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Post by robinvt on May 28, 2006 17:36:11 GMT
Well after 16 straight days of rain, the fields are finally drying out a little. I was able to mow 4 of my clover and alfalfa plots to keep the weeds in check.
Yesterday a buddy of mine came over and we planted 3 large plots with a mixture of corn/sunflowers/soy beans. We also did a small Chufa plot for turkeys and a good size Whitetail Institute Power Plant plot.
Anyone else doing habitat work this spring?
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Post by browning204 on May 28, 2006 20:32:37 GMT
ya I was able to lay some seed down in my trial food plot for the deer. I Dropped the seed last week but haven't checked it ina couple of days. I plan on checking on it soon. If all goes well I plan on expanding it. Does anyone know what can be planted this time of year or maybe later this summer??
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Post by robinvt on May 28, 2006 22:31:33 GMT
You can put just about anything in now. In August you can plant oats, rye, brassicas, and even clover. Just can't do annual crops (corn, beans, sunflowers, etc) in last summer as there isn't enought time for them to mature.
. . . Rob
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Post by browning204 on Jun 4, 2006 0:24:46 GMT
I checked my food plot and it is growing in ok, some spots better than others. there are some deer tracks in it which is a good sign. The plot is a mixure of brassica and clover. I would like to maybe plant other grasses soon because I think I will start to expand on it now. what other things can be planted for the deer. Are there grasses that will grow well in a shady area?
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Post by browning204 on Jun 4, 2006 0:48:46 GMT
when the deer do start to graze on the food plot, will the grass just grow back after being eaten? and I was on the whitetail institute site and was thinking of ordering their no-plow formula, any comments about that??
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Post by robinvt on Jun 4, 2006 1:52:34 GMT
Shade is tough as most of the "good stuff" really needs sunlight. If the soil is lighter (sandy) and well drained you could try alfalfa. Both deer and turkey love it. I would try a brassica. Grows pretty easy and deer won't touch it until the frost hits it 2 or 3 times (converts the bitter taste to sugar).
Most of the legumes (clover, alfalfa, chichory) will grow back after being browsed on. Some are more tolerant than others, but almost all will continue to grow. The big thing is making sure they get 4+ hours of sunlight a day and contro;ing weeds.
I am a big fan of Whitetail Institute products, but I am not a believer in any "No Plow" product. Seeds need good seed to soil contact in order to germinate. If they are laying on top of leaves and dead grass guess what, there is no seed to soil contact. Your best best, in my humble opinion, is to rake the area (if you can't get equipment in there) down to dirt, put some lime down, and spread Imperial Clover or Alfa-Rack Plus. They drive on it with your 4 wheeler or walk all over it to "press" the seed into the soil. They hope for a little rain, which hasn't been a problem this year.
Good luck . . . Rob
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Post by browning204 on Jun 4, 2006 2:38:32 GMT
ya, thats pretty much what I did. I racked it to bare earth and chopped the weeds out and then hit it with fertilizer and then waited and then put down the seed. when I expand it, I will till the ground as much as I can before I spred the seed. All the land I have to work with is forested so I was looking for the best option for a less than perfect plot. I remember when I was in high school, wee took a soil sample of my land for plant science class and it came up as like 80% sand. typical for around here.
thanks for all the info!!!
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Post by robinvt on Jun 4, 2006 12:00:41 GMT
Be careful with fertilizer. If you are planting legumes (clover, alfalfa, etc) they produce there own nitrogin. The first number in fertilizer (such as the 46 in 46-20-20) is the nitrogin number. With legumes, you should try to buy fertilizer with this number being zero. Nitrogin also encourages grass growth (weeds) which you don't want.
The big thing is lime. Buy some 50lb bags of lime (about $2.50 ea) and spread that. You should try to get your pH as close to 7.0 as possible. It takes about 1,000lbs of lime to bring pH up half a point per acre. I have alot of softwoods (spruce, cedar, pine) on my land. My pH was 5.5 to begin with. It took one ton (2,000 lbs) to bring it up to 6.5 which is very acceptable. Of course I bought the lime in bulk (16 ton) which was alot cheaper, about 1 cent per pound, and had their truck spread it.
. . . Rob
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