Turkey Plot

[nwmn]

This topic was in the forum before the transition and I didn't get a chance to check it after I posted.

Hope no one minds duplicity. For those of us with memory issues, a second look is helpful.

For one that has a population of turkeys, not very prolific but they are around, and wants to increase food availability and habitat to encourage turkeys to stay around and thrive what does a property need?

I know the soybeans/clover plots were discussed before. I've got sunn hemp and buckwheat planned. Do grains help them get through winter? If I planted wheat or oats and just let it go will the seeds benefit them, or is it just a waste? Habitat- I would think turkeys prefer mature woods with old oak trees, and not too thick? I didn't know we even had turkeys until two years ago after running cameras in March so I know NOTHING of their needs.

 

[Terrific_tom]

My number 1 attactantant for turkeys in the fall and then again in spring is standing soybeans followed by clover.

 

[Native Hunter]

I hunted a farm this spring that had soybeans planted for the first time last year. The beans were harvested, yet this spring both turkeys I killed were full of soybeans.

My land that I deer hunt on is better for deer than turkey. I don't have roosting habitat, and the turkeys I get usually arrive no earlier than 9:00 AM. My fall planted clover plots are attracting them, but they just pass through and really don't spend a lot of time there.

I've heard that chuffa is the crop for turkeys, but I wonder if it would be any better than beans.

 

[wiscwhip]

Turkeys love chufa, that said it is considered an invasive weed in most areas and it is very hard to get rid of once it gets a foothold. It can reproduce through multiple means. The tubers are obviously the noticeable method they use to propagate, but it can also spread through the rhizomatous root system and it does produce copious amounts of seed. While the rhizomes, roots, and foliage die in cold weather, the tubers, of which one plant can produce many hundreds to thousands per year, and the seed, which will also be produced by the thousands, will survive and could potentially take over your plot. Considering the tubers can be as much as a foot below the surface, even tillage will not remove them unless you go very deep and then you are not really doing anything to kill them, it just brings them closer to the surface where they can germinate when conditions are correct. The tubers can remain viable in the soil for several years. If you would like more info Google "yellow nutsedge". Or stick to clover and soybeans for your turkey plantings and you will not have any of the above mentioned issues that you get with chufa. They also like the smaller "seed" from other legumes such as partridge pea and cowpeas, AWP, and also smaller type dwarf sunflowers.

 

[bat man]

My 10 year old killed a tom last week south of Lake Mille Lacs that had only cereal rye grass and rye seeds in its crop. I let some rye go to maturity last year, and its the first tom we have taken off the farm.

I have watched them walk on top of the snow to eat oat heads in the past.

 

[Deer Kar]

Batman is that the same kid that got the big Northern on Pelican with his Bow. My kids though that was cool.

 

[bat man]

Same kid. 3 years in a row. He has now killed more turkeys in MN than I have-

 

[kabic]

I was going to comment on this topic last week but I was on my phone...

I've done some reading (as was suggested by wiscwhip) and I don't think Chufa is the exact same thing as Yellow Nutsedge, but they are related.

Chufa = Cyperus esculentus var. sativus (cultivated).

Yellow Nutsedge = Cyperus esculentus var. esculentus (weedy)

The cultivated variety often referred to as 'chufa' does not have the over wintering capability of the perennial yellow nutsedge we are familiar with in our lawns and are grown as annual plants. They also lack the abundant seed production typical of the perennial nutsedge. Chufa tubers are also known to be larger than yellow nutsedges. These characteristics seem to indicate a possible pattern of human selection that may have separated the chufa from the weedy nutsedge. De Vries (3) reports that the taste of the weed compared to the cultivated has been found to be very similar, with the weedy sedge being more fibrous to chew it is less desirable.

Tom Hughes, NWTF biologist, said that chufa has major differences from yellow nutsedge. Yellow nutsedge's tubers grow deep and spread out to populate more areas, while chufa doesn't spread in the same way, limiting unwanted growth or expansion.

"Both plants are the same species, but just like the wild turkey, they have subspecies that are very different," Hughes said. "Chufa can grow over a couple of years in warmer climates, but it typically must be reseeded every year."

In northern climates, chufa tubers freeze over the winter, which makes the tubers turn to mush during the spring thaw.

I'm thinking about planting about 5 pounds next to an existing clover plot.

 

[bat man]

This one came into a cut cornfield. Hard to beat last years cornfield for turkeys.

 

[wiscwhip]

Congrats on a nice bird! Well done!

 

[Terrific_tom]

Nice bird. Congrats