The Making of a Food Plot

[Natty Bumppo]

I would not worry about terminating buckwheat. If it reseeds, I am Ok. Frost knocks it out. Deer hit it hard for me. Cultipacking buckwheat will knock it out. I do not know what your long term plan is for the field. Ed Spinnazola recommends planting brassicas with rye to measure soil improvement. Spring planted annual clovers build nitrogen for fall planted brassicas. Brassicas have not been a big success for me yet. I have spring planted (after frost date) buckwheat and oats. A summer mowing will let them reseed. If you are ready or if you are considering clovers for a perennial field, I would fall plant with rye. Clovers will build roots in the fall and be ready in the spring. Then mow the rye.

Scuffing the ground and cultipacking buckwheat and cereal grains is a plus. Clovers too.

Thanks Bowman. Very helpful. That makes sense about not worrying about terminating rye. Long term I have always considered some type of a LC rotation in this field. I have done a few small test areas of clover and brassicas in this field and they just really languished. A soil test 2 years ago revealed really low pH (I think high's 4's or so...4.8 or 4.9) and really poor nutrient levels. I think until I can raise the pH, build OM, and get a better soil test I am going to have a hard time with clover or brassicas. But again, I have little experience with this. Am I thinking correctly?

Thanks.

 

[Bowman]

"My initial soil test 3 summers ago after I completed the logging and had the beginnings of a food plot showed a pH of 4.8 and really pathetically low nutrients. I brought in 1500 lbs of bagged lime and spread it by hand one bag at a time. I got some rye to grow that first fall. A year later I did a soil test and it showed a pH of 5.4. I brought in another 1500 lbs of lime and put some fertilizer down. Late summer I planted rye and it really grew well. This past summer I never got around to lime or a soil test...but I planted buckwheat for a summer crop and then overseeded it with rye late summer. The buckwheat only did O.K. The rye keeps going strong."

Ok, so 2 years ago, the pH was 5.4 and you added more lime. I will now test at the same time each year to measure progression. The last lime application may have raised it again. I am curious what another test may show. I am on sandy ground and I appreciate rye for growth, greenup in spring and building OM from roots plus whatever top growth remains to "armor" the soil. A spring annual clover into the rye and mowed will grow fast and gather nitrogen. The rye will keep growing. If you can grow any tubers, those not eaten are free fertilizer and build OM. I would fall plant clovers with the cereal rye in the fall. Ed's recommendation for brasicas was to judge soil improvement. Do not seed brassica into rye heavy. I want something growing all of the time keeping the ground covered. I plant different species for biodiversity. You have to adjust seeding rates so that you do not seed to heavy. Jeff Sturgis has a plan for fall rye where he overseeds lighter and follows with staggered broadcasts of rye to have the rye at various stages of growth. If you fall plant clovers with the rye, let me know how it does the following spring.

One last thing, depending on you soil test. I need potassium. A lot of soil is now short on sulfur. A generic recommendation is 50# per acre of ammonium sulfate.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

I'm not a farmer, Natty, but I can tell you what we did at camp. In a plot of May-planted BW, we let it go to seed heads & it turns sort of yellowish. ( what the deer hadn't eaten ). At this point it gets "stem-y" and that's when we seeded rye and clover into it by just walking through with a shoulder-style rotary spreader. After seeding, one of the guys jumped on the JD & pulled a cultipacker through the BW and that was it. The BW was rolled flat, and the packer made good seed-to-soil contact. BW decayed down for OM, and the rye / clover combo hatched with rye giving winter green chow. We got a little volunteer BW, but it's just more greens.

Spring - the clover comes on stronger and you can mow the rye if you want the clover to get more sun and take off. Clover adds N and can feed deer all summer, and you can till the clover under for fall planting of something else, or let it establish further.

For any of our log landings - turned food plots, we put the lime to 'em. Bark shreds & wood chips are acid producers beyond soil that was already acidic. I remember something LC said once in a thread. " If you do nothing else to your soil - add lime." I learned from a friend in the Soil Conservation District that lime is the chemical "key" that unlocks nutrients in the soil so plants are ABLE to absorb them. That's probably what LC was getting at with his comment.

I don't know how easy it is for you to get material in to your plot areas, but if you can drive a pick-up or quad with a wagon, bales of clean rye straw make good OM. Dad and I used to spread rye straw ( no seedy heads & weeds in it ) around all our 12 dozen tomatoes instead of staking them. The straw rotted down by summer's end and that ground became fluffy, well drained, and full of OM. It was our best soil in a huge garden area. All we used was a rototiller. Straw is relatively cheap and works quickly. If you spread seed, then spread straw on top, you gain moisture retention as well as OM. FWIW.

 

[Natty Bumppo]

"My initial soil test 3 summers ago after I completed the logging and had the beginnings of a food plot showed a pH of 4.8 and really pathetically low nutrients. I brought in 1500 lbs of bagged lime and spread it by hand one bag at a time. I got some rye to grow that first fall. A year later I did a soil test and it showed a pH of 5.4. I brought in another 1500 lbs of lime and put some fertilizer down. Late summer I planted rye and it really grew well. This past summer I never got around to lime or a soil test...but I planted buckwheat for a summer crop and then overseeded it with rye late summer. The buckwheat only did O.K. The rye keeps going strong."

Ok, so 2 years ago, the pH was 5.4 and you added more lime. I will now test at the same time each year to measure progression. The last lime application may have raised it again. I am curious what another test may show. I am on sandy ground and I appreciate rye for growth, greenup in spring and building OM from roots plus whatever top growth remains to "armor" the soil. A spring annual clover into the rye and mowed will grow fast and gather nitrogen. The rye will keep growing. If you can grow any tubers, those not eaten are free fertilizer and build OM. I would fall plant clovers with the cereal rye in the fall. Ed's recommendation for brasicas was to judge soil improvement. Do not seed brassica into rye heavy. I want something growing all of the time keeping the ground covered. I plant different species for biodiversity. You have to adjust seeding rates so that you do not seed to heavy. Jeff Sturgis has a plan for fall rye where he overseeds lighter and follows with staggered broadcasts of rye to have the rye at various stages of growth. If you fall plant clovers with the rye, let me know how it does the following spring.

One last thing, depending on you soil test. I need potassium. A lot of soil is now short on sulfur. A generic recommendation is 50# per acre of ammonium sulfate.

Thanks Bowman. I appreciate you taking the time to write. Very helpful.

 

[Natty Bumppo]

I'm not a farmer, Natty, but I can tell you what we did at camp. In a plot of May-planted BW, we let it go to seed heads & it turns sort of yellowish. ( what the deer hadn't eaten ). At this point it gets "stem-y" and that's when we seeded rye and clover into it by just walking through with a shoulder-style rotary spreader. After seeding, one of the guys jumped on the JD & pulled a cultipacker through the BW and that was it. The BW was rolled flat, and the packer made good seed-to-soil contact. BW decayed down for OM, and the rye / clover combo hatched with rye giving winter green chow. We got a little volunteer BW, but it's just more greens.

Spring - the clover comes on stronger and you can mow the rye if you want the clover to get more sun and take off. Clover adds N and can feed deer all summer, and you can till the clover under for fall planting of something else, or let it establish further.

For any of our log landings - turned food plots, we put the lime to 'em. Bark shreds & wood chips are acid producers beyond soil that was already acidic. I remember something LC said once in a thread. " If you do nothing else to your soil - add lime." I learned from a friend in the Soil Conservation District that lime is the chemical "key" that unlocks nutrients in the soil so plants are ABLE to absorb them. That's probably what LC was getting at with his comment.

I don't know how easy it is for you to get material in to your plot areas, but if you can drive a pick-up or quad with a wagon, bales of clean rye straw make good OM. Dad and I used to spread rye straw ( no seedy heads & weeds in it ) around all our 12 dozen tomatoes instead of staking them. The straw rotted own by summer's end and that ground became fluffy, well drained, and full of OM. It was our best soil in a huge garden area. All we used was a rototiller. Straw is relatively cheap and works quickly. If you spread seed, then spread straw on top, you gain moisture retention as well as OM. FWIW.

And thanks to you as well Bowsnbucks. That's a lot of good information. I can get to my plots in the summer when things dry out no problem. I like the straw idea. Thanks for taking the time to respond. Much appreciated.

 

[Bowman]

Thanks Bowman. I appreciate you taking the time to write. Very helpful.

No problem. I think that we all helping each other. There are some very knowledgeable guys on this forum. Continued good luck.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

I have to give credit to Wiscwhip who gave us / me a lot of good info on rotating / overseeding of food plots and some ideas for what seeds mix with what other ones. The straw idea came from my Dad. Clean, baled straw works ........... hay bales have too many seeds in them. Too many weeds hatch from hay. For stony mountain ground, it'll take several years to make an impact, but each year should see an improvement.

 

[Bowman]

I reread this post and will add this.
Buckwheat

• Dynamic Accumulator – phosphorus and calcium
• Weed Suppressing Plant – the vigorous, fast-growing Buckwheat smothers unwanted “weeds”.

And this: https://hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/afcm/buckwheat.html

 

[bueller]

I tried it last year for the first time...but it was kind of a casual test in the detritus of my logging operation. I didn't get great seed to soil contact....a lot of trash and stumps. I disked where I could gently and then threw some seed down and then drove over it with my tractor tires. It germinated but didn't grow that well. I did notice that the deer were destroying it by early Sept. I am hoping with better soil prep and a pass with my new cultipacker that I'll have better success. The rye grows like crazy...vigorous and green and 4' tall if I let it go. I've wondered if my soil has some limiting nutrient missing that buckwheat requires? Maybe my pH is too low.

Going to try it again anyway. I have a blast doing this stuff and seeing how wildlife responds.

Bownbucks, if I do get BW to grow decently this summer what's my next move late summer when I want to plant rye? Can I simply broadcast the rye into the buckwheat and then just terminate the BW somehow? Drive over it with my tractor or cultipacker? Love to find a roller crimper around here.

Don't underestimate buckwheat's nitrogen needs on poor soils. It responds very well. Some will say it's not necessary but I've found it to be absolutely necessary in my sand. It will transform a stunted yellowing plot of buckwheat into a 40" high thick and healthy field.

 

[Bowman]

How much do you apply?

 

[bueller]

Each of my plots are under an acre. At time of seeding I'll usually spread a bag of 17-17-17. Few weeks later if the buckwheat shows yellowing and looks stunted I'll spread a whatever I have on hand, 1/2 bag of urea or some more triple 17. Cost is low and results are high.

This link has charts that recommend between 15 and 35 lbs of actual N per acre for buckwheat being grown on poor soils.
http://www.hort.cornell.edu/bjorkman/lab/buck/guide/soil&fertilizer.php