My deer like sunhemp

[Baker]

I know it will plant it, I think some are concerned about residue for the next crop. I don't think it would be an issue I was saying. There are a lot of acres in a similar mix around me this year do to all the prevent plant acres.

The residue can be a problem . I think it important to follow the grain of the roller crimper so the drill doesn't get balled up .We planted an irregular field the other day and had problems with the thatch rolling upon the coulters making big balls.. First time for that. Seems long straight fields don't have problems. Also I have mowed hemp and not had problems drilling to it. Lastly the drill can have a hard time cutting the hemp if going across the grain. The stuff is very fibrous .

Another thing I have done in the past is to raise the deck on the bush hog as high as it can go and mow the hemp when it is 4-5 ' tall. From what I have read this causes the root system to be much denser yet the hemp doesn't get so tall.

Not familiar with Grand Pa Ray's mix but yes what I plant is similar except I add iron clay cow peas which do very well in the south. They end up climbing up the hemp and can actually bend it over sometimes to the ground by late summer. This may be what happened to the field where I had troubles as the hemp wasn't in uniform lines for drilling to

 

[Baker]

Here's a pic of the problem I was mentioning. The thatch in this field is probably 4-6" thick . I have one more field to plant with similar thatch but that field is more rectangular. I'll report results

 

[IkemanTx]

We spread the fall plot into the standing summer mix, then mowed the summer plot over the top of it. It seems to have germinated well.
Our residue wasn’t quite THAT thick, though.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[yoderjac]

It is not.

Many of the suggestions in this thread are basic version of a more advanced mix called Deer and Bird, which is sold by Grandpa Rays. DnB is planted early summer and contains sunn hemp, soybeans, sunflowers, buckwheat and grain sorghum. I drilled several acres with a 706NT no problem. The results are an incredible mix of summer/fall/winter forage and cover.

The plot in the field below while still fully stocked for fall has been feeding deer through heavy daily pressure since July.

Not more advanced, just different. Like anything, there are advantages and disadvantages to each combination. For example, deer don't touch sorghum (milo) until the seed heads ripen in the fall. Soybeans won't produce much in the way of pods for winter in a mix like that because of the competition. I drilled sunflowers with mine, but on one farm they were all nipped off before they established. On another lower deer density area, they did well.

In my area, it is more advantageous to plant a cover crop of WR/CC/PTT for winter and early spring coverage. The sorghum would be a waste as it would be terminated before it was used. Soybeans would go the same way as the sunflowers in my area.

This example points out the deficiency in many BOB mixes like the one you cite. While BOB mixes are convenient and fine for small attraction plots. They are generally significantly more expensive and are not tailored for the location and objectives of the individual situation. The cost is not a big deal for small plots, but it adds up quickly vs 50# bags for folks planting significant acreage.

BOB seed has its place, but it is no more advanced, just different.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[jsasker007]

Looks like sun hemp will be added to my list of things to try for building up OM.

 

[Big Snow Man]

Wow Baker that is a pile of thatch

 

[TreeDaddy]

Here's a pic of the problem I was mentioning. The thatch in this field is probably 4-6" thick . I have one more field to plant with similar thatch but that field is more rectangular. I'll report results

View attachment 26463

Hey Baker,

If the rest of you is beneath that cap, that's too much thatch

bill

 

[White Birch Farm]

This example points out the deficiency in many BOB mixes like the one you cite.

Thanks,

Jack

Haa!...Buck on a bag.

 

[Turkish]

Here's a pic of the problem I was mentioning. The thatch in this field is probably 4-6" thick . I have one more field to plant with similar thatch but that field is more rectangular. I'll report results

View attachment 26463

How’s it looking?

We did TnM in fields with much less thatch than that. Dad stays convinced that we can’t get “good germination” with all that thatch. If your plants come up thru 4-6” of it, I know that isn’t what he can pin our failures on.

 

[WeedyJ]

I planted some with buckwheat, cowpeas, sunflowers, daikon radish, and a few other things. Nothing got over 8 inches before being eaten. Gonna oversed 3X next year and plant later in the spring/summer when more browse is around