Anyone doing a fall food plot this year? If so, what are you planting? Also, if you use roundup, how far in advance of planting do you start killing back the weeds? Just wondering if I start too soon, will they start growing back before I start seeding. I was thinking about just doing cereal rye again and probably seeding around the end of Sept, beginning of Oct.
Food plots
- Thread starter JimFromTN
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I do. I plant a cornfield turn-row which is about 800 yards long averaging 15 yards wide with a couple of large wide spots on the southern end.
I typically plan oats and clover (arrow-leaf). The oats are good for the early season in Texas while the clover really gets going in mid to late November. The clover will last well into April and be used until it wilts and dies.
Once it seeds out, the land owner bales it for his cattle.
Here's a pic from late November last year.
I typically plan oats and clover (arrow-leaf). The oats are good for the early season in Texas while the clover really gets going in mid to late November. The clover will last well into April and be used until it wilts and dies.
Once it seeds out, the land owner bales it for his cattle.
Here's a pic from late November last year.
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Round up now ,plant second week of September, Antler king products plus some purple top turnips works well here
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Tommytrees
Well-Known Member
x2 per 338 Dude, oats, wheat, rye, and clover mix does well in middle Georgia, did you test soil.
well I will write this, and throw a bunch of info out there to be taken as you wish!
as I have been a long time food plotter and farmer with a few decades of experience planting things! I have a lot of experience and learned a lot of things the hard way! to help save some from making mistakes they can avoid ! I have farmed for commercial side of things as well as a hobby!
I was also one of whitetail institutes first tester in PA< and worked with them many times over the yrs!
so, I have a LOT of food plot experience! and always glad to help others if I can~
SO??
first off a lot comes down to where your at as to what to plant, and when to plant it, every location and soil type can be different as to what grows well and when it can be planted!
but as for using round up, after about 24 hours the chemical has reached the plants roots,
what ever the chemical your using(round up or likes), they work by the PLANT absorbing the chemical, and it then goes into it roots!
it normally is in there roots within about a 24 hr period
BUT< NEW things can be growing you DIDN"T spray
that were just below the surface or protected by cover from other things!
so, some times you NEVER get a complete burn down even using round up!
SO< things to consider, any time the round up(or like chemical's are used) ) once the chemical is DRY< you can actually seed without it harming your seed, as again it only works when it makes contact with a plant that can absorb the chemical!
so once the round up or likes is DRY on the surface of all things, , seeds can be dropped without harming them!
NOW< m,any food plotters will tend to wait a week or more to MAKE sure they got a full burn down on the site, as its rather easy to miss things and or again have some things pop back up after spraying that were protected by other plants or just grew afterwards, there are always seeds in the soil!
NEXT?
when your making a food plot, you have to think about things , are you going to do a NO till like seeding using NO till equipment
OR??
are you actually going to plant things, be it means of a NO till seeding type, meaning you going actually going to turn the soil over to expose dirt
so you can then seed and then pack seeds in(like with a cultipacker or likes)
or do you plan to just seed and HOPE
for a seed to grow it HAS to have contact with soil, which is why using a packer of some sort is so common, or no tilling things!
YEST just tossing seeds CAN work, but packing tends to get better results!
SO<
if you say use round up
wait to make sure site is DEAD, then plan to DISC the site to expose soil and get a LESS compacted seed bed!
in the time you WAITED till time you turned soil over, THINGS can grow, actually just turning soil over, your RE seeding things with the natural seeds in the soil that have been there, and now got turned up to where sun can start them to grow(photosynthesis process this is called)
SO< what MANY food plotters do, to try and curb weeds and unwanted seeds in there plots is
they 1) use round up or likes to kill /burn down the site
2) once dead/burned down, they disc site
3.) after disc-ing the site, they WAIT a week or two, and then RE spray again with round up, , doing this then kills all the new unwanted seeds that were bought up from disc-ing the soil
4.) then a few days later will SEED the plot site with there wanted seeds of choice!, which then give things the BEST chance to grow without competition from other un wanted plants!
SO< IF you want the best chance if your plot growing with what your seeding it with, to get the best suggestion, I"d need to know what method of planting your using
NO TILL< disc'ing a site? or throw and hope method?
and I will also add I did NOT mention having soil tested for what you want to plant, as if the soil isn;t able to sustain your planting, your sort of wasting your time and money!
so best advice is start with a soil test, before buying seed or even doing any work!
SO< if you tell me what method of planting your doing, I will gladly give you more info on how to plant using it for best results!
as I have been a long time food plotter and farmer with a few decades of experience planting things! I have a lot of experience and learned a lot of things the hard way! to help save some from making mistakes they can avoid ! I have farmed for commercial side of things as well as a hobby!
I was also one of whitetail institutes first tester in PA< and worked with them many times over the yrs!
so, I have a LOT of food plot experience! and always glad to help others if I can~
SO??
first off a lot comes down to where your at as to what to plant, and when to plant it, every location and soil type can be different as to what grows well and when it can be planted!
but as for using round up, after about 24 hours the chemical has reached the plants roots,
what ever the chemical your using(round up or likes), they work by the PLANT absorbing the chemical, and it then goes into it roots!
it normally is in there roots within about a 24 hr period
BUT< NEW things can be growing you DIDN"T spray
that were just below the surface or protected by cover from other things!
so, some times you NEVER get a complete burn down even using round up!
SO< things to consider, any time the round up(or like chemical's are used) ) once the chemical is DRY< you can actually seed without it harming your seed, as again it only works when it makes contact with a plant that can absorb the chemical!
so once the round up or likes is DRY on the surface of all things, , seeds can be dropped without harming them!
NOW< m,any food plotters will tend to wait a week or more to MAKE sure they got a full burn down on the site, as its rather easy to miss things and or again have some things pop back up after spraying that were protected by other plants or just grew afterwards, there are always seeds in the soil!
NEXT?
when your making a food plot, you have to think about things , are you going to do a NO till like seeding using NO till equipment
OR??
are you actually going to plant things, be it means of a NO till seeding type, meaning you going actually going to turn the soil over to expose dirt
so you can then seed and then pack seeds in(like with a cultipacker or likes)
or do you plan to just seed and HOPE
for a seed to grow it HAS to have contact with soil, which is why using a packer of some sort is so common, or no tilling things!
YEST just tossing seeds CAN work, but packing tends to get better results!
SO<
if you say use round up
wait to make sure site is DEAD, then plan to DISC the site to expose soil and get a LESS compacted seed bed!
in the time you WAITED till time you turned soil over, THINGS can grow, actually just turning soil over, your RE seeding things with the natural seeds in the soil that have been there, and now got turned up to where sun can start them to grow(photosynthesis process this is called)
SO< what MANY food plotters do, to try and curb weeds and unwanted seeds in there plots is
they 1) use round up or likes to kill /burn down the site
2) once dead/burned down, they disc site
3.) after disc-ing the site, they WAIT a week or two, and then RE spray again with round up, , doing this then kills all the new unwanted seeds that were bought up from disc-ing the soil
4.) then a few days later will SEED the plot site with there wanted seeds of choice!, which then give things the BEST chance to grow without competition from other un wanted plants!
SO< IF you want the best chance if your plot growing with what your seeding it with, to get the best suggestion, I"d need to know what method of planting your using
NO TILL< disc'ing a site? or throw and hope method?
and I will also add I did NOT mention having soil tested for what you want to plant, as if the soil isn;t able to sustain your planting, your sort of wasting your time and money!
so best advice is start with a soil test, before buying seed or even doing any work!
SO< if you tell me what method of planting your doing, I will gladly give you more info on how to plant using it for best results!
Like mrbb above, I've been foodplotting for a couple decades.
If you're planting cereal grains I'd suggest oats or barley as the most preferred, but both are frost sensitive so take that into consideration in your area. In my area of Wisconsin those crops are great until late October, then the frost wipes them out and there's no more interest. If you need something that can stand up to the frost, winter rye is ok, but winter wheat is noticeably more attractive to the deer. Whatever you decide, if you have the ability to till or drill, I'd plant winter peas first (they need to be deeper than the grain), then top seed with the grain of your choice for added attraction.
Brassicas (rape, turnips, kale) are great plots after the first hard frost, which converts the starches in the greens to sugar. I always have some brassicas planted. Radishes are good too.
I always allow 10 days after spraying roundup.
Soil test, fertilize and lime before planting will make a huge difference in the vigor of your plot.
Steves1911
Well-Known Member
Just tilled up a 1/2 acre today. Will be putting in a mix of clover,chicory,kale and collards. Very rocky soil here so things like turnips and beets don't do well.
I have a 1/4 acre cleared so far. Its back in the woods and there is no way to get a large tractor in. I have no way to till at this time. I am hoping to have a small tractor by next season. I have considered getting something like the groundhog max but my kawasaki mule does not have the right trailer hitch setup. I had done a small test plot that a year ago this past spring with a no till blend. It came up beautifully and the deer wiped it out overnight so I decided to staying away from blends on relatively small food plots. Last fall I sprayed with roundup and then threw cereal rye out. It actually turned out pretty good considering. I am wanting to improve it this year. Thinking about cereal rye again. Really just interested in pulling in deer in the late season. My property is in an agricultural area and I have allot of oaks so there is plenty of food around my property for the deer to eat most of the year. I just want to bring them in the late season after they have eaten all the acorns. I did get a soil test but did not get the lime out in time this year. I ordered some PlotStart which is a lime substitute that is a concentrate and gets into the soil allot more rapidly than lime. Its only good for one season maybe 2 seasons from what I have read which is good enough for me. According to my soil tests, I need to spread out at least a ton of lime and about 300 pounds 6-12-12 fertilizer. I will start using lime next season providing I don't get lazy and just use PlotStart again.
What about fertilizing? Is it too late to put the 6-12-12 fertilizer out. My understanding is that you need to put your lime out a few months in advance. Is that true of fertilizer?If its not too late. Do I do it before or after roundup or does it not matter? If its too late then I figured I just do a liquid concentrate like Biologic Forage Max. Being the lazy person that I am, I may end up doing that anyway.
What about fertilizing? Is it too late to put the 6-12-12 fertilizer out. My understanding is that you need to put your lime out a few months in advance. Is that true of fertilizer?If its not too late. Do I do it before or after roundup or does it not matter? If its too late then I figured I just do a liquid concentrate like Biologic Forage Max. Being the lazy person that I am, I may end up doing that anyway.
JDShellnut
Member
I'll roundup about a week before I plant but I started doing the throw and mow method a few years ago. It has worked better than tilling, spreading and dragging for me.
Western food plot is the neighboring ranch's irrigated alfalfa fields.
What made me decide on cereal rye was sitting in my treestand in Dec and looking through the woods at my neighbors field that was planted in ccereal rye and watching all the deer. They were in that field every single morning from about 7am until 10am. All I could do was watch.
first off, LIME is something that takes time to work, the fast claiming stuff doesn't last as you know and its a false deal IMO
the way lime works is, each particle of lime has to make contact with a particle of soil to work
so it can take YRS of adding lime to your soil and mixing it in for it to actually get to a stabilized level and even then, as plants and run off, change things in the soil you will need to add more over time, its a never ending game
SO, ANY time is a good time to add lime,its never too late or early to add lime! actually the sooner the better, be it at planting time, in advance or even after, top dressing in winter time is a good way to help it work its way into the soil where you have freeze thaws happening and snow melting!
as for fertilizer, you DON"T really want to add that till your planting your seeds, or a lot of it can be wasted, it will literally go up in the air on you and never get used by your seeds
SO, DON"T add fertilizer till your planting the seeds,
or at least add MOST of it, and then add more as things are starting to grow! to give things a boost, just don;t want to add too much and cause things to get burned by the fertilizer when young and growing!
I am personally NOT a fan of using a ATV/UTV on things like them plot masters/ground maxes, as the GOOD units are really working your atv'utv's
there is just no way to say it other than saying it, a UTV/ATV is NOT a tractor and d there NOT designed to tow implements with resistance at SLOW Speeds for long periods of time, there cooling systems are NOT designed to work when doing so, they rely on a certain amount of SPEED to coll things
your a hundred times better off buying an OLD tractor for doing things and odds are if you look you will find a decent OLD tractor for a lot less than a decent USED ATV will cost you!
I have bought and sold a few dozen 15-50 HP tractors over the yrs I picked up , many for a few hundred bucks to 1000-1500 bucks, that worked for YRS doing plot work and would OUT work an ATV/UTVby a HUGE amount!
many folks get caught up in thinking they need NEW tractors or them crazy costly compact 4x4 tractors, when fact is, a old 2 wheel drive tractor will normally be more than enough and can be had for fair prices if you look!, I have tractors from the 1940's that still run like new, are as simple to work on as possible, any idiot can work on them basically, and there is NO shortage of parts still for them, due to HOW long lasting many are
save your ATV /UTV for more simple things, like recovering a deer, spreading fertilizer, spraying , possibly adding lime, pending what type and what spreader, but for turning over dirt, Use a tractor, your atv/UTV will last a LOT longer if you do so!
Last, if your goal is attracting deer to your site in hunting season, and you ONLY have a small plot site, maybe look into some cheap E fence, its a way you can save a small plot till you want things to eat it, and prevents it from being eaten before hunting season on you!
small kits are not that costly and they run off solar basically, so no power needed on site!
and as to what to plant, I'd suggest something neighbors DON"T have yet deer like, having the only "X" crop will lure things your way off others land if its more desirable than what rest have about you! just make sure your selection meets what your soil can support!
Agreed, plant something the neighbors don't have. For grains and a no til approach, I'd look at oats, barley or winter wheat , maybe even triticale, in that order, ahead of rye. Unless the ground sees a lot of moisture, then rye may be better as it can handle wet (not flooded) soils better than the others.
Another thing to keep in mind _ the smaller the seed, the closer to the surface it needs to be planted. For no till, the cereal grains can work as they are very aggressive growers, but it's not ideal. Smaller seeds, like rapeseed, turnips, clover, etc are probably the best suited for no til because the seeds are tiny and meant to be sewn close to the surface.
Also,improving seed to soil contact will improve your results, so adding a small cultipacker or even a water filled lawn roller to the process will help ensure most of the seed has soil contact.
Fertilize lightly (maybe 20-25 pounds on a 1/4 acre plot) so you don't burn up the seedlings with the acidity of the fertilizer. Then fertilize lightly again after everything has been up for a couple weeks. Do not fertilize if the plants are wet.
You can do the seeding and fertilizing with a hand crank bag seeder so you're not tearing up the plants with ATV tires.
Another thing to keep in mind _ the smaller the seed, the closer to the surface it needs to be planted. For no till, the cereal grains can work as they are very aggressive growers, but it's not ideal. Smaller seeds, like rapeseed, turnips, clover, etc are probably the best suited for no til because the seeds are tiny and meant to be sewn close to the surface.
Also,improving seed to soil contact will improve your results, so adding a small cultipacker or even a water filled lawn roller to the process will help ensure most of the seed has soil contact.
Fertilize lightly (maybe 20-25 pounds on a 1/4 acre plot) so you don't burn up the seedlings with the acidity of the fertilizer. Then fertilize lightly again after everything has been up for a couple weeks. Do not fertilize if the plants are wet.
You can do the seeding and fertilizing with a hand crank bag seeder so you're not tearing up the plants with ATV tires.
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