A few habitat pics I thought you might enjoy

[Native Hunter]

Whats the yellow flowered plant? I didnt do a look up on it yet. Saw a bit of it in this springs drilled CP42 plot this morning.

Chris, that is partridge pea, and it is a cultivar that gets extremely tall. The native PP on my place gets about knee high, but I've seen this stuff get well over 6 feet. It was part of my CREP mix and it has thrived.

 

[Native Hunter]

Partridge Pea?

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Yep, we must have posted about the same time....

 

[Tap]

Yep, we must have posted about the same time....

I have 3 yellow flowering plants...and 2 of them are Yellow Rocket

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[Native Hunter]

I have 3 yellow flowering plants...and 2 of them are Yellow Rocket

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I have YR too, but not a lot. My nemesis is Perilla at this time of year. I killed the heck out of it this year, but I know it will be back.

 

[Tap]

I have YR too, but not a lot. My nemesis is Perilla at this time of year. I killed the heck out of it this year, but I know it will be back.

I Googled Perilla and it looks a lot like the Colia that my wife puts in deck pots. I always worry about the stuff she chooses...don't want any escaping invaders. Is Perilla and Colia related?

 

[Native Hunter]

I Googled Perilla and it looks a lot like the Colia that my wife puts in deck pots. I always worry about the stuff she chooses...don't want any escaping invaders. Is Perilla and Colia related?

I looked it up on the Internet and going by the scientific names it looks like they are not in the same family - a least not a close relation.

Perilla is also known as Beefstake Plant. It is one of those plants I never saw in this country until recent years. Just when you want to quit mowing your clover in the late summer is when it becomes a problem. You won't even notice it until then. The big leaves take up a lot of space.

 

[CentralKyHunter]

Looks great Steve, I'm sure your plots will flurish .
PP looks great!!!!

What is in your seed mix you sowed today?

 

[Native Hunter]

Looks great Steve, I'm sure your plots will flurish .
PP looks great!!!!

What is in your seed mix you sowed today?

Lance, I decided to do a smorgasbord of several different things. But this year I completely left out turnips, because they never get eaten here.

Species planted were:

4 types of clover: (crimson, ladino, medium red, and Fixation Balsana)
Alfalfa
A light dusting of radish
A light dusting of winter peas
Wheat
Oats
Chicory - tried a new variety called Antler this time.

I mowed my old plot too after planting the new ones, but mowed it fairly high (probably 12 inches - just enough to spread red clover seed but not set the chicory back too hard.) I actually did the same thing in that old plot not long ago, and it worked very well. Deer were all over it not long after mowing.

I also mowed shooting lanes in the native grasses after planting. I just hope it doesn't grow back enough that I have to do it again, but I can if necessary.

With this work done, I'm hoping to be done disturbing things for the rest of the season. I will check a few cameras during the middle of the day occasionally, but that is about it.

If I end up with any bare spots in the plots I'm considering just throwing out some brassica seed. Won't be turnips but something else like DER or more radish. If anyone has any advice on that, I'm all ears.

Waiting for rain now. They keep changing the forecast and pushing out the rain further into the future for my area of the state. Hopefully some by Tuesday.

 

[CentralKyHunter]

Wellllllllll......,,

I was considering planting 2-3 acres of turnips / radishes this next week across some ridges to connect all my plots. I like the thought for two main reasons . 1: they usually grow low & clean 2: I feel like they would do a very good job preping soil for future plantings . These spots have never been planted.

I can't say that deer used my turnips hard through season last year but they did January -March which I consider the most crucial time!! Forage is scarce and everyone pulls their corn piles kinda leaving deer hanging @ a crucial time. Not sure what I'm going to go with , will see where the week leads .

The other plots are red clover / alfalfa, Standing corn , or a 7 card stud mix..

Might go with oats along the woods edge and turnips / radish below that...

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Native - Great pix, Steve - as usual. What does PP feed ?? Is it deer chow or more for cover & birds - quail, grouse, turkeys ??

Good to see Dad on the tractor !! Any more yote notches on his gun lately ?? Give him a " Hello " from me.

Those Ayers pears are crazy big. Gotta believe the deer will see those as candy. You DID leave some for the deer, didn't you ?? :D

 

[Native Hunter]

Native - Great pix, Steve - as usual. What does PP feed ?? Is it deer chow or more for cover & birds - quail, grouse, turkeys ??

Good to see Dad on the tractor !! Any more yote notches on his gun lately ?? Give him a " Hello " from me.

Those Ayers pears are crazy big. Gotta believe the deer will see those as candy. You DID leave some for the deer, didn't you ?? :D

Most sources say that PP is a medium preference deer browse in some places. I have never seen it browsed, but there is so much of it, I probably wouldn't see it. However, where it shines is producing seed for quail and turkey. In some areas of the south, it is considered the number one winter seed plant for quail. The variety I have also makes great tall cover through most of the winter - especially where it is mixed in with NWSGs.

I did leave a few of the Ayers for the deer, and they have some more later dropping varieties to eat after the Ayers are gone. They are lucky because I have two of those trees at home, so I end up with way toooooooooo many for the family.

Thanks for asking about dad. I sure will give him a big "Hello" for you. He seemed to enjoy helping me this time with the plots, and with his rig he can cut up the ground twice as fast as me. My old disk is okay, but it won't cut like his. It's been too hot to coyote hunt lately, and his favorite field is too tall right now to see them. But he is looking forward to when the hay is cut later on. It should be cooler by then too.

Thanks and Take Care - Steve

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Native - Dads are cooler than most ever give them credit for. As I've gotten older, I realize all the " stuff " I learned from my Dad. Outdoor appreciation and care of the habitat / environment, ethics and integrity in EVERYTHING, teaching my sons, care of tools & equipment, etc. ............ all came from my Dad. I notice and appreciate the things ALL DADS do for their families - be it a small thing or a big one. You and your Dad working the land is a picture of outdoor / rural / agricultural America. I lost my Dad back in '91, but the significance of all he taught me gets sharper and is more appreciated with each passing day.

Have a cold one with Dad for me.

 

[Native Hunter]

Native - Dads are cooler than most ever give them credit for. As I've gotten older, I realize all the " stuff " I learned from my Dad. Outdoor appreciation and care of the habitat / environment, ethics and integrity in EVERYTHING, teaching my sons, care of tools & equipment, etc. ............ all came from my Dad. I notice and appreciate the things ALL DADS do for their families - be it a small thing or a big one. You and your Dad working the land is a picture of outdoor / rural / agricultural America. I lost my Dad back in '91, but the significance of all he taught me gets sharper and is more appreciated with each passing day.

Have a cold one with Dad for me.

That is a great tribute to your father and all fathers who care and teach their children the right paths in life. If we could get the whole world thinking like you do it would be a better world.

I also had wonderful grandparents and other family members that made a difference for me and others. Until the day I die I will appreciate that and do my best to pass it on to as many people as I can.

 

[Merle Hawggard]

Awesome as always NH! I'd love to get an early start on my plots, but apparently it's monsoon season here in Ark.

 

[Native Hunter]

Guys, I thought I would do a little updating today.

The plots put in on Aug 13, have done well but have never got a great rain yet. We got what I thought was a good rain a few days ago, but when I pulled a weed out of the ground today, the dust just boiled.

Here are some of those plot pics today. The larger leafy plants are a few radishes that I mixed in. They have grown more than anything.



I took this pic of one of the small plots about 200 yards away from the tower. It looks like the best of all, but that is to be expected because the moisture is really good there. I probably won't go to this spot until after season.



This is a small no till plot put in around the end of July. I got the plotting bug early and had to do something. All I could get at the feed store that early was clover and no grains. I threw in some wheat last week and it is beginning to germinate. For very little effort, I am pleased with this. I sprayed, throwed, mowed with a lawn mower, and packed with a pickup truck.



I mowed trails around the edge of the tree planting today. I get fruit and nuts from trees along this mowed spot and leave the ones in the weeds for the critters.

 

[Native Hunter]

This female persimmon is a seedling bearing its first crop. It is loaded.



Kieffers on a tree planted in spring of 2014. I will eat some of these this year. Crop was crazy heavy. I thinned earlier.



I claim these chestnuts for myself...lol. Deer can have the ones in the weeds.



When the time comes, I'm anxious to taste Senator Clark Pear.

 

[Native Hunter]

Another Kieffer that had to be guyed with a rope.



Galloway Pear. I'm excited about this one. Small for deer but tastes good to humans.



Bad News - A BROKEN GRAFT

 

[Native Hunter]

Myers Royal Limbertwig - Tasty - just beginning to fall.



Still have the same deer I started the year with except for a few young ones. These are the two mature ones.










That's about it guys. Just thought I would make a little update. Have a good one.

 

[H20fwler]

Your trees look awesome Native!

Very nice bucks too.

 

[Native Hunter]

Your trees look awesome Native!

Very nice bucks too.

Thanks H2O. The trees got decent rain this year while they were making fruit, and no freeze this spring to kill the buds. So good fruit.

The dry spell only came recently - just when I started plotting.:D