Fertilizer or no fertilizer ...need answers asap
- Thread starter Bc4abc
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yoderjac
5 year old buck +
It really depends on the year and what else is available. Deer don't generally hit my WR until it is 2" tall or so. However, in a good acorn year, they will avoid food plots during daylight hours in favor of acorns in cover. Other years, they will hit WR early and consistently in early fall. Some years, they ignore it for a while and then something shifts in foods and they start hammering it.
Low deer numbers and lots of acorns, especially in an environment with hunting pressure, is a formula for seeing few deer in the open.
Thanks,
Jack
Low deer numbers and lots of acorns, especially in an environment with hunting pressure, is a formula for seeing few deer in the open.
Thanks,
Jack
Bc4abc
5 year old buck +
Jack.....with a new rye/ durana clover plot should i be worried with our lack of rain ? Or is the dew enough to keep things going ? Thought I'd ask you since you are close to me on the map and know the amount of rain we have had ....thanks
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yoderjac
5 year old buck +
It gives you an appreciation for farmers. We can do everything right and mother nature sometime conspires against us. Most seed like clover and WR will last for quite a while and still germinate. I surface broadcast a cover crop of PTT in august right before a dry spell. The field sat idle for quite a while. We had some good rain when one of the hurricanes passed by and it germinated. The germination rates are lower than typical, but I got a PTT crop. There will be good forage but because of the delayed germination, we probably won't have significant sized tubers this year.
Worrying doesn't do much good and there is nothing I'd do right now. Just hunt. WR will germinate and grow pretty late in my zone, so you still may get some attraction with the WR even if it hasn't germinated yet. If by the time the growing season is over, the WR has not done much, you might want to consider frost seeding more Durana in March.
If you do nothing, you will likely get a reasonable field of Durana. I found the biggest key to success for me in terms of Durana is timely mowing the first spring after planting.
Best of luck,
Jack
Worrying doesn't do much good and there is nothing I'd do right now. Just hunt. WR will germinate and grow pretty late in my zone, so you still may get some attraction with the WR even if it hasn't germinated yet. If by the time the growing season is over, the WR has not done much, you might want to consider frost seeding more Durana in March.
If you do nothing, you will likely get a reasonable field of Durana. I found the biggest key to success for me in terms of Durana is timely mowing the first spring after planting.
Best of luck,
Jack
yoderjac
5 year old buck +
You have no problem or worries. Generally I don't expect more than minimal germination from clover in the fall. If your clover has germinated and WR is 5" tall, you have no worries. We'll have plenty enough moisture to sustain it. You'll be in good shape with that plot.
Bc4abc
5 year old buck +
Thought I'd put an update out there ....I put the remainder of the fertilizer on this past weekend and the plot looks to have a great great potential right now ....High rate of germination on the durana. Deer have hammered the rye all winter, but it's still there ready to pop now that spring is here.....Will post some pics in the coming weeks
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Fall's Legend
5 year old buck +
Happy for you! Thanks for updating us.
My WNC plots that were in late clover, chicory and small burnett had very little except weeds in them as of February. In March I over seeded with the same. We are finally getting regular rain. Still ground water is low. Almost no water in our permanent small creeks. Going up today to see about germination. Plots in north GA started getting rain in November. Got some germination but temps were low and not much production happened. They are coming on but lots of bare spots and warm season grassy weeds mixed in. At least it is growth that will give the deer something to eat and provide organic matter for the soil going forward. Good luck to all for this spring's plots. "D"
Bc4abc
5 year old buck +
Starting to shape up
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yoderjac
5 year old buck +
The objective of a nurse crop is to keep weeds at bay while the Durana, which is slow to establish, puts down roots and establishes itself. For other clovers I generally mow to about 8", but durana is low growing so I like to mow to about 6". So, you want to mow the Winter Rye whenever it begins to shade out the clover. For me that occurs when the WR is about a foot tall, but it may depend on how heavy you seeded the WR. You will get a feel for it. There is no hard rule.
There are some best practice considerations. First, don't put a tractor on a field when conditions are wet. This is especially true for clay type soils that compact easily. Another best practice is to mow right before a rain. The drier conditions are, the more important this becomes. Later in the year, you will be clipping clover, not just the WR. This will put some stress on the clover and you don't want to add mowing stress to drought stress.
There is no real timeline for mowing. It really depends on conditions and how fast things grow.
Best of luck,
Jack
4wanderingeyes
5 year old buck +
Personally I dont mow the rye, it will grow to about 4-5 feet tall, then it dies off. It may shade the clover some, but it will also keep the hot sun from drying it out as well. Then after it dies off, and the clover has established itself, you can either mow it all, knock the dead rye down, or just leave it, and let the rye fall on its own.
yoderjac
5 year old buck +
And this is a good point. It all depends on your overall plan. If you are in the north and don't have difficult summer weed issues, you may be able to use lighter rates of the cereal nurse crop which means it is less of an issues shading out clover. Further south where summer weeds are advantaged over clover and starting with a clean field is paramount, using heavier rates of cereal make mowing to release clover more important.
Thanks,
Jack
bueller
Moderator
I do this also. Doing so allows me to grow thick and lush red clover in terribly dry and drought prone sand. The deer push their way into the field late in the summer well after the rye has matured and the clover has established itself.
4wanderingeyes
5 year old buck +
If I remember correctly, you were the one to suggest it to me!
yoderjac
5 year old buck +
Cereal grains are annuals. So, no, the WR will not come back the following spring like a perennial. However, WR surface broadcasts well. So, if you let it head-out and then mow it, some of the seed may germinate in the fall depending on the conditions of your field. That WR will come back the next spring.
Sure, most perennial clover like ladino can be surface broadcast right before a rain.
Thanks,
Jack
