Food plot expansion

[tcook8296]

Time to start getting the fall plots ready for hunting season. 

I sprayed round up on my bean field. Had some grass and some weeds competing but no more. Grass and weeds actually helped hide the beans from the deer. 

Turnips and radishes going in hopefully by the end of the week with rye going in around labor day. 

Also going to overseed some clover. 

Just expanded one of my small plots. Most likely going with a mix of rye and clover. 

My Merit seed order is due tomorrow

 

[JerseyJaysTaxidermy]

Nice.
I ordered my brassicas back in the spring. Hope they are still good. Kept them sealed in the bag.
Sprayed my clover with arrest and slay a few weeks ago. Weeds tonka beating except for a patch here and there. My clover is thin but there.
I plan on either dragging the chain harrow or the disc lightly through the existing clover and then broadcasting brassicas right before a rain. Maybe even cultipack.. idk.

Last year I just broadcasted and had some grow but bot many, then insects destroyed most of them and deer demolished the rest real fast. But not many grew. I dont think i got good soil contact.



http://www.jerseyjaystaxidermy.com

[tcook8296]

I plant my brassicas by broadcasting and thats it. 

Rye is surface broadcast too with no packing. 

I would pack but Im usually going over top of a thin stand of beans and trying to keep them around and hopefully get a few pods.

Nothing better than having a field full of field in December and January. 

Clover, once established is broadcast seeded in March and September. 

The only dirt Im turning now is for my soybeans. 

Usually they are pretty much gone by now but this year I planted them much heavier than in the past

[tpr1921]

11 hours ago, tcook8296 said:

Time to start getting the fall plots ready for hunting season. 

I sprayed round up on my bean field. Had some grass and some weeds competing but no more. Grass and weeds actually helped hide the beans from the deer. 

Turnips and radishes going in hopefully by the end of the week with rye going in around labor day. 

Also going to overseed some clover. 

Just expanded one of my small plots. Most likely going with a mix of rye and clover. 

My Merit seed order is due tomorrow

 

Looks great! Have you had any luck controlling your Japanese Stiltgrass? Two years ago I sprayed with roundup 2x's but it came back. I tried a crabgrass pre-emergent this spring which was also a failure.  Other than full sun exposure I don't know of any permanent solution.

[JerseyJaysTaxidermy]

Looks great! Have you had any luck controlling your Japanese Stiltgrass? Two years ago I sprayed with roundup 2x's but it came back. I tried a crabgrass pre-emergent this spring which was also a failure.  Other than full sun exposure I don't know of any permanent solution.

Japanese grass is the worst. Mine comes back strong every few months.

http://www.jerseyjaystaxidermy.com

[tcook8296]

I dropped quite a few trees to get some of the canopy opened up. I will hit it with round up and plant the rye heavy. Winter rye is a great weed suppressor. It really cleans the plots up nice the following season

[Livesintrees]

My merit order came last week. Waiting on them to get winter rye in stock. Judging by the weather for the next 10 days rain may be hit or miss. Waiting for a good forecast and mine will be going in. 

[tcook8296]

5 hours ago, Livesintrees said:

My merit order came last week. Waiting on them to get winter rye in stock. Judging by the weather for the next 10 days rain may be hit or miss. Waiting for a good forecast and mine will be going in. 

Buy the rye from a local farmer or even Agway. Shipping will kill you. 

I get 50lbs of rye or wheat for around $10 a bag locally. 

[tcook8296]

Seeds arrived today

[tcook8296]

If you are doing food plots and still buying the fancy bags, flip that bag over and read the seed tag on the back. You will find sometimes 30 percent is seed coating and sometimes filler too. I met these guys at a hunting show in Ohio a few years ago and have been a customer since. 

Good pricing and fast shipping. 

Meritseed.com

[JerseyJaysTaxidermy]

My clover plot is only 1/8 acre in size..
I'm adding brassicas this month. Last yr the brassicas didnt do well.. should i mix rye or wheat or oats and seed those as well to help incase 1 crop fails?

What ratio would you do?

http://www.jerseyjaystaxidermy.com

[JerseyJaysTaxidermy]

This is the buckwheat/sunflower/pea/oat/millet/soybean plot.. only 2 plants grew.. buckwheat got eaten once it got 2ft deep.
Something is growing tall -millet I believe.
But this stilt grass weed took over the whole plot. That's what was there previously. I sprayed to kill 1x and tilled 2x but it just comes back a few weeks later.
I guess I'll leave this section as is all fall.

http://www.jerseyjaystaxidermy.com

[tcook8296]

The grass I would hit it with round up and seed it heavy with rye and clover. The problem with mixes is you cant treat them with chemicals. 

Also plant your plots in the fall instead of spring, way too much competition from weeds. 

Wherever I have rye planted, the following spring green up is vitually weed free. 

The smaller plot you could try overseeding the brassicas but I think you would be better off with the rye. Rye will withstand heavy grazing and it improves your soil. 

I also like Daikon tillage radishes. I always try to mix them in to help with soil compaction. 

But smaller plots Ive found clover and rye is the best for me as it withstands heavy grazing , easy to grow with minimal equipment and just need to mow a few times a year. 

If I could only do one plot it would be clover. 

 

[megavites]

Tcook,

the Alsike clover from Merit is great...perfect for wet areas.

[tcook8296]

1 hour ago, megavites said:

Tcook,

the Alsike clover from Merit is great...perfect for wet areas.

Yes its doing real well on my field edges. I like their classic whitetail mix also. I overseed all my clover in the fall