Deer must love sunflowers

[Tap]

I have two plots of beans that are currently getting wiped out by the deer. I am going to reseed with rye and oats. Sounds like sunflowers are going in there too. Any special fertilizer for sunflowers?

They like nitrogen.
I rotated out of clover and into sunflowers in one plot this year, hoping the clover fixed enough N to feed the sunflowers. The plot is doing okay but it would probably be better if I spread some urea a month ago. I've been trying to economize my plots as much as I can. I've really cut back on fertilizer and the plots are decent...good enough for deer.

Maybe your beans made enough N to satisfy a sunflower plot. Try no, or low fertilizer in a portion of your planting and compare. Let us know how it goes. It seems like sunflowers are becoming popular for plots...it will be nice to see the results of different approaches. Catscratch has been doing well with throw and mow sunflowers. I never thought that was possible until he posted the pictures.

 

[Fat Lab]

As Tap said. Sunflowers love nitrogen. I like to put down 80lbs/acre(liquid) at the time of planting tank mixed with pre emerge and an additional 100lb/acre(granular) just before they start to put heads on. If I were planting them for a deer food plot I'd just spread 200lb/acre of triple 19 at the time of planting and let them do their thing since you're intent is not necessarily seed production. I've seen deer walk across a 100 acre bean field to get to sunflowers. No doubt they absolutely love them.

 

[Eggman]

Great pic with your dogs at the dove hunt. This years hunt is right around the corner!

 

[Fat Lab]

Great pic with your dogs at the dove hunt. This years hunt is right around the corner!

Thank you sir! I went and visited with him yesterday. He's back in training finishing out his advanced work. I get to pick him back up in 3 weeks and I'm ready to get my partner back! We're a month out from the greatest time of year! Deer season, dove season and college football! :D

 

[split toe]

How are yall planting the sunflowers? Wonder if you could plant them in a no-till in a bush hogged field that hasnt been worked?

 

[Fat Lab]

How are yall planting the sunflowers? Wonder if you could plant them in a no-till in a bush hogged field that hasnt been worked?

Absolutely. A good initial burndown and plant away.

 

[Stump]

Well planted oats rye wheat and threw in some sun flowers this time. Will let you know how they work out.

 

[Semisane]

Last fall the thatch on my plots had already laid over before I got a chance to plant, so throw and mow was out. I threw a seed a mix that included sunflower into the thatch and rolled it in with a homemade roller. Everything germinated including the sunflower (which made it to three or four inches before the deer wiped them out).

This plot is 1/3 acre.