Warm season plot thoughts ?

[Ncwoodsman]

Was thinking of possibly adding in some warm season plots into the program this year. We always plant about a 6 acre soybean field and it usually does pretty well but all all other plot locations are to small for soybeans. I'm thinking I will drill in a summer time blend into our fall plots from last year. Then around September killing the summer plot and drill our fall seed back into it for a type of a rotation. I guess my questions are would this be worth the trouble or should I just let my fall plots that are in WW, oats and crimson clover with some arrowleaf clover mixed in just grow fallow until around the end of August then mow and kill them replant the same blend. Or would some type of summer food like deer vetch or iron clay cowpeas be a much better option to keep in the plots through out the summer ? I'm new to planting summer time plots but I would like the deer to have good food on the property year round so what would you guys recommend for a year round plot program?

 

[omicron1792]

Was thinking of possibly adding in some warm season plots into the program this year. We always plant about a 6 acre soybean field and it usually does pretty well but all all other plot locations are to small for soybeans. I'm thinking I will drill in a summer time blend into our fall plots from last year. Then around September killing the summer plot and drill our fall seed back into it for a type of a rotation. I guess my questions are would this be worth the trouble or should I just let my fall plots that are in WW, oats and crimson clover with some arrowleaf clover mixed in just grow fallow until around the end of August then mow and kill them replant the same blend. Or would some type of summer food like deer vetch or iron clay cowpeas be a much better option to keep in the plots through out the summer ? I'm new to planting summer time plots but I would like the deer to have good food on the property year round so what would you guys recommend for a year round plot program?

Depends on what your goals are.

If to “help” feed and retain deer through summer? Improve soil health, reduce weed pressure. Absolutely.

 

[Ncwoodsman]

Exactly what I'm thinking. I'm just trying to get a good rotation stared So far I'm thinking of planting ironclay cowpeas, deer vetch and maybe some lablab with some sunflowers for structure as my mixture

 

[omicron1792]

Exactly what I'm thinking. I'm just trying to get a good rotation stared So far I'm thinking of planting ironclay cowpeas, deer vetch and maybe some lablab with some sunflowers for structure as my mixture

Deer vetch is expensive in a rotational cropping system. Adding a few more non leguminous plants like millet, Milo, buckwheat could be beneficial.

Check out greencover.com and their summer release. I would model your mix after theirs, or consider just using their or another mix for your first planting.

 

[SwampCat]

Add a perennial white clover and utilize it for your summer food plot and save the time, effort, and expense of planting a warm season crop

 

[S.T.Fanatic]

If I had the time and equipment I would love to do summer plantings of cow peas and buckwheat. Great for weed suppression, N fixation, and nutrient mining.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

We're fans of buckwheat at camp. It's good for weed suppression if seeded heavy enough, and it's easy to overseed into as it turns yellow in late summer. As it decays down, it adds OM to the soil. We've seeded brassicas into standing, yellow buckwheat - then rolled it down with a cultipacker. We aren't farmers at camp - but it seemed to work!!

 

[westonwhitetail]

We're fans of buckwheat at camp. It's good for weed suppression if seeded heavy enough, and it's easy to overseed into as it turns yellow in late summer. As it decays down, it adds OM to the soil. We've seeded brassicas into standing, yellow buckwheat - then rolled it down with a cultipacker. We aren't farmers at camp - but it seemed to work!!

What is the timing of the buckwheat planting and overseeding of your brassicas?

 

[Brian662]

What is the timing of the buckwheat planting and overseeding of your brassicas?

Sturgis (and others) recommend buckwheat planting after last frost, generally early to mid June and then plant brassicas at 6 to 8 weeks of buckwheat growth.

If BW gets too tall which it sometime can in rich soils at 7+ weeks, it is hard to broadcast seeds into if you're walking and broadcasting. So timing can be important. To be safe, you could backtrack your normal brassica planting 7 weeks and that should be about the right timing for the BW.

 

[bigboreblr]

Im up in NY. But I hear southern hunters should be providing summer food. Food isnt scarce here in the northeast summers.

I'd find something that is drought tolerant and provides summer forage. Try 2 or 3 different things in each small field and see how they do.

If leaving alone from the fall plots, make sure you go around and dress up any bad spots with some oats and clover. Maybe even doing an early in the season mowing will provide some drought helping mulch to the clover n small grains. We had a relatively dry summer here. In May I reclaimed some brushy areas and seeded them with oats and clover. I mowed the area every 2 weeks or soall summer. OAts grew fine through the fall. I've mowed wheat a few times in the past with no problems either.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

What is the timing of the buckwheat planting and overseeding of your brassicas?

We usually plant buckwheat mid-May to late May once our soil warms enough for germination. Overseeding the brassicas usually around the first week of August at camp. Once the BW sets seed heads, it just starts to turn yellow. That's when we seed the brassicas. You can probably overseed sooner - July 20th or so, and get good results. We roll the BW down after seeding the brassicas.

If we're doing a plot of brassicas with no BW ahead of them, we usually plant the brassicas around the 3rd week of July.

 

[westonwhitetail]

Thanks Brian and Bowsnbucks. I have done this with soybeans many times but not with buckwheat. Sounds like it is similar timing for planting for me. I may give it a shot in one of my plots to try something different. I like the idea of rolling it down for organic matter and weed suppression.