Sunnhemp in the north?
- Thread starter ruskbucks
- Start date
That is surprising to me that they didn't browse it heavy. Everything I've read is that they hammer it, but that was all in the south. I think I will stay away. My thatch from winter rye was already to thick in areas for tnm. I was looking for something that they liked as a summer food source that held up better than beans. I guess I'll keep planting beans that only make it to six inches tall.
Bowsnbucks
5 year old buck +
Our beans were like yours, Ruskbucks. They get to 6" or 7" and it's like locusts hit them. NOTHING left. Futile effort here trying to plant beans - if you want mature plants and seed pods.
No experience with sun hemp.
Hoytvectrix
5 year old buck +
I have no idea how big of an area you are talking, but based on advice from others on here, we started using an E-fence. Beans are protected until it is ideal and the deer find them within a week or so.
Like the locust reference. I totally gave up trying to have pods. I had pods one year and they and they are all of them in 2 weeks before gun season. I now do a light disc on what beans are left and seed with wr it goes a lot farther than the beans. I had cameras over beans last year, crazy that 3 adult does all with twin fawns in there everyday all day and a few other straglers at night can wipe out 2 acres of beans.
Around 2 acres of beans. E fence sounds like the way to go. I used the plot saver ribbon one year it worked on. My property is almost 5hr away. Time up there is limited and always rushing I don't know if I would have the time to put up and take it down at the right time.
Hoytvectrix
5 year old buck +
I'm not trying to one-up you, but I live 6 hours away and have had no problems getting to the property to set up and tear down the fence. Now making sure the fence is clear of weeds is another story and normally takes about two herbicide passes during the summer. The fence normally goes up when the beans are drilled. Make sure you have a deep grounding rod and a charger that is overkill for your area, and the weeds will be less of a concern if you're worried about not being there. It is a huge help having the fence though. For me it is like planting 2-3 times the amount of food by being able to control when the deer have access to it.
2 acres of fencing won't be a problem at all, by the way. One of our two plots is 1.6 acres and we could easily double its size without losing strength on the fence. I think it cost about $350 total for the 1.6 acre plot for everything included.
yoderjac
5 year old buck +
It is funny how some guys are looking for the most attractive crops. I find nutritious but less attractive crops work better, but I'm not up north. The most attractive crops like beans are very hard to establish and require a lot of acreage. Sunn hemp, may be less of a fit for the north. I'm sort of in between in 7a. I find that sunn hemp it browsed heavily during late spring and early summer before it get large. I see no browsing on mature plants. They may eat a few leaves, but there are much better alternatives in the fall and winter here. Sunn hemp is great for the summer stress period here.
I'm pretty sure it will grow in the north as it is used as an N fixer. It may take quite a few years for deer to catch on to it in the north. Deer tend to eat what they know until they are stressed. Down here, they ignored my PTT for a number of years. Once we had an acorn failure, they had to start looking for other foods in the fall/winter. They hit our turnips for the first time that year. Ever since, they use them but how much depends on other foods available. Except for acorn bumper crop years, there are usually few if any left in the spring to terminate.
I'm guessing the reason guys up north don't see much use is that their deer are less stressed in the summer and have more foods available.
Thanks,
Jack
Bassattackr
5 year old buck +
Try Cowpeas. Very preferred food source and hold up to browse a bit better. Been a production crop in the south for 100 years dating back to the lowlands in South Carolina.
Tree Spud
5 year old buck +
2 acres of beans is basically an appetizer for them. I have 6-7 acres in and they get munched pretty heavy.
I try over seeding brassicas, clover, & beets in late june/early july but until the bean canopy subsides, hard to get sun on them to promote growth.
Are you using the forage type bean? I am and it puts more top growth off to have the beans on the lower plant to hopefully be protected.
I agree with that, early spring is the highest stress period in the north before green up. That's one reason I love wr, it is growing before any other plant up here. Deer and turkeys especially are in it heavy. Beans seems the only summer crop they really hammer. They hardly even hit my clover. I read that some places up to 70% of a deers summer food is aspen leaves. They are not hurting for food most years till
I have only 3 acres right now for food plots. I used to have a couple more but leaving them natural areas. I usually get 2 bags of eagles and a couple bags of whatever ag beans are available. The tallest beans I had was when I planted eagles along the woods and ag beans farther out in the open. The eagles kept them occupied for a while before they walked thru them to hit the ag beans.On 2 acres if I did get pods it wouldn't be worth tying up the plot because the pods would be gone in a couple weeks. I tried just broadcasting wr in but didn't have the best results. If I do a light pass with the disc it turns out way better. Then follow with brassicas and wr.
