What do you like to plant in a food plots first year?

[BJE80]

When starting a new food plot. Do you like to get right into your rotation or do you have something you like to plant that first year to aid in building the soil (i.e. WR)

 

[rocksnstumps]

Unless you do the Ed Spin method and spend an entire year of killing weeds before planting something, I just try to do things that let me cut down on weed competitiion that first year. Very dependent on plot size also. My plots are all small and will never plant corn even if I can get it free. Buckwheat is good cause it grows like crazy but more expensive than me getting RR beans from local sports organizations for like a $10 donation a bag. Spray, wait a few weeks, plant beans, and spray once more and plant whatever your fall rotation is. Again with small plots, beans are usually too thin to canopy much with decent deer numbers so you have have to do something different come fall. Unless this is a totally new plot with nothing else nearby and they don't "find" it till later after getting some good growing in.

I will say that a plot I had with buckwheat did grow some nice WW/clover later

 

[bueller]

Here is what i like to do. Lime first. Buckwheat in the summer. Let it go to seed. Being a first year plot, some weeds and grass will likely show back up. Spray the mature buckwheat and other junk with gly. Broadcast winter rye and red clover. Lightly drag or roll. Results will be a weed free rye and clover plot with some free buckwheat sprouts for the fall with a large amount of organic material covering the soil surface.

 

[bueller]

This is my first year plot on very sandy low pH soil as of last weekend.

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[wklman]

I like corn for a good fall food source. A lot of animals benefits from it and it's a good draw. But I also have a neighbor that works the soil for me and makes it easy to plant. If you don't have the equipment for it then my second choice would be brassicas if the soil was good.

 

[BJE80]

BJE, you're dealing with heavy, clay soil correct? High water table? Do you know the ph?

Yes and Yes. PH will be around 5.3 when I start. I have that awesome drop spreader now so the first thing I will be doing is putting down 3000-4000 lbs /acre lime and incorporating. It won't be dozed till mid summer till its dry enough so the first time it's planted will be a fall planting.

 

[BJE80]

This is about what I would expect for conditions to start. Soil test I took in this location before any soil amendments were done.

 

[BJE80]

^^^that tells me what I'd plant next fall. Winter rye

Anything else? Red Clover? And why? (just so I learn) The PH?

 

[buckvelvet]

Adding some red clover may be a good idea, but R.C. doesn't like wet feet. Whether I added clover would depend on my goal for the next year. Do you want this to be an annual or perennial plot? If you want this to be a perennial plot, then I'd likely add a clover blend including a few white clovers (Alice, white dutch, ladino) and probably some red clover too. I'm not a fan of alsike for deer, but it may perform better for you than it has for me. If you plan to make it an annual plot, then adding the R.C. and/or alsike for some "free" nitrogen is worth a shot I suppose. I'd also be tempted to top seed a bunch of crimson and/or berseem clover the spring of the following year (after threat of frost).

What you plant will also depend on your equipment. If you go with WR and can't get into the plot until late summer of the following year, what will you do with the dead/dying rye? Roll it, crimp it, mow it, burn it, till it under, etc.

Yes, the PH is why I'd go with straight WR (as well as the type of soil and water table)

Alsike seems to be a good choice of clover for bad ground whether its dry or wet....least from what i've seen?

 

[BJE80]

Alsike seems to be a good choice of clover for bad ground whether its dry or wet....least from what i've seen?

Yeah I think Aslike would grow better but I have concerns about the deer actually liking it. I've had ladino clover plots here before and they worked good. I also expect my plots to drain better with a little bit of planning and grading when they are dozed to get more water to run off to the sides and ditch it.

 

[buckvelvet]

So basically you guys are anti-Alsike.

 

[BJE80]

So basically you guys are anti-Alsike.

That's why I have previously called it asslike


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[BJE80]

I'm not anti-alsike for others, just for me. If alsike is the only clover that will grow, then I'd plant it. IME, those situations are relatively rare. White clover oftentimes will grow just fine in heavy soil with consistent moisture even in low ph soils.

Yeah ladino grew before I had my PH improved. I'd plant it again. That I is why I think red clover would work for me. Don't know unless you try I guess.

 

[buckvelvet]

 

[BJE80]

My neighbor just texted me (I asked) and he said he has had great luck with mammoth red clover. I don't know anything about this. Anyone?

 

[MoLandOwner]

Did not see it on your soil test, but I will assume your OM is low as well. I would also get a little better test next time to include OM, Sulpher, Zink, and Boron

The use of Crimson clover in the spring can help build soil as well.

 

[BJE80]

Did not see it on your soil test, but I will assume your OM is low as well. I would also get a little better test next time to include OM, Sulpher, Zink, and Boron

The use of Crimson clover in the spring can help build soil as well.

Unless things will be different I can't really get anything to grow decently in the spring. At least not yet. Too wet for too long.

 

[MoLandOwner]

Unless things will be different I can't really get anything to grow decently in the spring. At least not yet. Too wet for too long.

Too Wet? why are you trying to plot there then?

 

[BJE80]

Too Wet? why are you trying to plot there then?

Because it is wet everywhere. Espcially when you have snow on the ground till last week in April or first week in May. That is the driest area. Bwhahahahhahha

 

[BJE80]

Too Wet? why are you trying to plot there then?

There is a reason there is no cash crop farming nearby and the ones that do loose a lot of it due to flooding. Lots of hay fields by us. Luckily I'm just trying to feed deer.