WI "Ambush" product - just info no sales pitch!

[j-bird]

I was out and about over the weekend getting my fall plot seed and grabbed a Whitetail News publication by the Whitetail Institute (it was free so what the hell). Now I know many of us here are not fans of BOB seed, but I still like seeing what is all out there (and sometimes the small quantities and ease of a BOB product is tough to beat). They said 10 lbs cover 1/4 acre @ $30+ a bag.

This new product of theirs is a fall annual mix of: sweet lupine, oats, winter peas, sugar beets and annual clover.

looking for input/experiences from you guys on the lupine and sugar beets.

I am not familiar at all with lupines.

I thought sugar beets where more of a summer annual because of the growth cycle they needed to mature. I have read they need 120 to 200 days to mature - that is more than the corn on my place needs.

I didn't buy any just interested when some company starts tossing seed out that I'm not as familiar with. What I did buy was PTT, some different rape seed & some radish - I will apply some rye a little later.

 

[j-bird]

Sweet lupine is widely planted in the south for a fall plot (along with oats as I recall). I planted some one year on my old place, it grew well and the deer ate them. Given the cost and lack of local availability (none) I never planted them again.

Up here, wasting money and time on sugar beets by planting them for a fall mix would be pretty foolish. They need to go in the ground when the corn does (up here anyway)

Thanks Stu - I though the beets needed a fair amount of time to grow. I thought it was interesting how some BOB companies seem to be trying to release new products and the "glam" of the product is based on what I would call secondary deer forages, while the bulk of the product is still clovers and cereal grains. I can see adding the diversity if you have lots and lots of acrage to do so, but it seems they work pretty hard to complicate things to the small property owner by offering all this variety - I don't know, maybe I'm just a simpleton.

 

[dipper]

What's the % oats? That lupine is pretty but I don't know you'll get it to flower?

 

[wiscwhip]

My guess is the lupine is not the native variety, way too costly to put that in a BOB mix. It is likely the closely related European cousin that is used as a fodder crop in the southeast and other areas. They look almost identical to most folks.

 

[chummer]

I planted a pound of blue lupine last year. I had 4-5 flower last year and one came back this year. It was an awesome looking flower. Not sure why the success rate was so low.

 

[wiscwhip]

You don't have enough sand,;) lupine really does love sandy soils.

 

[Ben.MN/WI]

Beets take a long time to grow and they start out really slow, so I don't think they would be good for a summer planting. No experience with lupines though.

I've had really good luck with WI seeds in general though - when I planted their turnip mixes in the same field next to some Welter's generics the deer preferred the WI option. They also grew larger than the generic seeds even though they were in the same field and all were fertilized the same.

 

[sodbuster]

New guy here. I planted Ambush in a 1/2 acre plot on August 8th. It's coming up but one part was washed out due to a rare big rain event here (Michigan). I can see the sweet Lupines are growing and the sugar beets. I can post later in the year if you all are interested. Thanks.

 

[Terrific_tom]

The problem I see with Whitetail and other BOB seed companies is that a lot of their seed mixes are not for all over the country but they market them as if they can be planted any where and have success. That mix probably would work well in the south for a fall planting.

 

[j-bird]

New guy here. I planted Ambush in a 1/2 acre plot on August 8th. It's coming up but one part was washed out due to a rare big rain event here (Michigan). I can see the sweet Lupines are growing and the sugar beets. I can post later in the year if you all are interested. Thanks.

Please post away! We love pictures!

 

[sodbuster]

Here's an early picture. The dark green plant is the lupine I believe. The broadleaf is probably sugarbeet. I'll post another photo later. We've been real dry again and am finally getting some rain :)