Food plot seeds are ordered!

[IkemanTx]

I got an itchy trigger finger and went ahead and ordered seed for my deer plots for this spring/summer.

I ordered 5lbs each of Alyce clover and Joint vetch for a 1/2ac micro plot since @Baker (who is also in the south) swears by them.

I also went on green cover seed’s smart mix calculator and built an 11 way blend for my 2ac whitetail plot.

I am pumped to start habitat work on the family farm this year. It has been in the family since the late 1800’s. It got my family through poverty, the Great Depression, 2 world wars, and 5 generations... it is time for the place to rest.


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[BenAllgood]

Have you planted brassicas in May before? They did ok?
That's awesome about the farm. Not many families can say they have hung on for that long. Congratulations!

 

[TreeDaddy]

Green Cover Seed and MDC are habitat porn to me

bill

 

[IkemanTx]

Have you planted brassicas in May before? They did ok?
That's awesome about the farm. Not many families can say they have hung on for that long. Congratulations!

I haven’t.
They are expected to bolt fairly quickly, but are being used for their mineral mining and tap root benefits, not for deer consumption in the summer plot.

Several of the species in the mix are done specifically for non-food benefits like compaction reduction, nutrient cycling, beneficial insect attraction, and residue accumulation. This goes for the safflower, radish, mustard, kale, sunn hemp, and turnips. The spring peas, soybeans, buckwheat, and okra are the food species in the mix.

This will all be killed down with a throw-n-mow in mid September with a fall blend of equal diversity. I don’t have access to a roller-crimper, and don’t have a tractor big enough to pull the county NRCS no-till drill (75hp recommenced minimum) so I won’t be able to fully eliminate tillage and herbicide. Not ideal, but it is better than nothing.

I will also be ordering 60lbs of the upland game bird mix from green cover seed in a month or two, and it is very similar to the mix I built, but with a lot of added millets and sorghums. That plot will be 2 acres tucked between a small pond and a creek. I hope to drag my wife out bird hunting with me :-)

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[BenAllgood]

I haven’t.
They are expected to bolt fairly quickly, but are being used for their mineral mining and tap root benefits, not for deer consumption in the summer plot.

Several of the species in the mix are done specifically for non-food benefits like compaction reduction, nutrient cycling, beneficial insect attraction, and residue accumulation. This goes for the safflower, radish, mustard, kale, sunn hemp, and turnips. The spring peas, soybeans, buckwheat, and okra are the food species in the mix.

Got it. I'm starting to buy into the regenerative wildlife agriculture movement. Better late than never, I guess. At first I was skeptical because I thought people were saying that all soils everywhere started out as great, and we had ruined them with modern agriculture. I was thinking my yard should have some of the best soils since I never till it, but it isn't. But, now I see it is the sheer diversity and types of plants that feed the soil they're planted into that turns bad soil good.

 

[IkemanTx]

I haven’t.
They are expected to bolt fairly quickly, but are being used for their mineral mining and tap root benefits, not for deer consumption in the summer plot.

Several of the species in the mix are done specifically for non-food benefits like compaction reduction, nutrient cycling, beneficial insect attraction, and residue accumulation. This goes for the safflower, radish, mustard, kale, sunn hemp, and turnips. The spring peas, soybeans, buckwheat, and okra are the food species in the mix.

Got it. I'm starting to buy into the regenerative wildlife agriculture movement. Better late than never, I guess. At first I was skeptical because I thought people were saying that all soils everywhere started out as great, and we had ruined them with modern agriculture. I was thinking my yard should have some of the best soils since I never till it, but it isn't. But, now I see it is the sheer diversity and types of plants that feed the soil they're planted into that turns bad soil good.

Ya, people like Gabe Brown and Ray Archuleta are my inspiration. If I won the lottery today, I would have a large ranch as soon as the check cleared. I’d run as regenerative as possible and emulate the guys listed above, along with Greg Judy, J. David Bamberger, Colin Seis etc... alas, I don’t have the money for 10 acres, much less a few thousand.

I really feel that we, as food plotters, can probably make some of the fastest improvements using their methods, since we are essentially perpetually cover cropping. Double cover crops every year without an actual harvest should leave a TON of food for biodiversity in the soil.


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[IkemanTx]

Everything has delivered except the upland game bird mix, which I will order in the next couple of weeks.


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[tbrown]

How did these do for you this year so far? Did some similar things this year buying seed from DropTine - Reload series.

 

[IkemanTx]

How did these do for you this year so far? Did some similar things this year buying seed from DropTine - Reload series.

The rain that was in the forecast when I planted ended up falling through. We had 2 weeks without rain, and the main deer plot ended up pretty thin.
It’s a good thing I went so diverse, because the really drought tolerant stuff is all there is in that plot.

The dove plot and clover/vetch plot are doing great though.

Dove plot

Alyce clover / Joint Vetch

Main deer plot

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