Spray and Pray Update

[nwmn]

Update! I'm going up tomorrow. Stand by for an obscene amount of pictures... (Hopefully it is picture worthy). Just gotta get my shovel and food plotting underwear packed and i'll be off in the morning.

I love pictures :D

I'll have to check my spray and pray plot. I don't have much hope for it, but gotta check it out. The oats/rye/radish plot I planted in a first year plot that was disked has turned out great. I plan to let it head out and mow it down and broadcast radish in there next year as well to start sucking nutrients out and build the soil a bit then convert it to a clover field the next spring.

Are you planning to do something similar with this plot, or are you going to continually plant grains/radish?

 

[SD51555]

I'm leaning towards a WFG Sorghum/Cowpea plot next year. Still looking for that third piece. I've got some berseem clover from this year I didn't use, but i'm not too stoked on berseem as a forage. I bought it more for a nitrogen booster. Still researching and need to see how much residue those cowpeas are gonna have to get through to get to dirt.

We're doing a new and smaller plot next year. That one will start out in radish and rye too if this one finishes out nicely.

 

[SD51555]

It's here! The spray and pray update September 26th!

First, some thoughts, then the pics:

*We didn't get the tonnage we were hoping for.
*We did get a great plot of ideal forage
*I'm curious if we ran out of nitrogen, the ph wasn't close enough, or if the early frost nipped it.

Ok, here's the pics!



Got some evidence of browse on the rye and the Daikon Radish!


Not quite the penetrating radish root I'd hoped for, but hey, it's year 1.


Some of the better looking radishes...

 

[SD51555]

We did have some visitors!

 

[PRK]

Hey SD, that looks pretty darn good in the deep woods like that. I've had the same problem getting the tonnage I wanted in the back woods. I haven't been able to get that kind of radish growth back there that you have. It's green, back in the woods and from you pics the deer like it. Looks like a great spot.

 

[SD51555]

I'm excited! It accomplished the most important goal; giving me confidence to keep going forward.

 

[dipper]

Don't be so quick to blame it on ph of soil. U can grow massive brassicas in acidic soil. What's you om? That is the foundation.
Also-in small plots like this all those trees are getting a good portion of your fertilizer and available nutrients.

If you've had good moisture your OM and those trees are causing the small brassicas. The brassicas are also way too thick!!!

 

[dipper]

Your going to have brassicas germinate next year. That's seed that didn't germinate this year. Dump a good amount of clover seed in there any time. I'd go with red it's cheaper and the deer love it.
You'll have a decent stand of clover next fall. Broadcast cereal seed, drag and spray. You'll have a nice plot next fall too.

 

[SD51555]

Don't be so quick to blame it on ph of soil. U can grow massive brassicas in acidic soil. What's you om? That is the foundation.
Also-in small plots like this all those trees are getting a good portion of your fertilizer and available nutrients.

If you've had good moisture your OM and those trees are causing the small brassicas. The brassicas are also way too thick!!!

The OM is 7.7% in the top 8 inches, then it's about 0 below that. I know I seeded it way too thick. When the first seeding didn't take, I figured "more is better right?" I like your idea of putting a higher ratio of rye and a lower ratio of radish. That's in the idea hopper for next year.

 

[SD51555]

The view from across the woods.

 

[Steve Bartylla]

Go light on the brassicas and heavy on cereals. Guys always put brassicas too thick. This should be a good confidence booster. Id guess your gonna need herbicide.

This bears repeating, particularly the "Guys always put brassicas too thick," portion. Personally, when mixing brassicas and winter rye & oats, I only apply the winter rye & oats at 25-33% the rate I do on the straight rye/oats plots I create, as it fills in between the turnips, canola, DER and radishes well, but not too thick to stunt them much at all. On straight winter rye & oats plots, I go 300-400 lbs an acre (depending on how well I believe it will germ and grow in those conditions). With brassicas, I only go 100 lbs per acre (70-75ish lbs cereal rye, 25-30 lbs oats), max. That said, I'm going for brassica production in those applications. If/when I'm going for cereal production, I don't bother with the brassicas.

 

[SD51555]

Your going to have brassicas germinate next year. That's seed that didn't germinate this year. Dump a good amount of clover seed in there any time. I'd go with red it's cheaper and the deer love it.
You'll have a decent stand of clover next fall. Broadcast cereal seed, drag and spray. You'll have a nice plot next fall too.

I don't disagree with clover being a great forage. In our area, there is clover everywhere, and just about every variety. I can't identify them all, but I can see the red with the big leaves, and the white with the smaller leaves and white flowers. It's everywhere in our woods and we've found very little browse on it, simply because there is probably so darn much of it out there.

Where we had bird seed in front of our cameras this year, sorghum sprouted and put out a seed head. That's really what I want to try next year. I'm searching for that winter carb source that will stand up in the snow, at least for a little while after the greener stuff gets covered up or wiped out.

 

[sandbur]

I don't disagree with clover being a great forage. In our area, there is clover everywhere, and just about every variety. I can't identify them all, but I can see the red with the big leaves, and the white with the smaller leaves and white flowers. It's everywhere in our woods and we've found very little browse on it, simply because there is probably so darn much of it out there.

Where we had bird seed in front of our cameras this year, sorghum sprouted and put out a seed head. That's really what I want to try next year. I'm searching for that winter carb source that will stand up in the snow, at least for a little while after the greener stuff gets covered up or wiped out.

winter carb source is Corn!

 

[SD51555]

winter carb source is Corn!

I couldn't agree more. I'm afraid with our tiny plot space and abundant bears, that corn wouldn't see October 1st.

 

[sandbur]

Agreed for your country, Sd. The best you can do up there is a good fall feed source and some rye for an early spring feed source. Browse in between times and winter feeding if necessary and no disease is present. I think your area was in the winter feeding zone from MDHA??

Dipper was asking about a winter carb source and he is further south than our zone 172. My northern hunting land is in the SW corner of 172 where there is some silage and alfalfa fields.