Feed oats
- Thread starter MJ74
- Start date
Gotcha, I have a couple of fire lanes I'd like to plant, and Im assuming the soil is in rough shape, and I was just thinking of throwing something out without spending much money.
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I have planted feed wheat right next to certified seed wheat and the only difference I noted was a little lower germination rate. Deer didn't notice a difference and ate both equally. Most say feed wheat/oats is last years certified seed, but agree that you could get some weed seed in the bag.
Catscratch
5 year old buck +
It costs a lot more to fight invasive weeds the rest of your life than it costs to buy weed free seed.
gurgalunas
Yearling... With promise
Probably a difference in cold hardiness if that matters in your area. I've not had good luck with oats in my area (KC, MO) because we have early enough frosts/freezes that they are brown before they are really needed. There are some varieties of oats that are less cold sensitive. Here, regular oats are reliable through the end of September, but not consistently later.
For me, wheat is 50/50 to mid-november, rye lasts all winter.
For me, wheat is 50/50 to mid-november, rye lasts all winter.
bigboreblr
5 year old buck +
Certified seed is cleaned, close to weed free, and known germination rate. I hve used feed oats for years, it works fine. Purple bag from tractor supply works fine. Local hardware store has feed oats by me and they work fine too.
Take 50 random seeds from the bag and put in a shallow bed of soil. Each one that grows is 2%. I stopped doing this on feed oats, always was 85-95%.
Rye is better, try finding a local source. MAny times the seed rye is the same price as feed oats,
Take 50 random seeds from the bag and put in a shallow bed of soil. Each one that grows is 2%. I stopped doing this on feed oats, always was 85-95%.
Rye is better, try finding a local source. MAny times the seed rye is the same price as feed oats,
bigboreblr
5 year old buck +
I got harvested rye from a local farmer this year. It had stems seed hulls seed germ and stuff like corn kenels. Even has aluminum shavings. He used a tractor trailer bed to store it in and stirred it with a shovel to prevent mold. $21 for 80-90lb bags. Did not test germination. Likely will not buy from him again. A bit out of the way.
Compared to that, feed oats I get from stores seem pretty clean to me. I'd say they compare well to certified seed grains.
Shipping is a killed for the a few acre folks like me. Feed oats is the easiest small grain to find locally. Relatively affordable and easy to get too is forage feast by plotspike. Wheat oats peas lovers and brassicas. Been a few years but it's likely under $30 a 50lb bag at tractor supply. They had a mossy oak mix with grains in it for not too bad either.
Oats generally survive down to 15 deg F nights. Not much after that deer loose interest.
Compared to that, feed oats I get from stores seem pretty clean to me. I'd say they compare well to certified seed grains.
Shipping is a killed for the a few acre folks like me. Feed oats is the easiest small grain to find locally. Relatively affordable and easy to get too is forage feast by plotspike. Wheat oats peas lovers and brassicas. Been a few years but it's likely under $30 a 50lb bag at tractor supply. They had a mossy oak mix with grains in it for not too bad either.
Oats generally survive down to 15 deg F nights. Not much after that deer loose interest.
