Partial plot failure Question

[Bc4abc]

All,
I recently planted a brassicas plot ...its on uneven ground ...the plot is basically bowl shaped .....the edges of the bowl are the high ground and got basically no germination ....however the center is looking lush......now, we didn't have what I would call a hard rain on it ro wash away seed, but we did have doves and turkeys in it, after seeding, hitting it hard, picking up seed. My question is do you think it was the birds eating seed ? A rain washing seed off the high ground or something else?

Before someone asks...i limed and fertilized to specs back in april....and disced the soils well, drug it smooth then firmed with tractor, before seeding ...should have been great seed bed ...threw seed on the ground and hioed for the best.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts

 

[S.T.Fanatic]

I'm guessing the higher ground doesn't hold moisture well but again guessing.

 

[Bc4abc]

I thought about that ...but it's not alot higher ...its subtle

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[Semisane]

Are there trees on the perimeter of the plot - right up to, or close to the edge of the planted area? If so, therein lies the answer. Trees bordering a plot have two negative effects; shade and (more importantly) moisture sucking. When a plot is bordered by trees you can write off about six to eight feet of the plot's border. I don't waste much seed or fertilizer on those borders. It's just something you have to live with.

 

[John-W-WI]

Are there trees on the perimeter of the plot - right up to, or close to the edge of the planted area? If so, therein lies the answer. Trees bordering a plot have two negative effects; shade and (more importantly) moisture sucking. When a plot is bordered by trees you can write off about six to eight feet of the plot's border. I don't waste much seed or fertilizer on those borders. It's just something you have to live with.

I agree. I have grown the best looking corn ever this year (if we don't get an early frost, it needs some heat!). On one side of the field there is a row of mature oaks. The first 6 or 8 rows look terrible, and they are 36" rows! Everything else is beautiful. Going to convert that part of the field to edge rather than crops.

-John

 

[Bc4abc]

Are there trees on the perimeter of the plot - right up to, or close to the edge of the planted area? If so, therein lies the answer. Trees bordering a plot have two negative effects; shade and (more importantly) moisture sucking. When a plot is bordered by trees you can write off about six to eight feet of the plot's border. I don't waste much seed or fertilizer on those borders. It's just something you have to live with.

Yes that side of the plot is bordered by trees but we cut alot of them down but there are still alot of trees close by

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[Semisane]

I have one plot that's 150 yards long and 10 yards wide. When first established it was bordered on both sides by 30' trees, right up to the edge of the plot. For the first two years the only decent growth I got was a ten or twelve foot wide strip down the center, with little growth along the edges. After the second year I did a "hack & squirt" job on every tree within fifteen feet of the plot edge.* As those trees died I allowed that fifteen foot section to grow in brush, but no trees. I don't allow anything in those edges to grow taller than chest high (I walk it in late Spring with my handy dandy loppers). Now I can plant right up to the edge of the brush line with very good results.

*Actually, I do a drill & squirt. I find it a lot easier than the typical hack & squirt method. I use a cordless drill with a 1/2" high speed bit to drill a hole into the tree trunk the depth of the bit and about a foot above ground level. I angle the hole downward about 45 degrees, then fill it with a 50/50 mixture of Glyphosate and water. I use 20oz. plastic Coke bottles for the Gly/water mixture and have an extra bottle cap with a 1/8" hole drill through the center. Carry a few bottles with the regular caps on, and change to the modified cap for squirting. It works really well.

NOTE: You can GOOGLE "hack & squirt" and get a lot of info on this method. But do not GOOGLE "drill & squirt" unless you're into porn.

 

[WTNUT]

Give it time, they will probably come. My smaller brassica plots do the same thing. Brassicas are funny anyway especially if you are planting a mixture. My GUESS is the "temporary problem" is due to trees and a lack of moisture. Even with you liming and fertilizing two things may have happened. First it is easy to not get as much lime and fertilizer on the edges of a field because we don't want to wast any so we stay further away when we spread and not as much of either lands on the last 6-8 feet. And, next if there are trees over there there are probably leaves. Unless the field has been limed and fertilized for years you may have more acidic soil close to where those trees and leaves are, but that is a guess as well. Keep us posted I bet in a couple weeks is will not be a problem. If I am wrong, spread some winter rye over there it will germinated on an ice cube in Alberta.


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[Ben Glantz]

I agree. I have grown the best looking corn ever this year (if we don't get an early frost, it needs some heat!). On one side of the field there is a row of mature oaks. The first 6 or 8 rows look terrible, and they are 36" rows! Everything else is beautiful. Going to convert that part of the field to edge rather than crops.

-John

I have found that if nots real shaded, my clover does well on the borders. Maybe you could try putting clover in that 8-10 feet that borders the trees?

 

[John-W-WI]

I have found that if nots real shaded, my clover does well on the borders. Maybe you could try putting clover in that 8-10 feet that borders the trees?

I'm thinking closer and MG grass.


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[BobinCt]

It could be any of the answers given above and what you said such as doves or maybe even rain. However, I chose to go with what WTNUT stated, seed Winter Rye Grain just before it rains in those areas if you don't see it pop. Try to cover the Rye up if possible and use more seed the normal. It will grow on your head.

 

[Bc4abc]

follow up ...

I did a reapplication of oats and clover in the areas that did not come up ...looks like i have good germination of that ...however i did throw down some more radishes as well, and those appear to have not germinated yet.....

 

[PassThrew]

I had read somewhere that the root systems of the trees on the edges are very widespread and can sometimes steal the nutrients on the edges of the plots. The recommendation was to either kill the trees on the edges or rent a trencher and cut a ring around the edge of the plot to take care of the roots.

 

[Bc4abc]

In this picture you can see the to g around the plot where there was zero germination

 

[Bc4abc]

The middle looks great ...thick brassicas

 

[S.T.Fanatic]

My TnM brassica is bare around the wood edge also. If I till its pretty good but not TnM. I'm not to worried about it. There will be food left over until green up. The only choice to make if the deer eat all the food before green up is make more plots or shoot more deer. I always opt the shoot more deer rout.