bueller's blotter

3.5" of rain in the gauge today. Last emptied 10 days ago. Wow.
 
Our clover and BW get hit all spring & summer. For whatever reason the BW has been a magnet for the bucks this summer. I will say this - it's the first thing outside some heavy cover. They may hit the BW 1st and then wait for darkness to head out into the more open fields for the clover. Most sightings in the BW are right at dusk.
 
Bueller you just broadcast the buckwheat into the standing rye on memorial day?

You never till just broadcast and roll?
 
Bueller you just broadcast the buckwheat into the standing rye on memorial day?

You never till just broadcast and roll?
No till. I spray gly over the rye and anything else growing (weeds). Next broadcast buckwheat and fertilizer. Then drag with an old spike harrow. I've also used a roller with success. Dragging/rolling is not necessary but I believe it helps "cover" the seed a bit and it knocks down the tall rye. Really it's barely scratching the soil surface.
 
Our clover and BW get hit all spring & summer. For whatever reason the BW has been a magnet for the bucks this summer. I will say this - it's the first thing outside some heavy cover. They may hit the BW 1st and then wait for darkness to head out into the more open fields for the clover. Most sightings in the BW are right at dusk.
Our bucks like the buckwheat too. Watch this guy engulf plant after plant.
 
What is the seeding rate for buckwheat. How much do you put down?
 
What is the seeding rate for buckwheat. How much do you put down?
I've been putting down 50 lbs / acre but it comes in a little on the light side. I think I'm bumping it up to 75 next year.
 
We used 50, and I agree with bueller, our plots were usually very sparse most times due to our crappy soil and lack of rain timing.
 
I've been putting down 50 lbs / acre but it comes in a little on the light side. I think I'm bumping it up to 75 next year.

That is basically what i was seeing with winter rye. 56# was a bit too lite on our sand in my plot that is not even an acre, so this year i went double.

Maybe i will try some buckwheat next spring. It looks good.
 
50 lbs. does pretty well for us on about 3/4 acre in our soils. That rate gives us a nice thick plot. Soils different everywhere. The deer have been eating ours down to about 4" off the ground.
 
That is basically what i was seeing with winter rye. 56# was a bit too lite on our sand in my plot that is not even an acre, so this year i went double.

Maybe i will try some buckwheat next spring. It looks good.
56lbs worked well on our 1/2 acre and our 2/3 acre plots. Anything larger and I would double it, or add in a bag of oats or wheat if I felt the need to be diverse in my cereal grain offering, which I did not because I like the attributes of rye over the other cereals and if my deer have never had oats or wheat, they won't know what they are missing anyway, now will they!;)
 
I think I may have over seeded the area this year, we added in oats and it seemed to have stunted them. Still pretty good for the first summer planting this plot. When rotating to brassicas/WW do you have more success seeding then mowing, or rolling it?
 

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I think I may have over seeded the area this year, we added in oats and it seemed to have stunted them. Still pretty good for the first summer planting this plot. When rotating to brassicas/WW do you have more success seeding then mowing, or rolling it?
Looks pretty thick from that photo. I prefer to spray, seed, roll if I'm doing it all in one day which I usually am.
 
Seed and roll gets you better seed to soil contact because broadcasting into the upright stalks allows more open space for seed to directly hit the ground as opposed to rolling or mowing first which will leave you a heavy layer of laid down thatch which allows seed to hang up without touching the ground.
 
Seed and roll gets you better seed to soil contact because broadcasting into the upright stalks allows more open space for seed to directly hit the ground as opposed to rolling or mowing first which will leave you a heavy layer of laid down thatch which allows seed to hang up without touching the ground.
This ^^^^ and mowing after spraying may defeat the purpose of spraying if you haven't waited long enough for the chemical to dish out its full killing effect on the target plants.
 
The front piece that looks short is a clover strip I planted this spring (picture is from July 10), but I am planning on seeding into the standing buckwheat and then brush hogging the buckwheat on top of the seed and run it over with the tractor/atv. We will see if it works, I just hate dragging more sand up in to the topsoil.
 

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The front piece that looks short is a clover strip I planted this spring (picture is from July 10), but I am planning on seeding into the standing buckwheat and then brush hogging the buckwheat on top of the seed and run it over with the tractor/atv. We will see if it works, I just hate dragging more sand up in to the topsoil.
I just noticed you are in West Central Wisconsin. I personally wouldn't waste brassica seed this late on my poor soil. Good time for cereal grains in the coming weeks. If you don't have much grass in your buckwheat your plan should work. If the grass is thick I would spray.
 
I had buckwheat growing in this plot and wanted to seed rye into it. The buckwheat was a bit on the thin side in some areas so the grass got pretty thick.

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That's ok because after spraying gly, broadcasting rye and fertilizer, and lightly dragging there is a lot of organic matter covering up the sand.

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A few years of that should really help out with the organic content. Looking great!
 
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