Green soybeans

[Bill]

IMO It's trial and error depending on your deer densities and the ag / land around you. I can plant 1-2 acres and have beans in the fall but I have quite a bit of ag around me. But that's also changing as our numbers have increased in the last two years.. Others (like jsasker above) have to plant larger fields to keep up.

@Bill I'd be curious to hear your experiences here as well.

I would never plant less then 4 acre of beans if like trooper says I wasn’t surrounded by ag beans on the neighbors place. My farm is cut by a road and while deer cross roads many tend to bed and feed on one side during daylight. I plant a minimum of 4 acres on each side. Not necessarily in the same field, some plots are only 1/2 acre. But they are a short walk to another field for the deer.

Last year I only planted about 3 total acres per side and my neighbor switched to corn. The deer just decimated my beans. This year I upped my beans and the neighbors planted ag beans so I’m in good shape.

One other consideration on a small bean plot is location. In my experience hidey hole plots that are removed from a road, prying eyes or disturbance of a neighbor get hammered. If there is 100 acres of beans near a road and 2 acres of beans in a remote quiet place the deer will choose the 2 acres.

Here is a hidey hole bean plot in August. The beans are behind the rubbing post and about 4 inches tall. I broadcast brassicas into them in July and the deer hammered them as soon as they sprouted also. I broadcast rye into them in Sept and it was kept mowed to the ground also. 400 yards up the hill I had a 4 acre plot that was 2 foot high.

Location matters.

Same field in July.

 

[Mortenson]

Did you press or roll them in? That's an impressive stand for broadcasting beans..

I know you know this, but to state for others who may not know, a mega low population of beans will branch/bush out really well. Caveat being if they are left alone enough to do so.

 

[Booner21]

Not exactly on topic but I broadcast my beans every year. I broadcast then very lightly till them in. I have down this for several year without issue.


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[Thetrooper]

Bill have you ever used an electric fence? I really don't want to but with a max of 4 acres to put into beans I don't think it would end well fencless. I'm worried that even if I let the beans get waist high they still might get demolished. Can mature beans handle the browsing?
My farm is split in the middle by a heavily covered valley that runs W to E. The north and south sides almost have independent herds. Obviously they do overlap and share territory but certain bucks and doe family groups tend to pick a side. The end result is roughly 20-30 deer flowing out to feed on the north and 20-30 feeding out on the south every evening. I run a ton of other plots which could take pressure off the beans but beans are definitely top choice food

 

[buckdeer1]

I tested the enlist beans this year for Real World and they preformed very well and I was able to spray them with Innerline which is a herbicide for gly resistant weeds such as marestail and pigweed.It worked very well and the deer have browsed since planting.I also broadcasted winter wheat just as leaves were starting to turn.

 

[Bill]

Bill have you ever used an electric fence? I really don't want to but with a max of 4 acres to put into beans I don't think it would end well fencless. I'm worried that even if I let the beans get waist high they still might get demolished. Can mature beans handle the browsing?
My farm is split in the middle by a heavily covered valley that runs W to E. The north and south sides almost have independent herds. Obviously they do overlap and share territory but certain bucks and doe family groups tend to pick a side. The end result is roughly 20-30 deer flowing out to feed on the north and 20-30 feeding out on the south every evening. I run a ton of other plots which could take pressure off the beans but beans are definitely top choice food

Not for food plots as such. But I did use a Gallagher style fence. 3 strands and another two strands about 3 foot out to fence a 3 acre tree and shrub nursery. It worked well to keep deer out but it was a pain to keep the weeds off of.

Weeds would grow tall and short the electric out. At first I tried to keep them down with a weed whacker. That was fruitless because I don’t live there. Eventually I sprayed under it with mix of diesel (replacing water) and glyphosate (don’t tell anyone). That did the trick..

You may want to see if there is a eagle bean dealer near by. I don’t like eagle beans for “me” because they don’t produce as many pods as ag beans and they stay green longer, which messes with my desire to broadcast rye into the beans in September.

I haven’t done it but maybe a mix of ag and eagle forage beans might be the ticket for you. Eagle beans do take some serious brows and keep ticking.

Or experiment and just go with Ag beans on the first try. Once they get going beans can take some brows and still make pods.

 

[westonwhitetail]

Did you press or roll them in? That's an impressive stand for broadcasting beans..

No I just planted at a higher rate. I had good rains the following week and the heavier soil stays moist at my hunting land which is key. In the sandy soil at my house I have to lightly disc to cover the seed cause the top layer of soil dries too quick

 

[Brian662]

Has anyone tried the northern blend from Real World Soybeans? Either the roundup or enlist, just curious. I'm in Southeastern MN and was thinking of trying some this year vs ag beans.

I've done the Eagle beans plenty of times and I've had enough of them. Happy enough with the browsability but very limited pod production. I normally plant beans when the neighboring farmers have beans around to limit my browsing anyways.

 

[S.T.Fanatic]

IMO, stick with the ag beans. Pick an earlier maturing bean, sacrifice a little on yield, and over seed them with a late summer/early fall crop.

 

[Bassattackr]

Has anyone tried the northern blend from Real World Soybeans? Either the roundup or enlist, just curious. I'm in Southeastern MN and was thinking of trying some this year vs ag beans.

Ha, I was actually thinking about using these in MO due to their earlier maturity date. We will see..

 

[Mortenson]

My big bean experiment was a pallet of test plot seed, spanning something like 2.3 to upper 3's IIRC. I just mixed them all together in the bulk fill tanks. Maybe that's an option for people wanting a little variety.