PA fall plot

You are in AG town there my friend...... Good plan to plant something the farmers dont have around in the area... however, ask a local farmer if he can help you out. When he's discing in the srping, maybe he can run as pass for you. When he applies lime in the winter, maybe he can put some out for you. What he does may or may not match up what he is doing.

Also, you got bald spots? tos some winter rye and clover in there and sratch it up with a rake real quick or tamp it down.

That groundhog maxx can be real rough on ATV's....... I personally have never used one, but I have a set of two behind discs and a set of spring harrows.

Derek on here does pretty good with just and ATV. Check out his posts for some great info. He is also in PA, so what he does will work well by you.

Clethodim kills grasses. There are numerous plants out there that look like grass, but is not. My enemy in the western adirondacks of NY is mace sedge. Alot of folks have similar problems with it too.

Your weeds tell you alot about your soil. Try your best to ID what you have. Also, putting fertilizer makes the soil fertile for both your wanted plants and unwanted ones..... Even using gly can promote tougher to kill weeds.

That is a nice plot of young turnips. Perennials clovers usually start off pretty slow. I like to mix white and red together. That medium red gets a pretty good head start while the white / pink ones usually take off the next spring. Clover that doesn't grow is commonly caused by planting it too deep. If I am planting clover into tilled soil, I usually spread the seed that like more than a 1/2" sow depth. then take some sort of drag and do one pass to level out the deep crevices. Dry soil usually levels out pretty good with discing, but when it's clumpy with moisture, those deeper spots can easily put a seed 2 inch or more deep when you level it out. I bolted 3 pickup truck tires together with a bit of chain. One quick pass with that or something similar, then I spread the seeds that need less depth like turnips. Turnips I'd run another quick pass after seeding. Clover might get too deep even with that, so I would spread 1/2 of the clover with the turnips, then do another quick pass with something to mix it in. After that I would spread the remaining clover right ontop of the soil, then either cultipack it in, or use the ATV tires to pack down the soil with the clover right ontop.
Thanks for that reply! I was planning on throwing down some winter rye in those bare spots. I can't kill my 2008 King Quad but yes the ground hog max is hard on them...Someday I'll have a tractor. I'm probably going to frost seed more clover and chicory next winter and try to maintain a nice plot for a few years. I'm def in ag country and the land owner has tractors but mainly for fun and mowing. He doesn't grow crops but I'm sure he could help if I asked. I enjoy making these plots with what I have. Not always easy but its fun. Thanks again for the reply!
 
Even if you don't have bare spots, I would be tempted to add some winter rye. If you plant it now, you should still have a couple weeks worth of growth and it will still grow (albeit slowly) when it gets above freezing (I have seen pretty decent jumps in size during warmups in mid-winter). This will help your herd when the brassicas are gone (mine were all stubs by about mid-February) and will be the first green you see during the late winter and early spring. Some people claim that the rye will stunt the brassicas, but I have not seen this and yours are well enough along that it should not be an issue. Plus it adds another layer and different kind of food and that's always a good thing! Also it can literally just be broadcast into the standing turnips before any kind of rain and it will germinate.
 
So I haven't updated in a while I actually tagged out on a nice 9 pt 10/7. Was watching a group of bucks work a fence row and jump into the neighbors cover crop of buckwheat so I hung a stand in a lone cherry tree exactly where they were crossing and my first sit I connected. Didn't think the plot was doing well as a lot of the greens turned brown. To my surprise I checked the plot over the wknd and saw a bunch of turnips growing! I think I'll have some does to hunt with the flintlock late season!
 

Attachments

  • IMG_5412.jpg
    IMG_5412.jpg
    504.7 KB · Views: 54
  • IMG_5413.jpg
    IMG_5413.jpg
    585.1 KB · Views: 45
  • IMG_5415.jpg
    IMG_5415.jpg
    575.2 KB · Views: 41
  • IMG_5417.jpg
    IMG_5417.jpg
    636.6 KB · Views: 45
  • PAB1.jpg
    PAB1.jpg
    356.2 KB · Views: 47
  • PA buck.jpg
    PA buck.jpg
    409 KB · Views: 45
  • PAB2.jpg
    PAB2.jpg
    366.1 KB · Views: 54
Awesome plot and buck! Congrats on both!
 
Nice harvest. Field connectors work for great spots. Even ditch lines are good funnels too.

Been several years since I got a PA flintlock tag. Took a year off from renting a snowmobile cabin in the adirondacks and got a small enclosed trailer setup with insulation and heat this year. Mght be a good winter to get a tag.
 
So I have been concentrating on Ohio since I still have an OH buck tag but have noticed the deer are hammering the turnips! I pulled my camera from the plot to utilize in Ohio but want to put it back on the plot because they are absolutely hammering the turnips! Wishing I had a PA buck tag still...haha it fun to see your hard work actually working for you! I have made many plots but never had much draw to them for one reason or another.
 
Nice buck and great work on your plots!! Feels good to see deer using what you've planted, doesn't it???
 
Well every single turnip is gone...lol I was hoping to be able to hunt over it for PA's flintlock season but its completely void of any food! haha I did shoot a big doe off the plot during PA's rifle season with my flintlock though so overall I am happy. Perhaps I need to plant a bigger plot for next year! 20 yard shot double lung with a .54 Cal Lyman patched round ball. Zero blood but watched her run down off the field into a creek bottom. My dog helped me find her.
 

Attachments

  • flintlock.jpg
    flintlock.jpg
    63.1 KB · Views: 24
  • f2.jpg
    f2.jpg
    58.7 KB · Views: 26
  • f1.jpg
    f1.jpg
    57.7 KB · Views: 26
I literally have never planted a monocrop, or planted without clover.

4-5 lbs of medium red clover and 40 lbs of wheat mixed into your turnip patch would be alot better, or toss rye in labor day or a bit later. Wheat wont be aggressive competition and the clover starts slow too
 
Well I planted white clover and chicory as well as the turnips but thanks for the info. I am planning to frost seed later this winter.
 
I am planning to frost seed later this winter.
Frost-seeding with clover is a good thing. Can't go wrong with more clover.

Bigboreblr's idea of throwing in some clover and wheat is a good one. I read others' ideas on multi-crop food plots on this forum in other threads. Several gents said that adding clover and rye to a fall-planted turnip / brassica plot will give the plot new green eats come spring after the turnips and other brassicas have frozen out over the winter. The clover also adds N to your soil. Nothing wrong with wheat either, IMO.
 
Top