Food Plots New plot

For summer crops, I've tried all sorts of things, from different vetches, to peas, to beans, to clovers, to alyceclover, to even brassicas in the summer. The two plants the deer consistently hammered no matter how or where I planted them on my place were Cow Peas and Lerado Soybeans (somewhat of a forage soybean).
 
backyardtndeer said:
I came to my own conclusion that the sugar content in the greens likely peaks immediately after the first hard frost, making it somewhat attractive. After that here deer just wouldn't touch it. I heard so many stories of deer digging up purple top turnips, they rotted in my plots. The mixes I tried for the most part were custom mixes from a grower in Wisconsin that had proven results all over the country. He was shocked that the deer weren't hammering my plots. Only commercial brassicas mix I ever tried was a biologic product. Pretty well the same results.
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I have great success with purple top turnips and daikon radishes but they won't touch rape! I have a plot that the rape is more like an invasive weed that I can't kill. It was in that green cover seed winter blend I planted in 2021 and it won't die!, deer won't eat it, bugs don't seem to care much for it. I hate to nuke the plot cause I do have a good stand of balansa clover in it
 
megalomaniac said:
Soil test NOW. Lime asap per pH results of soil test.

This fall, bushhog 2nd week of Aug, then burn down 3rd week of Aug. Drill a mix of grain (wheat, rye, or oats), plus a brassica (turnip, radish, or rape), plus a clover (crimson or balansa) just before a good rain event anytime from last of Aug thruearly Oct. Throw in a bit of buckwheat if you like. If disking prior to planting, a rain event is even more critical, as well as either dragging or cultipacking after seeding. Fertilize after plants just come up and you know you got good germination.
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Should I spray and til the lime or can I lime now before I touch the field. It's been mowed once this year
 
boonencrockett said:
How much of each for 3/4 to acre plots
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Because I broadcast and then drag (although I'll be switching to cultipacking this year), my seeding rates are high. The standard seeding rates for drilling seed need to be increased by 50% for broadcast seeding. However, when using multiple seed species, cut the poundage per acre by 1/3 for each species when mixing two species. Cut the poundage by half for each species if using 3 or more species.

Buckwheat (alone): drilling = 50 lbs/acre; broadcast = 75 lbs/acre
Winter Wheat (alone): drilling = 100 lbs/acre; broadcast 150 lbs/acre
Austrian Winter peas (alone): drilling = 30 lbs/acre; broadcast = 45 lbs/acre
Crimson Clover (alone): drilling = 15 lbs/acre; broadcast = 22.5 lbs/acre

Because I'm mixing 3 or more species, each species is cut in half.

Buckwheat: 37.5 lbs/acre
Winter Wheat: 75 lbs/acre
Austrian Winter Peas: 22.5 lbs/acre
Crimson Clover: 11.25 lbs/acre

For a 3/4 acre plot, multiply all those seeding rates by 0.75

Buckwheat: 28 lbs
Winter Wheat: 56 lbs
Austrian Winter Peas: 17 lbs
Crimson Clover: 8 lbs
 
boonencrockett said:
Should I spray and til the lime or can I lime now before I touch the field. It's been mowed once this year
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Just lime, no need to till it in or spray now. Small, difficult to access plots are going to need a LOT of pelletized lime. I limed my clover plot that I can't get the ag lime buggy into 4x over the past 3 years. But I was starting with a pH of 5.5.
 
megalomaniac said:
Just lime, no need to till it in or spray now. Small, difficult to access plots are going to need a LOT of pelletized lime. I limed my clover plot that I can't get the ag lime buggy into 4x over the past 3 years. But I was starting with a pH of 5.5.
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I use the deer gro plot boost and plot start in ky gonna try it on that plot in east tenn this year too
 
boonencrockett said:
I use the deer gro plot boost and plot start in ky gonna try it on that plot in east tenn this year too
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The problem with those soluables is that they are even more short lived than pelletized lime. IF you are going to be planting that plot annually, better off to do what it takes to get the pH above 6.
 
megalomaniac said:
The problem with those soluables is that they are even more short lived than pelletized lime. IF you are going to be planting that plot annually, better off to do what it takes to get the pH above 6.
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Exactly. The neutralizing effect of the liquid lime products is gone in a couple months, if that.
 
boonencrockett said:
Prefect thanks a lot guys. Would I be ok to spray it with that then throw Pelletized lime at the same time since it takes longer
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Absolutely. Reaction time and duration (inversely proportional) are all based on particle size. The smaller the particle, the faster it works but the shorter the duration. Liquid lime works the fastest, followed by quick lime, then pelletized lime, then ag lime. But the slowest acting - ag lime - is the longest lasting.
 
I would not till right after spraying. I want the spray to kill the plants before turning them under. Otherwise roots may resprout.
 

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