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Food Plots Is this right?

L

lol

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 31, 2024
Messages
190
Location
Monroe County
I'm new to this. I broadcast wheat, cereal rye and crimson about 2 weeks ago. Haven't had much rain. Stopped by today to look and I've got some stuff coming up. Does this look like what I planted or something else?
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Looks real good to me; especially if that is near Monroe county since we haven't had hardly any rain here on the east side. I'm not far from to Monroe; and forecast for me is 3-4 inches this week. Would expect your plot to really take off after that.
 
lafn96 said:
Looks real good to me; especially if that is near Monroe county since we haven't had hardly any rain here on the east side. I'm not far from to Monroe; and forecast for me is 3-4 inches this week. Would expect your plot to really take off after that.
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Good deal. I overseeded a bit today before the gully washer they're predicting. That field is along a creek bottom and has a spring that seeps through the middle of it, its not enough to flow but it gets mushy if you drive through it. I wasn't expecting it to start growing so soon, the spring looked like it had dried up quite a bit, but I think it may be keeping the soil moist underneath and just evaporating at the surface. A little up the hill I didn't have anything growing yet so that's got to be the reason.
 
lafn96 said:
I'd be over-joyed if my plot looked like that! To answer your first question yes, its what you broadcast. Only see a few weeds - but that's not necessarily a bad thing.
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Awesome! I wasn't sure what I was looking at. As far as the weeds, there was no way I could get rid of all of them. I sprayed 3 times over 6 weeks beforehand but it only knocked out about 90%. Across the creek from this I've got about an acre of so of ragweed I've left standing. They were tearing it up so I didn't want to take away something they were eating. I'm hoping next year I can get some equipment in there and do it right with a drill after a good nuking.
 
BSK said:
Just remember that some weeds are more attractive and nutritious than what we are planting, so having a few weeds in your plots is no big deal.
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I'm still trying to learn which are good and which are bad. There's quite a few invasives I've found that are no benefit which makes it tough to manage. They're hard to get rid of without killing everything.
 
lafn96 said:
I wonder if mowing that ragweed would keep it growing? Deer seem to like the new growth.
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I've not learned enough yet to know. Last year, we had to mulch these fields that had grown up just to have access to the property. We ended up with a lack of cover, so I'm curious if leaving the rag weed standing at height might make the deer more comfortable with movement. Next season, I should have my patch cuts done and will do something else with the field.
 
lol said:
I'm still trying to learn which are good and which are bad. There's quite a few invasives I've found that are no benefit which makes it tough to manage. They're hard to get rid of without killing everything.
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It's all a learning process. And that learning never ends. I've been doing habitat work professionally since the late 90s, yet I'm still learning new things all the time, especially here on TNdeer. Best information source going.

And BTW, if you can find a copy, the book "Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses" by James and Karl Miller is an INVALUABLE resource. It's like a bird field guide with lots of glossy pictures of each species in its various growth stages, plus a discussion of each species and what wildlife use it and when.

Just googled it and you can order it from Target or Forestry Supply. Worth EVERY penny. I refer to it weekly.
 
BSK said:
It's all a learning process. And that learning never ends. I've been doing habitat work professionally since the late 90s, yet I'm still learning new things all the time, especially here on TNdeer. Best information source going.

And BTW, if you can find a copy, the book "Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses" by James and Karl Miller is an INVALUABLE resource. It's like a bird field guide with lots of glossy pictures of each species in its various growth stages, plus a discussion of each species and what wildlife use it and when.
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Yes on the book! Craig harper has a couple good ones, foodplots for wildlife and forest something for wildlife
 
BSK said:
It's all a learning process. And that learning never ends. I've been doing habitat work professionally since the late 90s, yet I'm still learning new things all the time, especially here on TNdeer. Best information source going.

And BTW, if you can find a copy, the book "Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses" by James and Karl Miller is an INVALUABLE resource. It's like a bird field guide with lots of glossy pictures of each species in its various growth stages, plus a discussion of each species and what wildlife use it and when.

Just googled it and you can order it from Target or Forestry Supply. Worth EVERY penny. I refer to it weekly.
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Good deal. I'll look into it. I've already discovered some interesting species on the property. We have trilliums, fire azalea, mountain mints, blueberries, a ton of crab apples, wild grapes, etc. Its also an old gold mine so even the minerals are interesting. I've really enjoyed learning more about it as I spend more time on site. I'd love to make it a full time job if it paid anything.
 
I see plantain & blackberry & some type of cereal grain. Looks pretty darn good. I've put out loads of seed twice and have very little to nothing. Putting rye & wheat out this weekend to hopefully get at least something, anything growing. It's been so dry my plots look like the ground after the county fair just finished up.
 
BSK said:
A gold mine? How interesting.
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We got a lot of history there. It was mined in the 1800's into the early 1900's. The trail of tears went across the hollow. There an archeological site about 3oo yards aways. Also have an old homesite dating back 100 years ago that I'd love to check out with a metal detector. The land was basically vacant for the past 50-75 years outside of some timber cutting about 25 years ago.
 

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