Prairie Acres
5 year old buck +
That is great to hear. Hopefully I have some good late season action. Thanks.
Splitting my plot?
- Thread starter wisconsinteacher
- Start date
Prairie Acres
5 year old buck +
That is an awesome picture! Thanks for the info!
T-Max
5 year old buck +
I would photoshop the date and put that in next month’s photo contest…
You win and I get the cleaver. 
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Brian662
5 year old buck +
It was the winner from 2022I would photoshop the date and put that in next month’s photo contest…You win and I get the cleaver.
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T-Max
5 year old buck +
omicron1792
5 year old buck +
That’s funny Brian and T. HahaSh#t…
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This is what I do. I plant brassicas, oats and red clover together in late July. The oats will form a seed head but I don't care. Once the brassicas are eaten to the ground they eat the oat heads and stem down to the ground.
bigboreblr
5 year old buck +
Brasscias can be tough. I planted some turnips in a spring 2022 planting. Had almost bowling ball turnips that fall. About an 1/8th of the turnips came back to life spring of 2023. Daikon radish at home was even more successful for a 2nd pyears growth from last years bulbs. Deer ate it all winter. That plot is my backyard about 50 yards from where I park my car. Saw them every night when I came home from work.
Splitting plots. Thats what I did this year. Expanded the plot about 40% more in 2024. I put about an inch of wood chips over the winter, then disced them in before august planting. The middle is a good clover planting. The far end had alot of red aramath in it. Sprayed it dead along with the new expansion for august. Kept both the clover and aramath weed patch mowed to keep weeds in check to some extent over the summer.
This is july before fall foodplots. Ill try to get a pciture tomorrow. Clover is doing well, tried planting rye in the clover. Didn'r take spread n mow. I bought a set of tow behind discs for the ATV this year. Disced up both the expansion and the weedy spot to right. It's doing ok. Water has been tough this year. Might be why the rye didn't take in the clover plot. Disced about 3 passes, then threw oats rye and peas in, disced it one pass, then spread clovers n brassicas, then rolled it in with a lawn roller. I od have a cultipacker, but wanted it flat after all the discsing. Also leveld out some holes and dug a draingage channel from a low spot too.
No trophy buck haven, pretty open and neghbors keep it busy around sunset too. Almost a guaranteed doe or scrubby buck muzzleloader weekend in december though. Beats plain old mowing 5 acres back there. Poor tree in the front got rubbed by a buck this year. Caged it as soon as he started messing with it though.
Splitting plots. Thats what I did this year. Expanded the plot about 40% more in 2024. I put about an inch of wood chips over the winter, then disced them in before august planting. The middle is a good clover planting. The far end had alot of red aramath in it. Sprayed it dead along with the new expansion for august. Kept both the clover and aramath weed patch mowed to keep weeds in check to some extent over the summer.
This is july before fall foodplots. Ill try to get a pciture tomorrow. Clover is doing well, tried planting rye in the clover. Didn'r take spread n mow. I bought a set of tow behind discs for the ATV this year. Disced up both the expansion and the weedy spot to right. It's doing ok. Water has been tough this year. Might be why the rye didn't take in the clover plot. Disced about 3 passes, then threw oats rye and peas in, disced it one pass, then spread clovers n brassicas, then rolled it in with a lawn roller. I od have a cultipacker, but wanted it flat after all the discsing. Also leveld out some holes and dug a draingage channel from a low spot too.
No trophy buck haven, pretty open and neghbors keep it busy around sunset too. Almost a guaranteed doe or scrubby buck muzzleloader weekend in december though. Beats plain old mowing 5 acres back there. Poor tree in the front got rubbed by a buck this year. Caged it as soon as he started messing with it though.
Bowsnbucks
5 year old buck +
Clover with rye or oats fall-planted did great at our camp. We mowed the grains to release the clover the following year. Clover took off big-time. 3 to 4 years of good clover - then overseed with rye which fills in any thin spots. Can't beat rye for fall / over-winter chow IMO. Learned that from gents on here - they're right!!!
Bowsnbucks
5 year old buck +
Perfect. Deer start on our radish & turnip greens in October at our camp, and work on them into December and January until pretty well cleaned up. Greens and bulbs get dug up through snow when we have it. Bulbs last into spring, with deer eating them all winter. Bulb remnants STINK in the spring. High protein in the brassicas helps bucks re-build after rut stress. Nice pics.
bigboreblr
5 year old buck +
So my problem is heavy clay soil. I am scratching the top with a set of ATV discs to put cereal grains in. Atleast this past year. I till the land, plant a mix. 1st year it does great, year two because the soil is very rich, you're fighting weeds more and more going on from year 2. I put my plots in a bit on the late side, usually either side of labor day in NY zone 5/6. I live a mile from the hudson river, so that help fend off late frost and brings spring in. Probably get 2-3 weeks extra planting time.
I have yet to try 2,4db. I have used clethodim in my plots, it does help some. But, you cant fight the carbon to nitrogen balance. You add nitrogen to the soil, it wants to be used by something.
IF you want to monocrop clover ther year after you plant it, dutch white clover could be a good route. I used to love it, because it would make a nice monocrop, but spreading seed in it and hoping it grows, dtuch does not play nice. A mix of legumes (n), broadleaf plants (phosphorus), and grasses (nitogren and potassium). That makes a balanced foodplot. Some guys on here are the no-till no-input type. Some places, the deer density is high and the foodplot sizes too small to work out that well. Also, often affordable hunting land is undesireble AG land. Those situations require inputs to get the soil quality to better place That's my hunting place. Sandy low nutrient soil, or old log landings when the carbon and potassium is very high, the pH low, and other nutrients get beat in the balance.
What kind of soil do you have, recent soil test? What equipment do you have to work with. Any soil issues, shallow top layer, certain bad weeds, flooding issues.
I have yet to try 2,4db. I have used clethodim in my plots, it does help some. But, you cant fight the carbon to nitrogen balance. You add nitrogen to the soil, it wants to be used by something.
IF you want to monocrop clover ther year after you plant it, dutch white clover could be a good route. I used to love it, because it would make a nice monocrop, but spreading seed in it and hoping it grows, dtuch does not play nice. A mix of legumes (n), broadleaf plants (phosphorus), and grasses (nitogren and potassium). That makes a balanced foodplot. Some guys on here are the no-till no-input type. Some places, the deer density is high and the foodplot sizes too small to work out that well. Also, often affordable hunting land is undesireble AG land. Those situations require inputs to get the soil quality to better place That's my hunting place. Sandy low nutrient soil, or old log landings when the carbon and potassium is very high, the pH low, and other nutrients get beat in the balance.
What kind of soil do you have, recent soil test? What equipment do you have to work with. Any soil issues, shallow top layer, certain bad weeds, flooding issues.
I used to split my plots kind of like what Lickcreek did. I just wasn’t as good at it as Paul was!
I’m on year #2 with a Woods seeder and I’m becoming more and more of a believer in a Summer/fall release rotation. Zone5a, northwest Illinois. I have clay too. My soil is getting much better though. I used to do clover in a third, cereal grain in the rest and a couple dabs of brassicas but mixing them all up seems like it keeps food (and deer) on my place year around.
I used to love clover. Problem is, late season its gone. I’m in ag country so the deer don’t have to travel far to find food but I like them to be here. Or maybe like its home base.
If I could only plant once a year the first thing I would try is green cover soil builder or maybe just their summer release. It gets a little vertical. Almost like cover. Got some clover in it. Little something almost year around. Maybe overseed some cereal grain and brassica seed through it around Labor Day?
I’m on year #2 with a Woods seeder and I’m becoming more and more of a believer in a Summer/fall release rotation. Zone5a, northwest Illinois. I have clay too. My soil is getting much better though. I used to do clover in a third, cereal grain in the rest and a couple dabs of brassicas but mixing them all up seems like it keeps food (and deer) on my place year around.
I used to love clover. Problem is, late season its gone. I’m in ag country so the deer don’t have to travel far to find food but I like them to be here. Or maybe like its home base.
If I could only plant once a year the first thing I would try is green cover soil builder or maybe just their summer release. It gets a little vertical. Almost like cover. Got some clover in it. Little something almost year around. Maybe overseed some cereal grain and brassica seed through it around Labor Day?
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I tried to post a photo of my backyard plot. Its clay. It’s fall release. On the north edge of it along the timber, it’s thin. I think the deer ate it to the ground there- BUT it’s heavy clay and I overseeded wheat with a bag spreader and it’s greening up. . The middle is brassica heavy but the cereals peas and annual clover is in there. The south side of it, kinda shaded by big oaks, is cereal grain and clover heavy. Brassicas didn't do as good there but the cereal is taking off.
Thats what I like about doing it this way. I had drought right after I planted but there is something taking up the slack in all different conditions in the same little plot.
Thats what I like about doing it this way. I had drought right after I planted but there is something taking up the slack in all different conditions in the same little plot.
matinc
5 year old buck +
West Clay must be very hard to deal with. Try almost basic blow sand on the extreme other end with .9 OM. SD here is another thought what happens if you just mowed your field and kept adding clover like a lawn. Not sure the deer would eat it. Would the wild grasses and weeds outpace the clover.
Got some sand in this area too- I don’t have any but I watch guys try to deal with it. Some must be loamier, they grow potatoes on it but then I see another field that they are just struggling to get anything off it. Does look like its slowly getting better as they are doing small grains then beans every year.
