unless you move to rr varieties that you can spray. I know you posted that you didn't want to pay eagle prices, I believe they may have a rr sorghum now. Really all in how you choose to look at it.

 

[BSK]

In my limited experience, without burning it down, you will probably continue to have the same problems unless you move to rr varieties that you can spray. I know you posted that you didn't want to pay eagle prices, I believe they may have a rr sorghum now. Really all in how you choose to look at it.

Going straight to their website to see if that's the case!

 

[BSK]

I didn't find a RR sorghum, but I did find this, their ESCO Summer Blend:

"Big-leafed forage soybeans, fast growing cowpeas, dense black oil sunflowers and multi-generational buckwheat combine for the perfect low maintenance summer blend. Easy clean-up, no grasses so you can use Clethodim over the top"

Last fall, I used Clethodim to kill the grasses after fall seeding and mowing because I had so much volunteer Crimson Clover that had been growing all summer and I didn't want to kill it by using Roundup. The clethodim worked great on the regrowing grasses after mowing. I suspect if I hit the plot early, just as the grasses are peaking above the other plants, I could keep them under control and prevent them from going to seed.

Thanks for the idea backyardtndeer!