bueller's blotter

[bueller]

Buckwheat is doing OK on this "newer" plot. It's a little thinner than I would've preferred and it has a hint of yellow (co-op gave me wrong bag of fertilizer when I planted so I knew I would come up short on Nitrogen). There is also some forage brassica and rape growing that I planted with the buckwheat. I overseeded more buckwheat and some old radish seed I had laying around. With rain in the forecast I topdressed some urea yesterday. We missed the heavier rains by a few miles but managed to get about a 1/4".

 

[Barndog56]

Glad you posted your red clover pics as I've been meaning to ask you how long it survived around here. Seeing as it thrives all summer, while my white clover gets all crispy, I think I'm going with just red from now on.

 

[Bill]

How long does the buckwheat stay green?
I've never planted it.

 

[bueller]

How long does the buckwheat stay green?
I've never planted it.

By mid August it will have started making seed and thinning out, but will still be green to some extent. Perfect time to overseed and transition to rye with some clover thrown in if one desires.

 

[bueller]

How long does the buckwheat stay green?
I've never planted it.

Also it grows really quick at this stage. I should be able to take some photos this weekend and the difference will be quite noticeable, especially if we get the sand wet again Tuesday night like they are predicting.

 

[jackpine]

Your plots look great Bueller! Did you have any cams out?

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[Tree Spud]

Red clover field as of this past weekend. I feel like I'm posting the same pics from last year which is good because it looks the same with no maintenance. I seeded the clover with rye August 2015. I let the rye mature and the clover grow last year. September 2016 I overseeeded with rye. Didn't spray, mow, or roll. I'll overseed with more rye in about 6 weeks. I may also add some clover fearing it may fizzle out in year 3 if I don't.

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Bueller ... that plot is self sustaining to some degree and looking good. I think if you add some white clover as a frost seeding even better.

Looking at your buckwheat ... can't understand why people waste their time on this stuff. Sure its an attractant, but why waste your time on early to mid summer stuff? I would over seed with PTT & GHR so you have some later season buffet.

 

[bueller]

Bueller ... that plot is self sustaining to some degree and looking good. I think if you add some white clover as a frost seeding even better.

I just may try some white clover in there to see if it takes. The ground has been dramatically improved over the years. Although I'd probably seed it with my rye in the fall, unless I shouldn't for some reason.

Looking at your buckwheat ... can't understand why people waste their time on this stuff. Sure its an attractant, but why waste your time on early to mid summer stuff? I would over seed with PTT & GHR so you have some later season buffet.

Couple reasons. Soil building being a big one. This is only the third year planting this plot. The soil is very sandy, has a low pH, and is low on nutrients. Knocking down 4 foot rye and 3 foot buckwheat within months of each other adds a great amount of organic matter while providing food for most of the year at the same time.

And we just don't have great numbers of deer. Combine that with limited ag and sparse food plots in the area and our plots give us an edge over most. But with the low numbers I can't count on fall plots alone to bring in the deer. Buckwheat is a huge attractant for us and "conditions" the deer that we will always have something for them to chew on from March into December.

I do overseed with brassicas on occasion. In fact I also usually toss a few pounds in when I plant in the spring for the heck of it. Now that I've improved this soil for a couple years I may forego the spring buckwheat planting next year and rotate the rye I will overseed this fall into a brassica mix a year from now.

 

[bueller]

Your plots look great Bueller! Did you have any cams out?

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I've had a couple out and just got a couple more up. Nothing worth getting too excited about just yet.

 

[bueller]

Some other critters

 

[John-W-WI]

Some other critters
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Like the owl. Cool pic.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Tree Spud ......Post #567 - Like Bueller said above, it builds OM in the soil and for us, it's a heckuva good summer food to add to the banquet we try to provide. We have red clover, white clover, chicory, corn, buckwheat, alfalfa, and crimson clover now. We'll seed GFR, PTT, mixed rapes into the buckwheat, and also plant grain rye and winter wheat later.

We try to attract not only for hunting purposes, seasonally, but for growing fawns, increasing body / rack sizes, and providing good nutrition for milking does. We had deer digging for rye & wheat, plus the radishes and turnips this past winter. We aim for year-round diversity and give 'em a " pick and choose " menu. Buckwheat is only part of our plan, but it sure attracts the deer from late spring through August. Once it goes to seed, the turkeys are in it all the time, even after rolling it down after we seed other stuff into it.

Nice pix of the plot and the critters, Bueller !! It'll be easy to over-seed into the BW.

 

[bueller]

One other thing to add. Our place is very recreational during the summer. Lots of ATV rides and walks with the kids. Once the buckwheat is up and growing until the time it goes to seed it's RARE for us to NOT see a deer in the plot as we pass by. I teach the kids to just slowly pass by without changing speeds or doing anything different. Most times the deer remain in the plot. In fact this past weekend we rode past a doe that was bedded about 10 yards off our trail. She didn't budge even after the second pass. I'm sure she had a little one or two stashed away near her.

 

[pointer]

Though it's planted with a clover mix, I have a couple of small plots I hope that I can keep going as well as you have the red clover/WR pictured with about as much maintenance. One will be just getting the WR either rolled or weedwacked. The other will be getting another dose of WR and some clover as I am expanding it a bit. The "close one" will be getting a red clover/chicory mix + rye. These are all on a series of benches on a powerline ROW. Come labor day I plan on knocking down all the WR and doing the seeding. For me the WR has to come down as this is the spot for the boys and we need the line of site.

 

[bueller]

Though it's planted with a clover mix, I have a couple of small plots I hope that I can keep going as well as you have the red clover/WR pictured with about as much maintenance. One will be just getting the WR either rolled or weedwacked. The other will be getting another dose of WR and some clover as I am expanding it a bit. The "close one" will be getting a red clover/chicory mix + rye. These are all on a series of benches on a powerline ROW. Come labor day I plan on knocking down all the WR and doing the seeding. For me the WR has to come down as this is the spot for the boys and we need the line of site.

I sure am enjoying the zero maintenance. Gives me more time for others things.

 

[pointer]

That's what I hoping for as I don't get to the camp as often as I'd like. I'm thinking with some selective spraying with a thought to seed selection, I may be able to just keep adding seed and letting it go.

 

[bueller]

Buckwheat pics. Same angles from post #561, 10 days prior.

 

[bueller]

Raspberries are past peak but blackberries are starting to ripen. Hazelnuts are also plentiful this year.

 

[bueller]

Rain is in the forecast and time at the cabin is not so I planted some fall plots this weekend.

I have a plot of red clover still going strong from a 2015 planting. Concerned about the clover (biennial) thinning out next year, I overseeded with some unnamed white clover from the hardware store's little food plot section. I seeded heavy, ~6 lbs/acre. Hopefully I didn't overdo it. Also overseeded with rye as I did with great success last year.

Buckwheat plot was a healthy 4' tall and had set some seeds but the leaves were still green. In all but the thickest of areas, grass was growing underneath. I overseeded with rye and rape before spraying gly. I then dragged a spike harrow over the plot knocking down the buckwheat and lightly kicking the dirt around a bit. I don't expect much out of the rape but I had the seed on hand so I gave it a shot.

 

[Bill]

I don't think you can really over do clover. Heck I let mine flower all summer. It must naturally seed pounds over the years.