Milo/Sorghum for deer?
- Thread starter j-bird
- Start date
Bowsnbucks
5 year old buck +
Bears ARE a possibility here. Good acorn years - not as many probs. Thin acorn years - look out !!
j-bird
Moderator
If I have problems with bear - we just discovered the worlds best bear bait! Another reason I'm not moving north!
Bassattackr
5 year old buck +
Old thread but.. Anyone else experiment with Milo lately?
yoderjac
5 year old buck +
In my area, Milo fills a different niche than corn. You can get RR corn, but typically not milo. So, a RR corn/soybean mix was a staple for me for many years because of the easy weed control. My mix was 7:1 soybeans/corn by weight. My purpose of the corn was more for vertical cover in the beans making the field more attractive during daylight hours than for food. Most of my corn was eaten by the time the season rolls around.
I have since switched to another summer mix because of a infestation of Marestail which is naturally resistant to gly. I've been planting a mix of buckwheat and sunn hemp lately and I experimented with adding Wild Game Sorghum. I have also planted it as a monoculture. I'm in zone 7a and here are my results:
IN A MONOCULTURE:
I did this back when our deer densities were high. Deer ignored it during establishment so I could plant it in small fields with no problem. It provided no summer food but was very attractive in early fall when the seed heads ripened. I found at the time, the seed heads were wiped out in small fields prior to our season. Now that our deer numbers are in check, I plan to try this again. It is a good way to use banked N when perennial clover plots need rotated.
IN THE BUCKWHEAT SUNN HEMP MIX:
Unlike the Eagle beans I had planted that were attractive well into our season, the sunn hemp and buckwheat are short-term crops. So, I mow them for a fall plant. I did leave strips of sunn help standing for vertical cover. So, most of the sunn hemp never provided food to deer as it was mowed before the seed heads ripened. I found that the seed heads left in the standing strips of sunn hemp I left got little attention and lasted most of the hunting season. I'm guessing this is due to our lower deer densities now and improved habitat.
It is a good crop for birds and deer, you just need to understand the characteristics and how it is used to fit it into your approach properly.
Thanks,
Jack
Bassattackr
5 year old buck +
Great feedback, thanks Jack.
I'm planting in a mix this year with beans, sunflowers and some millet for more of an overall wildlife attractiveness. Going to plant alongside a clover, chicory plot that I might rotate with it as well..
I'm planting in a mix this year with beans, sunflowers and some millet for more of an overall wildlife attractiveness. Going to plant alongside a clover, chicory plot that I might rotate with it as well..
S.T.Fanatic
5 year old buck +
I’d go heavier on the beans and light on the sunflowers and milo.
My plot was way to thick last year
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
My plot was way to thick last year
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Gravel Road
5 year old buck +
I think the variety of sorghum makes a huge difference in whether or not deer use it or not. My BIL used to deal seed and he gave me several different bags to try. He'd say this one the deer will hit early, this one the deer won't hit, etc. He was right! Some varieties were ate as soon as the head formed and some were never touched.
Bassattackr
5 year old buck +
Great tip, thanks! I'm using RWW Upland blend, I think a good portion (if not the majority) is the beans in this mix.
Bassattackr
5 year old buck +
Scott - Pics look great, looks like some nice foxtail Millet in that mix. Have you noticed much use from Turkeys, etc on the millet?
I see what you mean, mine will be pulling double duty as well. Although I may need to sprinkle some EW in it for a touch more height.
I see what you mean, mine will be pulling double duty as well. Although I may need to sprinkle some EW in it for a touch more height.
scott44
5 year old buck +
I have had some use by the turkeys but not as much as I would have thought, every time I hunted around these plots where I could see them I could watch the deer feed across the plot rest of the plot plots ( cereal grains, clover and brassicas ) and they would always end up in the sorghum mix for ahwile and they'd feed out. If you have a really wet fall or an early snow you'll the sorghum will probably get knocked down, it doesn't stand up real well to wet conditions.
