planting my RR Sugar Beets

[dipper]

I can see things get real ugly with those plants if there is periods of inadequate moisture, or excessive for that matter. That exposed soil is the absolute worst thing for moisture retention and soil protection. You are also killing millions of organisms in the soil, that basically keep the soil alive and robust.
There is no way I would ever try this management on my place. In my sandy soil I had thick red clover wither right up with the drought we had this summer. Those beets would have been toast.
With climate change and these extreme weather patterns upon us, you are gambling with management like this. I prefer my insurance approach to food plotting.

 

[tooln]

I've thought about beets but when my deer don't touch turnip or radish's I figured I'd be wasting effort. They look like they are coming along good for you. Good luck.

 

[foggy]

I can see things get real ugly with those plants if there is periods of inadequate moisture, or excessive for that matter. That exposed soil is the absolute worst thing for moisture retention and soil protection. You are also killing millions of organisms in the soil, that basically keep the soil alive and robust.
There is no way I would ever try this management on my place. In my sandy soil I had thick red clover wither right up with the drought we had this summer. Those beets would have been toast.
With climate change and these extreme weather patterns upon us, you are gambling with management like this. I prefer my insurance approach to food plotting.

Then you will never grow sugar beets as they would not compete with clover (or other crops for that matter). It's O.K. with me. But your clover won't provide much food in January either. Just saying.

I'm not sure I will grow sugar beets again, but to not control other crops and weeds would not allow them to grow......I can almost guarantee that. Sugar beets are not for everyone.

 

[Steve Oehlenschlager]

"I can see things get real ugly with those plants if there is periods of inadequate moisture" That's where you are dead wrong. Sugar beets are one of the most drought proof plants out there once they get started and there is usually plenty of moisture in the spring to get them started. Most sugar beets in Minnesota and North Dakota are grown in non irrigated land and they do fine...with considerable less moisture than mine get. Even in the worst conditions they will wilt in the day and spring back up at night. I plant them in rotation with clover. Deer eat clover all summer and then come November til they are gone...they got 10 pound beets to eat. No amount of clover is going to be able to feed 40 deer with 2 feet of snow on the ground. Granted Foggy's beets are a little thin, but they still will provide a huge amount of food when your red clover is 1 inch tall. In a normal planting little soil is exposed and that helps conserve moisture. No different than planting corn. The best part of planting beets is the deer won't touch them until mid to late Sept when they are all done growing. Can't tell you how many times they have eaten 5 inch tall turnips to the ground as fast as they can. I have 14 acres of plots, but only .4 acres in beets. Come mid Jan 90% of the deer activity will be in those .4 acres until the food is gone.

 

[sandbur]

Steve-How much snow will they dig thru to get to beets before they switch to standing corn?

 

[Steve Oehlenschlager]

Generally the eat all the beets until they switch to corn. I consider the corn a turkey attractant now more than a deer attractant. However 2 years ago they had eaten almost all my corn by firearms opener because there were no acorns, and they had ignored my beets. That is the first time they had ever done that. They ate 6 acres of GOOD corn in 4 weeks! Last year was rather odd because the wolves came in and chased all the deer away from Oct 30 til About Dec 1st. However when they came back they ate the beets first. I found 10 sheds in my plots last year. 9 of them were in the beets!

 

[nitro27]

They have no problem digging thru 2ft+ of snow to get to the beets from what I've observed. Steve is correct beets are quite drought resistance, been told by farmers in the Red River Valley (beet country) that beets can have a 15 ft root going down for moisture.

 

[NYPLOTTER]

I'm with Steve on this one. I have been planting Brassicas for almost 5 years now on my farm and the deer are just starting to eat them a little more each year. Last year was my first year with sugar beets and my one strip looked like I ran a roto-tiller thru the snow all winter. We get feet of snow not inches. I was totally amazed. Rye...almost untouched. Clover under snow...almost untouched. Standing corn, soybeans and sugar beets destroyed. I planted 3x the amount this year and they will always be part of my winter food source along with corn and soybeans.

 

[sandbur]

I think you guys need my area deer manager. I still have standing corn from last year, as has been the case in most years. There just are not enough deer to clean up 2 or 3 acre patches of corn during a single winter.

 

[dipper]

There is a lot more to it than the plant being drought resistant, a lot more. Good luck to you.

 

[dipper]

dipper...I think you're coming from it in a long term soil health standpoint vs. a short term deer attractant standpoint...yes?

Yes that soil has been exposed all summer. Moisture or not, millions and millions of organism have died because of it. These organisms need food just like you and I. These organisms keep the soil alive, which keeps the plant healthy. It is called a symbiotic relationship.
That's not accounting for soil erosion, moisture retention, etc. just because most corn is grown this way doesn't necessarily mean it's right.....

 

[dipper]

Mother nature moving rock
We went from drought to flash flood warnings, just imagine what your soil would look like if it wasn't protected

I just took this pic down the road, when I saw it, I thought of u guys. It's like this all over.

 

[sandbur]

So were you to plant sugarbeets, you'd suppress an existing clover plot with gly...then drill in the beets? Would you keep the clover suppressed with successive gly applications? You'd still have a duff layer to protect the soil that way, correct?

Has anyone tried that?

Are the young beets able to compete in that way?

I know my garden beets need complete weed control to get off to a decent start.

 

[sandbur]

Yes that soil has been exposed all summer. Moisture or not, millions and millions of organism have died because of it. These organisms need food just like you and I. These organisms keep the soil alive, which keeps the plant healthy. It is called a symbiotic relationship.
That's not accounting for soil erosion, moisture retention, etc. just because most corn is grown this way doesn't necessarily mean it's right.....

I would counter that it doesn't mean that it is wrong either.

We need food to eat also, and it sure looks like it to me that good weed control gives the yields we need. Good yields can lead to leaving other areas for wildlife.

Too bad most of my foodplots are mostly weeds. Some truth on both sides, dipper.

I've got to say that I do not have a no till drill. That probably makes all fo the difference in the world. come to think of it, I don't have a tractor or a 4 wheeler.

Here is a picture of turnips in no till and till situation. If I can till, I will do so before planting turnips to get good growth.

 

[sandbur]

Some articles on no-tilling sugar beets
http://www.sugarpub.com/features/no-till-sugarbeets-working-well-for-ne-montana-growers
http://www.capitalpress.com/content/JO-NoTillBeets-070813#.U_PFIvldUdE
http://www.spnrd.org/PDFs/No_Till_Notes/31SugarBeets_2part.pdf

Thanks, Stu.

 

[Steve Oehlenschlager]

"Steve-I really don't have words to respond to your ignorance. Your stuck in what you want to know, and that's fine. I have no intentions of changing your mind. I've dealt with your type before. There is a lot more to it than the plant being drought resistant, a lot more. At this point of your life, you are incapable of understanding it. Good luck to you." I am still stuck trying to figure out this ignorant part? Manage 400 acres exclusively for wildlife and have .4 acres of nuked weeds and because of that I am ignorant? Hence forward my new name on this forum will be the Ignorant Farmer. Been called worse!

 

[foggy]

Mother nature moving rock
We went from drought to flash flood warnings, just imagine what your soil would look like if it wasn't protected

I just took this pic down the road, when I saw it, I thought of u guys. It's like this all over.

Dayum! That road should have a cover crop on it....that would solve the erosion problem we see here. ;)

I'm all for a cover crop.....but I gotta have some good experiences to work from. I have my doubts about growing sugar beets in a cover crop situation. Show me.

 

[sandbur]

Dayum! That road should have a cover crop on it....that would solve the erosion problem we see here. ;)

I'm all for a cover crop.....but I gotta have some good experiences to work from. I have my doubts about growing sugar beets in a cover crop situation. Show me.

Tom-I think the answer varies with the soil. It might work some places and not in others.

Experience is what teaches.

 

[JERRED GRACEY]

when do the deer start to notice them? I planted some on our farm in Illinois in early may, not a very big spot, they are doing as well as expected, farmer accidently planted corn over top of them

 

[Steve Oehlenschlager]

They get big NOW! Plants have been at full height for since about August 1st. Now is when the beet gets huge. Not going to happen with corn shading it out though. They NEED full sun. I have one plot that 1/3 of it gets about 75% as much sun as the rest. That part only gets about 1/2 as much growth as the rest that gets more sun. However anything else I plant in that plot is not really effected except corn.