What to plant in first year food plot?

[Jim Timber]

I had some logging done this winter and now have a 3-ish acre plot clearing that needs stumps removed (I'll be grinding them as soon as the snow is gone), and I'm wondering what I should put down to keep the thistle in check while the roots rot out?

I do have a sub-soiler that I could use to rip the roots with, but my intention is to keep this as a throw and grow type project for the time being since I don't have the money for a corn planter and haven't inquired if I can borrow the neighbors' (or get them to plant it for me).

I can get a lime truck in, and will do that once I get the stumps down on the skid roads.

Clover is popular with our deer, so I'm tempted to just go that route and run with it. Just wondering if there's better solutions that would help amend the soil while waiting for the rotting process.

Trees in this area were primarily red oak and aspen. Soil is sandy loam with a little clay (maybe 5%).

 

[bueller]

I'd say spray gly and plant buckwheat around the 1st of June. Spray gly again around August 15th and plant rye. Seed both heavy. OR plant nothing for spring/summer and just spray gly 2-3 times from greenup until planting rye August 15th.

 

[Freeborn]

If thistle is the number one concern you could plant a grass like Rye and use 2-4D to control thistle. Just remember to spray early as thistle is allot harder to kill once it gets some size to it. Rye will grow on almost anything and as simple as it gets.

If the thistle gets big you can kill it with Stinger or with Milestone but both those chemicals are expensive.

If you want to go with Clover it competes just fine but you will need to keep the plot mowed.

 

[Jim Timber]

I should have a 8' mower next week if the auction gods are smiling on me, but I do have a 5' mower now.

Eventually I would like to plant this at least partly in corn, so getting the OM and chemistry right is a long term goal. There hasn't ever been crops here to my knowledge, and the top soil is dark, but I haven't tested it.

 

[Jim Timber]

Here's an in-progress shot. I have some drone video footage, but haven't uploaded it yet.

 

[Freeborn]

I should have a 8' mower next week if the auction gods are smiling on me, but I do have a 5' mower now.

Eventually I would like to plant this at least partly in corn, so getting the OM and chemistry right is a long term goal. There hasn't ever been crops here to my knowledge, and the top soil is dark, but I haven't tested it.

Corn can frustrate even the best plotter. Last year was a good example of it as we had a very cool year and did not have enough heat units to get good yields.

Does your plot get allot of sun? You need allot of sun for corn. RR beans might be a good option as you can broadcast them and control weeds with GLY. Its not corn but it will pull deer until after rifle season. I think beans would pull deer off your neighbors place unless they have corn or are baiting. If your looking to feed deer into winter corn is hard to beat.

 

[yoderjac]

I'd say spray gly and plant buckwheat around the 1st of June. Spray gly again around August 15th and plant rye. Seed both heavy. OR plant nothing for spring/summer and just spray gly 2-3 times from greenup until planting rye August 15th.

Buckwheat in the spring and winter rye in the fall until amendments have had time to work. If your soil test shows your pH is close to 6, I'd add perennial clover to the winter rye in the fall. You can no-till the WR and clover into the standing buckwheat (throw and mow). Timely mowing in the spring will release the clover from the WR while keeping the rye in place to battle weeds. I'd maintain it as perennial clover as long as possible to allow the roots to rot.

Thank,

Jack

 

[scott44]

I'd plant a oats/buckwheat mix this spring and terminate it mid to late Aug. and plant a rye/oats/clover mix and next spring you should have a good start on a clover plot. Like Bueller said I'd go heavy on the cereal grains. Looks like you have a good start from the pic.

 

[Jim Timber]

The plot site is the top of a ridge and should have lots of sun in the middle. It's sort of banana/potato shape with most of the area running east/west.

 

[rocksnstumps]

Good advice from above, grains and cover crops with your clover later. If you try just clover alone now with thistle close by its gonna get ugly. I didn't take pics but trust me. The talk about leaving things to grow on their own that you read on here on occasion and you will be blessed with beneficial weeds is not reality when you have thistle and knapweed in the hood.

Need pics of stump grinder project in action or didn't happen. You are the guy who fabbed your own right?

 

[Jim Timber]

Good advice from above, grains and cover crops with your clover later. If you try just clover alone now with thistle close by its gonna get ugly. I didn't take pics but trust me. The talk about leaving things to grow on their own that you read on here on occasion and you will be blessed with beneficial weeds is not reality when you have thistle and knapweed in the hood.

Need pics of stump grinder project in action or didn't happen. You are the guy who fabbed your own right?

My neighbor to the West of me had his place logged 3-4 years ago and did nothing afterwards - areas that haven't had sun hit bare earth in 100 years sprouted the most magnificent and prolific thistles. His property is slightly visible through the tree line on the left side of the pic above. I have no doubt that everywhere we removed the canopy will at least attempt to grow thistle. I have straight granular salt to dose it with (in addition to a weed burner), and use gly and 2,4-D as well depending on what I'm trying to do.

Yes, I built my own stump grinder. I was going to build my own twin spindle mower, but this one is ready to go and a nice design so I'm going to attempt to buy it. The size of a 8' wide mower deck makes building one a little tricky given my shop's size and current storage situation (too much shit!).

Corn remains the gold standard attractant in the neighborhood (both standing and for illegal bait), so that's what I'm working towards/against with this plot. I figure the shaded edges can remain in clover and I can have a central chunk of corn to offer some shelter/bedding as well as food through the late season. My apples should eventually start producing some attractant too, but those are on the opposite corner of the property from the food plot (by design - the deer will have to cross my land to move between them).

 

[Jim Timber]

Here's what the plot looks like with a view of the neighbor's swamp to the South in the background.


This pic was taken when they still had another day of skidding/chipping to go, so it's not completely cleaned up as they left things. Well, as cleaned up as things get after a timber harvest. There's a ton of branches everywhere, so I have a fair amount of brush to burn ahead of me.

The plot continues off to the North a little (bottom middle-right of pic) too, but this is the gist of it. I'll be doing some edge work to direct travel and to redefine the edges a bit from how the faller left them. They took a lot of my knocked over trees when they skidded out the harvest, so I need to rebuild my bedding in addition to fine tuning the harvest outcome.

 

[Tree Spud]

Trees in this area were primarily red oak and aspen. Soil is sandy loam with a little clay (maybe 5%).

Do you anticipate lots of aspens shoots coming up from the root systems in place. That may be a first issue to deal with.

As you are now exposing the ground to full sun, you will probably have lots of grasses, weeds, and other woody stuff emerging. That was my experience as I have been clearing some areas. If you work the soil, your first couple of years may be fighting back what has dormant in the soil.

Winter rye is always a good choice to spread late season. Cheap, helps with a thatch cover, stays green long into the season and greens up early spring when exposed to sun. Also helps with weed control & suppress' other grasses.

 

[Jim Timber]

I'll be grinding out the stumps and spraying the plot prior to seeding. I know I'm going to be fighting the seed bank which is why I was thinking clover would be a good starter plot since it does best with mowing and the primary competition will be killed off by it.

Looks like the 8' mower has someone else more interested than I am, so there's a back-up 10' I have on my radar that I'll go fetch if it's still there instead.

 

[Jim Timber]

Well, the auction gods decided to get two idiots into a bidding war on my 8' mower and doubled what I was willing to pay; but I did get a nice 7' tiller at a good price. :)

 

[Bowman]

I may be the odd man out. After logging and no equipment, I grew 8 foot thistle and mullein in a landing. Impassable. Had to pay for "preparation" again.
Disclaimer: Sorry that I have to say this, but I am a soil guy first.
I do not spray and do not shortchange your mower. Annual weeds are toast as long as they do not go to seed.
Honest question, why spray to kill thistles when you neighbor is growing them? Depending on wind, you get more seeds. Thistles are done if they don't go to seed. Mowing will kill annual weeds. Rye and buckwheat are great for natural weed suppression. Plant buckwheat at 65 degree soil temp. Let it grow and do the weed suppression boogie, the follow with cereal rye. Did you get a soil test?
Since you are working with 3 acres,consider splitting the plots. Ed Spinnazola recommends a brassica planting to judge soil fertility.
Another consideration is sunn hemp. Big for OM. Still needs heat like buckwheat. Another consideration for screening and OM is Sorghumsudangrass. Mow at 3 feet height, big root growth. Don't mow if you want a a screen. Needs nitrogen, like all grasses.
100% my opinion, but if everybody is growing corn, what is your advantage in growing corn?
I want something growing and covering the ground.