Fall Plot Plantings

[BRICH60]

BASED ON AN INSPECTION THIS WEEKEND, I AM CONSIDERING RE-PLANTING MY FOOD PLOT. BECAUSE OF A NEAR TWO WEEK DROUGHT AFTER PLANTING, THE CLOVER DID NOT COME UP LIKE EXPECTED, TOO MUCH GRASS.

I HAVE NEVER DONE A FALL PLANTING, MY CONCERN IS, GIVEN THIS TIME OF YEAR, WITH THE HEAT AND LACK OF PRECIPITATION, WILL THE PLOT HAVE TIME TO MATURE BEFORE THE FROST OF MID-OCTOBER. AM I TAKING ANOTHER GAMBLE TRYING TO RE-PLANT? WHAT CROP MAKES A GOOD FALL PLANT/ DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY EXPERIENCES WITH FALL FOOD PLOTS?

[Poundsy]

I plant mine about a month before really recommended. Will try to post pics soon. This is the first year I used an over the counter brand(antler king). Pretty happy with it.

[rackstalker]

Mix No Plow with ladina clover and you cant go wrong. No Plow will grow with minimal work to the ground and itis not a perennial but this will carry you till the ladina clover kicks in and it is a perennial. It works well for a fall planting and it will be really green in about 45 days.

[j-bird]

Fall planting of clover will be real tricky with a lack of rain. I typically plant fall plots in annuals of soybeans, brassica and oats. The brassica should be in the ground already and the beans and oats will go in over the holiday weekend. The oats germinate quickly and the beans are a bow hunters dream come true (just about the time all the other beans are drying up I have the only area for miles that has young tender soybeans trying to grow). The brassica needs time to grow and mature prior to the frosts and obviously the oats and beans will not survive the frost. This fall anything that is green will be especially valued by deer with the limited rain and fuit/mast limited availability. It was suggested to me by my local seed dealer to wait until the spring to plant my perennials as the moisture that they may get now will more than likely only allow them to germinate and not truely set a firm root foundation due to the lack of rain. The perennials are normally your more expensive seed as well. A planting of oats or wheat into september may be a safer bet and wait for the clover until the spring.

[Scott Werstler]

I fall planted Tecomate monster mix in 2005 and it looks great. I planted 2 plots of Imperial Whitetail clover in fall of 2006 and they look GREAT. They were slow in coming around this spring and there was some grass, but I hit the grass with POAST herbicide and the drought finished it off, leaving nothing but great clover. Maybe I'll post a pic. I would plant in mid to late August for fall clover planting. If you already have a plot, hit it with POAST and then plan on doing a spring overseed in March or so (called a frost planting). You should still be able to save that plot without totally starting over.

[Dean Weimer]

As soon as it dries enough my buddy and I will be planting Buck Forage Oats and Imperial Wintergreens. The BFO will be in 1/2 of the acre plot, and the IWG will be sowed with a mix of Red Clover, Ladino Clover, and a regular white clover (for next spring). I wanted to have it in by now, but the monsoons saw to it that it didn't happen. Really, a fall planting, such as Buck Forage Oats (or a cold hardy oat variety) should technically be planted from about now through the middle of September this far north.

[JL]

There is no difference between regular oats and a quality cold hardy oat...:lol:

[side slapper]

Really, a fall planting, such as Buck Forage Oats (or a cold hardy oat variety) should technically be planted from about now through the middle of September this far north.

Purdue recommends Aug.1-Sept.1 as planting dates for fall oats, and has worked good for me.

By the looks of this doe I think I should plant more dandelions. She just kept eating nothing but BIG mouth fulls of dandelions. :dizzy:

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w219/sideslapper-x/Doe-Dan-8-21-07-2584.jpg


http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w219/sideslapper-x/Doe-Dan-8-21-07-2585.jpg

[JML2]

winter wheat is cheap, easy to grow and you can still get it going in time for season. I will be planting some this weekend in a few spots. Seed cost me a little over $5 for a 50# bag. Deer love it.

[Dean Weimer]

As soon as it dries enough my buddy and I will be planting Buck Forage Oats and Imperial Wintergreens. The BFO will be in 1/2 of the acre plot, and the IWG will be sowed with a mix of Red Clover, Ladino Clover, and a regular white clover (for next spring). I wanted to have it in by now, but the monsoons saw to it that it didn't happen. Really, a fall planting, such as Buck Forage Oats (or a cold hardy oat variety) should technically be planted from about now through the middle of September this far north.

Finally got the BFO and Wintergreens/Clover blend plot in today. I'd have loved to have gotten it in a week ago, but it's finally out now. Could use a bit of rain now to get it to pop.

Lookin' forward to a great plot for the cold months coming up. Anyone ever use Wintergreens before?

[Dean Weimer]

There is no difference between regular oats and a quality cold hardy oat...:lol:


Yes, James...Yes!!!!

[side slapper]

Anyone ever use Wintergreens before?


Is that a quality cold hardy TURNIP ! :evilsmile

[ddw]

if it is as dry as it is here in southern indiana you are wasting your time and effort...wheat and turnips are a good late fall planting but without moisture you are SOL...

[Dean Weimer]

Is that a quality cold hardy TURNIP ! :evilsmile

Harold, as you know brassicas and rape are in the same family as regular turnips. However, Imperial Whitetail's specialized brassica (WINA Brand) was designed/bred/created with whitetail deer nutrition in mind. Regular turnips were not.

P.S. I love turnips!!!! Especially salt and pepper!!

[j-bird]

I planted my brassica in the middle of Aug and it was real dry. The seeds germinated some how and we got a shot of rain on them. They are now the size of your hand and seem to be doing fine. Oats and wheat are also excellent choices and both germinate with minimal moisture. A minor shower is all it will take.

[indylandon]

Planted Shot-Plot and Whitetail Chicory plus the beginning of August. Checked it a week later and the Shot-Plot had germinated. Haven't checked on it since. Been working the last 4 weeks straight, with only labor day off, so it's been kind of hard to get down where I planted it.

[Scott Werstler]

These are the 3 Imperial Whitetail plots I put in last August. I can't believe how well they turned out with the dry weather this year. I really feel if I would have planted them in the spring they would be struggling. These will be mowed this weekend, right now they are about 1' high and like carpet. This spring I had grass, especially in the third pic, but POAST took care of it.

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t308/scottwerstler/clover1.jpg

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t308/scottwerstler/clover2.jpg

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t308/scottwerstler/clover3.jpg

And Treehugger,

Plots 1 & 2 can't be seen from any of my current stand locations and are 200 + yards away. The 3rd plot has a stand about 100 yards from a stand. Plots 1 & 3 are 1 acre each. Plot 2 is 1/2 acre. Plot 1 & 3 can be seen from the house and was put there for lazy mans scouting. I read somewhere that a person shouldn't hunt over the plot to keep it fresh all season, so I try to exercise that idea.

[sportmanst]

So I'm contemplating putting in whitetail inst. winter greens for next year as well as a blend of no plow and secret spot along the fence row of a retired railroad on the property I hunt (3 acres wooded which is where my stand is placed and 50 acres of hay/crop field). No clover/alfalfa fields for about 3 miles. I just want a little something to hold the deer on the property a little more regularly as well as provide an alternative to corn & beans. I was thinking of planting the no-plow and secret spot mixture in late march when I know the ground will be nice and moist and then the wintergreens in August adjacent to the no-plow and secret spot. Any suggestions or recommendations as to if I should do something different. Keep in mind I do not have access to a tractor or 4-wheeler, but I do have a weed eater and good ol' fashioned elbow grease.

[stuckonbuck]

Man with only 3 acres of wood that sounds tough. I would probably just bust out the shotgun and phesant hunt that hay field. If you are dead set on planting something and the land is yours you could maybe explore a rental company. Find a small tractor and the proper attachments. Maybe some sort of high energy food like beans, or something of that nature on ten acres at least.

[sportmanst]

30 of the 50 are corn/beans with 2 5 acre plots of hay that is cut and bailed i swear every week by the farmer. The woods of 3 acres is actually a "splinter" part of a much larger woods...the three acres I have access to is basically a travel corridor with some nice mature oaks that drop acorns. just want to give the deer a little more variety to munch on. the population isn't that great here that they would tear a small plot up.

Here is the layout...

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh90/sportmanst/huntingspot.jpg

All pink lines are basically the heavy trails. The yellow squares are stand locations. That the 53 acres I got to hunt. The small field towards the bottom left is also a bedding area in the summer/early fall and my uncle has asked me to leave that grow and not alter that, but the railroad/fence line is game.

[Scott Werstler]

IMO you would be better off spending your time and money talking your uncle into letting you buy a few bushels worth of corn and beans and then have him leave that much in acres stand and not pick it. Leave that cover alone and then on the small field in the lower right that he wants to leave alone, see if you can get permission to plant trees in it and turn it into a thicket/sanctuary. You already have the food there, it is just all getting harvested in October instead of leaving a patch.

[sportmanst]

I contemplated "buying" some bushels. What about extra nutrition during antler growth stages???

[sportmanst]

Thanks for the input...I've got a couple months to figure things out.

[stuckonbuck]

IMO you would be better off spending your time and money talking your uncle into letting you buy a few bushels worth of corn and beans and then have him leave that much in acres stand and not pick it. Leave that cover alone and then on the small field in the lower right that he wants to leave alone, see if you can get permission to plant trees in it and turn it into a thicket/sanctuary. You already have the food there, it is just all getting harvested in October instead of leaving a patch.

Good call Scottie thats probably his best bet, then with the small plots you cant go wrong with a lil clover I would think.