Red Milo

[Wild Thing]

I was a little surprised after not being around on this forum for a while....that I did not see much on planting Red Milo here. It seems like Red Milo is all the rage this year. Anyway, I decided to jump on board and try it out on our Upper Michigan farm to see if it is all that it is cracked up to be. So far, I have been impressed and hope that the seed heads eventually provide some late season forage for our deer.

I planted John Komp's Northwoods Whitetails Red Milo and also included some winter peas and Non GMO sugar beets at his recommendation. I know John and he is next door to me in the next county so I usually don't have to pay shipping when I buy his products - plus, it is always nice to stop in and chat with him from time to time. I am not sponsored by John - I am not on his pro staff and I pay the same price for his seed that you guys do, but I have to say that I have always been impressed with the quality of his seed and I have never got any "free weed seed" included in the packages. He knows what he is doing in his seed selection.

I planted 3 separate plots this year. 2 of the plots I planted on 22.5" rows and one on 15" rows. I drilled the Milo and Winter Peas from the large seed box and the Sugar Beets from the small seed box between those rows. I didn't get them planted until June 10th so they still have a ways to go yet but so far I am impressed...








Here you can see the NW Milo mix on the left with my Summer Cover Crop blend on the right. The cover crop blend has a total of 30#/acre of grasses - various sorghum/milo/barley seeds. On the left, the NW Milo was planted at only 4#/acre. I am seriously thinking of reducing the NW Milo to only 3#/acre next year.


Here you can see the sugar beets between the rows of Milo/Peas/. Not sure that they will grow very big bulbs this year as June 10th is a pretty late planting date for sugar beets up here...


The winter peas are just beginning to flower. The deer have been all over the peas since they first came up but so far they haven't browsed much on the milo or sugar beets...


Elaine had 40 pumpkin seeds left over from her garden so I stuck them between the rows and they seem to be growing fine...but alas - pretty late planting for pumpkins also...

 

[Foggy47]

I was considering planting some of that Red Milo too WT and would buy it from John too. He does allot of research on his products and selects the best for sure. Your plots look great! I think a few here have planted some milo....maybe the newer varieties.

I been too busy with domestic stuff to do all I intended to do this year. We are going to be downsizing and moving to a new Townhouse soon. Too many irons in the fire. I need to talk with John Komp at NWW. He is a square shooter.....and is a member here.

 

[SD51555]

Is there a reason red Milo is special?

I’ve been doing a lot of digging into sorghums and millets over the years. So far, I’ve been trying to hunt down an edible plant sorghum. Years ago I had some bird seed sprout and later that year, the deer ate the entire stalk.

Fast forward to today, there are edible-leaf grain sorghums that carry the brown midrib trait and are dwarfed to double the leaves on a shorter stalk so you can still see the deer. I’ve got some planted this year and I’m anxious to see what it does.


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[Foggy47]

I remember somebody here was drilling bird seed. Cheap way to plant a variety.....but you could introduce allot of new weeds with the deal.

 

[Stubborn1VT]

I planted bi-color Milo at my house in Vermont. I didn't get it in until June 18th, due to cool, wet conditions. I would have got seed from NWW, but the shipping and handling makes it very pricey.
I broadcasted two strips. One mixed with WI Powerplant and the other on its own. The Milo mixed with Powerplant looks good. The stand alone strip is very grassy. I don't spray. In the future I would plant it with beans, peas, or just plant the Milo at a higher rate.
The strips are mainly for screening/structure and I think they'll turn out alright, unless the dry weather hangs on for too long.

 

[Catscratch]

Great plots!!!

I was a little surprised after not being around on this forum for a while....that I did not see much on planting Red Milo here. It seems like Red Milo is all the rage this year. Anyway, I decided to jump on board and try it out on our Upper Michigan farm to see if it is all that it is cracked up to be. So far, I have been impressed and hope that the seed heads eventually provide some late season forage for our deer.

I planted John Komp's Northwoods Whitetails Red Milo and also included some winter peas and Non GMO sugar beets at his recommendation. I know John and he is next door to me in the next county so I usually don't have to pay shipping when I buy his products - plus, it is always nice to stop in and chat with him from time to time. I am not sponsored by John - I am not on his pro staff and I pay the same price for his seed that you guys do, but I have to say that I have always been impressed with the quality of his seed and I have never got any "free weed seed" included in the packages. He knows what he is doing in his seed selection.

I planted 3 separate plots this year. 2 of the plots I planted on 22.5" rows and one on 15" rows. I drilled the Milo and Winter Peas from the large seed box and the Sugar Beets from the small seed box between those rows. I didn't get them planted until June 10th so they still have a ways to go yet but so far I am impressed...
View attachment 81069

View attachment 81071

View attachment 81070

View attachment 81072

Here you can see the NW Milo mix on the left with my Summer Cover Crop blend on the right. The cover crop blend has a total of 30#/acre of grasses - various sorghum/milo/barley seeds. On the left, the NW Milo was planted at only 4#/acre. I am seriously thinking of reducing the NW Milo to only 3#/acre next year.
View attachment 81073

Here you can see the sugar beets between the rows of Milo/Peas/. Not sure that they will grow very big bulbs this year as June 10th is a pretty late planting date for sugar beets up here...
View attachment 81074

The winter peas are just beginning to flower. The deer have been all over the peas since they first came up but so far they haven't browsed much on the milo or sugar beets...
View attachment 81076

Elaine had 40 pumpkin seeds left over from her garden so I stuck them between the rows and they seem to be growing fine...but alas - pretty late planting for pumpkins also...
View attachment 81075

Great plots!!!

Some of mine this yr.

 

[Foggy47]

Is there a reason red Milo is special?

I’ve been doing a lot of digging into sorghums and millets over the years. So far, I’ve been trying to hunt down an edible plant sorghum. Years ago I had some bird seed sprout and later that year, the deer ate the entire stalk.

Fast forward to today, there are edible-leaf grain sorghums that carry the brown midrib trait and are dwarfed to double the leaves on a shorter stalk so you can still see the deer. I’ve got some planted this year and I’m anxious to see what it does.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

There is a reason the red Milo that John Komp sells should be used.....the deer do not eat it till late fall and into winter. Then they go nuts for it.....IIRC.

 

[Wild Thing]

Wow! Looking good Catscratch!,

 

[T-Max]

My seed store sells both red and tan Milo. Farmers around here plant both, sometimes in the same field. I have read that the tan varieties have less tannins and are therefore more palatable. I’m not sure. I planted a free blend they gave me this year. Curious to see what color it is.


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[davidhelmly]

There is a reason the red Milo that John Komp sells should be used.....the deer do not eat it till late fall and into winter. Then they go nuts for it.....IIRC.

Sounds just like WGF.

 

[SwampCat]

Sounds just like WGF.

Do you plant milo? And if so, do the hogs eat it?

 

[farmlegend]

I've grown milo a number of times. No idea which performs best, but red varieties score highest on aesthetics.

 

[farmlegend]

I was a little surprised after not being around on this forum for a while....that I did not see much on planting Red Milo here. It seems like Red Milo is all the rage this year. Anyway, I decided to jump on board and try it out on our Upper Michigan farm to see if it is all that it is cracked up to be. So far, I have been impressed and hope that the seed heads eventually provide some late season forage for our deer.

I planted John Komp's Northwoods Whitetails Red Milo and also included some winter peas and Non GMO sugar beets at his recommendation. I know John and he is next door to me in the next county so I usually don't have to pay shipping when I buy his products - plus, it is always nice to stop in and chat with him from time to time. I am not sponsored by John - I am not on his pro staff and I pay the same price for his seed that you guys do, but I have to say that I have always been impressed with the quality of his seed and I have never got any "free weed seed" included in the packages. He knows what he is doing in his seed selection.

I planted 3 separate plots this year. 2 of the plots I planted on 22.5" rows and one on 15" rows. I drilled the Milo and Winter Peas from the large seed box and the Sugar Beets from the small seed box between those rows. I didn't get them planted until June 10th so they still have a ways to go yet but so far I am impressed...
View attachment 81069

View attachment 81071

View attachment 81070

View attachment 81072

Here you can see the NW Milo mix on the left with my Summer Cover Crop blend on the right. The cover crop blend has a total of 30#/acre of grasses - various sorghum/milo/barley seeds. On the left, the NW Milo was planted at only 4#/acre. I am seriously thinking of reducing the NW Milo to only 3#/acre next year.
View attachment 81073

Here you can see the sugar beets between the rows of Milo/Peas/. Not sure that they will grow very big bulbs this year as June 10th is a pretty late planting date for sugar beets up here...
View attachment 81074

The winter peas are just beginning to flower. The deer have been all over the peas since they first came up but so far they haven't browsed much on the milo or sugar beets...
View attachment 81076

Elaine had 40 pumpkin seeds left over from her garden so I stuck them between the rows and they seem to be growing fine...but alas - pretty late planting for pumpkins also...
View attachment 81075

Curious to see how your sugar beets perform.

I grew RR sugar beets for a half dozen years or so before my bootleg seed source dried up. Of all the things I ever grew for deer, the sugar beets were the most magnetic draw. One thing about them I found is they were sensitive to seeding rates, as they don't like to be crowded.

I'm looking forward to planting sugar beets again some day - after I get my drill!

 

[omicron1792]

The deer absolutely kill my red Milo heads. They will eat every single head.

 

[omicron1792]

Check out this deer eyeballing the Milo seed head. Then look at the damage done in the next pic.

 

[farmlegend]

The deer absolutely kill my red Milo heads. They will eat every single head.

About 6-8 years ago, I had some red milo seed. Because I had the time, I planted a strip of it about 80 yards long by 10 yards wide, to divide off one of my perennial clover food plots. I planted the milo ridiculously late, a real hail mary at my latitude, probable very early August. As luck would have it, we had spectacular growing conditions after that, and the milo developed wonderful seed heads.

Some time in early December, the seed heads got 100% devoured. And the stalks got partially chewed on for good measure.

 

[omicron1792]

 

[Foggy47]

Farm Legend....where are you located? Sounds like I could still plant some. Been really good weather here so far this season. Lots of rains.

 

[Double Creek]

My Milo did not do well this year. I noticed a few heads today but most is struggling. It started pouring rain right after I broadcast and I went ahead and ran a drag through the mud. Should have probably just let the rain beat it in. I’ll try again next year.

 

[SwampCat]

Check out this deer eyeballing the Milo seed head. Then look at the damage done in the next pic.View attachment 81090View attachment 81091

They are eating it first of Aug? I was thinking about planting it for doves, but if the deer eat it in Aug, I dont need that.