2017 Project

[useyourbow]

Here is my project. This was an old field covered in broom sedge. After 97 miles of back & forth, 12 hours in the seat of my four wheeler it’s is finally disked under. Soil test results should be back in another week. My plan is to apply pelletized lime as needed as soon as possible. Then allow it to green up and then apply Gly. Wait a couple of weeks and spray again. At that point based on opinions solicited here plant it. First thought was clover and chicory. That way come fall I can disk lightly and broadcast turnip, radish, and wheat to enhance the plot for hunting season. I would go with something like Buckwheat now but I am concerned that my atv will not make it through another round of hard disking. Thoughts? Probably should add the plot is approximately 2 acres.

 

[4wanderingeyes]

My thoughts are, 2 acres is a lot for an Atv. If you planted Buckwheat, you wouldn't have to disc, you could do a throw and mow.


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[S.T.Fanatic]

In the future if using small equipment it is important to kill off the existing veg. as soon as possible. Even after the tops of the plants sprayed are yellowing/browned up it still takes quite a while for the root structure to decompose. For instance in a new plot that you will be planting a spring planted crop, spray it the fall prior to it freezing when the plants are still green and growing. If its a fall annual spray it in the spring after the plants are all actively growing. By the time july rolls around it will dig up a hell of a lot easier. It is still going to be a job for 4 wheeler equipment but it will go better.

 

[Mortenson]

Beautiful looking field! You may want to read through some of CnC's throw and mow threads. I wouldn't want to tear up an atv. I have access to farm machinery, but in this upcoming 5th year of plotting I've yet to do any tillage. Try to let nature work for you with timely rains, frosts, mowings etc. I've put in some great plots with just a small sprayer and a bush-hog. I have no experience with buckwheat, but am trying to figure out rotations with cereal rye, white and red clovers, and brassicas. Rye is a great tool to have. Where are you located, and do you have access to an ag mower?

 

[useyourbow]

Beautiful looking field! You may want to read through some of CnC's throw and mow threads. I wouldn't want to tear up an atv. I have access to farm machinery, but in this upcoming 5th year of plotting I've yet to do any tillage. Try to let nature work for you with timely rains, frosts, mowings etc. I've put in some great plots with just a small sprayer and a bush-hog. I have no experience with buckwheat, but am trying to figure out rotations with cereal rye, white and red clovers, and brassicas. Rye is a great tool to have. Where are you located, and do you have access to an ag mower?

Eastern North Carolina. No mower but working on access. I had sprayed it back in late October and it basically killed off everything but the broom sage. I thought if I went at it hard this once, lime it, got the soil right with fertilizer I could maintain it with spraying and light tillage. I will look into the the throw and mow though.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

We have planted buckwheat as a soil improvement / summer deer food and it does really well, even on less than perfect soil. Like 4wanderingeyes said in post #2, it's easy to overseed a fall plot in the buckwheat and then just mow it or roll it down over the new seed. BW will decompose and add organic material ( OM ) to the soil and hold moisture in for your newly hatching fall plot. We've done this ( after learning how to do it in this forum !! ), and it works. We plant BW at camp every year now. We had deer hammering it until it went to seed, then it starts to turn yellow - which is when we overseed ours. It's cheap and does so much good.

Not the only possibility, but it does work. FWIW.

 

[useyourbow]

Well I got my soil test back. The PH is going to be a problem. A few questions:

1) What is the conversion rate for pulverized lime vs. pelletized lime?

2) Will a co-op type place mix me a fertilizer blend to these specs or will I have to do a "best fit" scenario?

3) Will planting Buck Wheat help eliminate any of the deficiencies? I.e.; save me money while providing a spring food source or should I just focus on getting the soil right in preparation for the fall?


Thanks

 

[4wanderingeyes]

The lime, and fertilizer will take time to correct the soil. The buckwheat will draw some nutrients to the top, and create OM, but I would still get your lime and fertilizer down before planting the buckwheat.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Agree with 4W.E. ^^^^ I'd lime and fertilize first. I'm not a farmer, but I can tell you buckwheat drew deer in to our plot big-time the last 2 years. The 2 biggest things I noticed with BW is it keeps weeds down to a minimum ( if planted at a sufficient rate ), and once it decays down, the soil has better tilth - it's more crumbly. That's the OM part of it. We've planted BW for about 5 years in a couple spots, and we can see an improvement in the weed numbers, as well as soil tilth.

 

[useyourbow]

Question on the Buck Wheat. Once it matures does it dry out and become brittle? How many pounds per acre broadcasted?

 

[Bowsnbucks]

^^^^^^ I wouldn't say it gets dry - it starts to tip over and fall. Once it's on the ground a bit - without rain - it can get dry. It seems to decompose pretty well on it's own, but you can speed it up by light disking. We never had to disk ours, we just let it decay down as the other stuff we planted grew through it.

EDIT: As for seeding rate, we planted an 80 lb. sack of seed on a 3/4 acre plot and it turned out well for us. ( Forgot to answer the seed rate question !! )

 

[BobinCt]

You can probably double crop your Buckwheat. I would plant the BW as well. Obviously, get your lime down first and lightly disk it in. There are still lots of options for you to plant if you get your lime down now. Don't feel bummed out over soil tests results as it can be fixed with time.

 

[pointer]

You can probably double crop your Buckwheat. I would plant the BW as well. Obviously, get your lime down first and lightly disk it in. There are still lots of options for you to plant if you get your lime down now. Don't feel bummed out over soil tests results as it can be fixed with time.

If let go to maturity, BW did a pretty good job reseeding itself for me! Planted BW Memorial Day weekend, let it go, broadcast WR, and cultipacked on Labor Day weekend. Even with a pretty dry September, we had lots of baby BW and WR by the end of the month.

 

[bueller]

I love me some buckwheat. Where are you located pointer? Sorry if I asked you before but if I did I don't remember the answer.

 

[pointer]

The food plots are in southern IN and I live around Indianapolis. I agree on the BW. I can really for see me not using it or WR in some amount every year.