Official 2022 Fall Plots Thread

[G-Man]

6 hours ago, suburbanfarmer said:

Where were you able to get the seed from ? Nothing in Livingston or Ontario seed stores.

Pierce milling in delevan ny.

[UpStateRedNeck]

Radishes and turnips really enjoyed that 2" of rain!

[LET EM GROW]

On 9/9/2022 at 6:48 AM, Judoka95 said:

The field is about 8 acres, mostly goldenrod that grew like wildfire, I would leave it alone until fall but if I didn't brush hog it would start growing sumac. I leased it to a farmer this year so he will be planting it and maintaining it moving forward.

A brush hogging in late winter when the ground is frozen would leave this cover available until heavy frost/freeze knocks it down. Once knocked down and ground frozen you can control the saplings with mowing. This keeps your field a "sanctuary" as long as possible, and you can still control the un-wanteds as well. 

[Five Seasons]

I'm wondering what I should do with my spring plot. I've mowed it twice now and after the rains it's super lush. Most of it is generally "tall weed" free. The weeds that I have aren't going to be touched by any sprays but a part of one of the plots has some decent queen anne's lace. Even at an 8+" mow I'm still clipping some chicory. I mowed a small section but not sure if I just leave it be or mow it again.

some not so great pictures to try and demonstrate mowed vs unmowed

[land 1]

i would mow high to prevent weed going to seed wont hurt the chickory but due it soon ...

[LET EM GROW]

20 hours ago, Belo said:

I'm wondering what I should do with my spring plot. I've mowed it twice now and after the rains it's super lush. Most of it is generally "tall weed" free. The weeds that I have aren't going to be touched by any sprays but a part of one of the plots has some decent queen anne's lace. Even at an 8+" mow I'm still clipping some chicory. I mowed a small section but not sure if I just leave it be or mow it again.

some not so great pictures to try and demonstrate mowed vs unmowed

If it hasnt had a September mow yet.. certainly mow.

IMO all perennial plots need to be mowed in September this gives a few solid weeks of re growth and keeps the plants at a younger growth stage, rather than taller more mature and slightly less palatable/preferred.. Young green growing vegetation is most time always better than tall older growth. Just mow high and clip the top of everything, this will control some weeds as well 

[LET EM GROW]

I've been wondering why This plot hasn't looked so well, Even with the liquid fertilizer application and plenty of rain.. I finally put a cam up and there is does in it all day and night. This end of the plot looks the worse, and its where the deer typically enter the plot so it makes sense.  Some spots north/right of this photo frame are a 1ft tall but most are less than 4" in height. Yesterday my boy and I spread winter wheat, Winter Rye and peas into this plot to thicken it up.. There was a chance of a few showers so we went with it, didn't get my other plot done as we ran out of free time.. Low and behold we got 3" rain on this plot between 8pm and midnight last night! Will hit it with another dose of liquid this week  and granular Urea next solid chance of rain. 

This plot will get frost seeded with a huge perennial blend 

Seems my 2 kill plots have gotten hammered by the deer before they even had a chance..  

[UpStateRedNeck]

20 hours ago, Belo said:

I'm wondering what I should do with my spring plot. I've mowed it twice now and after the rains it's super lush. Most of it is generally "tall weed" free. The weeds that I have aren't going to be touched by any sprays but a part of one of the plots has some decent queen anne's lace. Even at an 8+" mow I'm still clipping some chicory. I mowed a small section but not sure if I just leave it be or mow it again.

some not so great pictures to try and demonstrate mowed vs unmowed

I like to mow about 1 - 2 weeks before the opener, then hunt it if the wind is right during the first week of bow.  After that it's all does during daylight.  

[SWEDE]

Hancock brassica mix liftoff. 3 weeks in

[Robhuntandfish]

Hancock brassica mix liftoff. 3 weeks in

Nice! Ireland green! Looks great.

Sent from my motorola edge 5G UW (2021) using Tapatalk

[land 1]

question for guys that spray liquid fertilizer / plot boost do you use the same sprayer u use your weed killer for guessing just wash it out real good?

[Lomax]

2 hours ago, land 1 said:

question for guys that spray liquid fertilizer / plot boost do you use the same sprayer u use your weed killer for guessing just wash it out real good?

I did got a 2 gallon sprayer and used it for glyc roundup first then rinsed it and used it for plot starter and plot boost.  No issues

 Since they’re pretty cheap 20+bucks just bought another. So have one for both now. 

[land 1]

thks for info yeah i rinsed my 4 gallon back pack sprayer out twice let it dry completly between rinses  dont use it much mostly the atv sprayer for gly should be fine i figure....

[phade]

22 minutes ago, land 1 said:

thks for info yeah i rinsed my 4 gallon back pack sprayer out twice let it dry completly between rinses  dont use it much mostly the atv sprayer for gly should be fine i figure....

Short of our tanks on the UTV, we have a few backpack and smaller sprayers. We keep them separate for Cleth, 24db, and gly. Mostly because of murphy's law for us.

I sprayed cleth on a small plot out of a 2 gallon hand pump a few weekends ago. I generally hand spray cleth and 24db. Most of our larger plots tend to be annuals that do a good job at crowding out weeds and we'll also let the weeds go if it's not obnoxious due to some weeds being a food source as well. We have abandoned the desire for a magazine quality plot.

We definitely had more “failed” plots this season than in years past. I think we had three that just bombed out with poor/minimal growth in sections. You can see in the images where - one we’ve reworked and seeded winter rye. The other we top dressed with DER and PTT, since in Ohio there is a slightly longer growing season still.

All that said, the plots are serviceable. Wanted to get oats in but my partner didn’t bring them and we got to the plot and made do with the Rye. We had really good luck with oats last year. First time in a monoculture and wow, I’m sure we will make it a point for next year. Rye should be helpful though. We are calling it done for plotting this year. Time to get ready for opener.

Edited September 13, 2022 by phade

[Five Seasons]

3 hours ago, land 1 said:

question for guys that spray liquid fertilizer / plot boost do you use the same sprayer u use your weed killer for guessing just wash it out real good?

my fimco actually recommends to rinse. then add some dish soap, circulate, rinse again. I've done this all year with fruit spray, gly and cleth and so far nothing has died. The way I look at it, it's a 65g tank and even if I'm only filling it up 40 gallons, there would need to be a decent amount of residual at that dilution it isn't going to kill anything. Considering I think it's like 32oz or something of super concentrated roundup for 20 gallons. 

[land 1]

yeah come friday last spreading of rye on rye plots that already are looking good, and spray the brassicas with liquid fertilizer and call it done i planted some rye on logging roads last week intrested to see how thats doing limited sun but from what i found rye will do well most places 

[Robhuntandfish]

23 hours ago, LET EM GROW said:

I've been wondering why This plot hasn't looked so well, Even with the liquid fertilizer application and plenty of rain.. I finally put a cam up and there is does in it all day and night. This end of the plot looks the worse, and its where the deer typically enter the plot so it makes sense.  Some spots north/right of this photo frame are a 1ft tall but most are less than 4" in height. Yesterday my boy and I spread winter wheat, Winter Rye and peas into this plot to thicken it up.. There was a chance of a few showers so we went with it, didn't get my other plot done as we ran out of free time.. Low and behold we got 3" rain on this plot between 8pm and midnight last night! Will hit it with another dose of liquid this week  and granular Urea next solid chance of rain. 

This plot will get frost seeded with a huge perennial blend 

Seems my 2 kill plots have gotten hammered by the deer before they even had a chance..  

last year this plot was chewed to the ground by early October.  We put in two more close by this year so hopefully there is something left for season.  

[LET EM GROW]

16 hours ago, phade said:

Short of our tanks on the UTV, we have a few backpack and smaller sprayers. We keep them separate for Cleth, 24db, and gly. Mostly because of murphy's law for us.

I sprayed cleth on a small plot out of a 2 gallon hand pump a few weekends ago. I generally hand spray cleth and 24db. Most of our larger plots tend to be annuals that do a good job at crowding out weeds and we'll also let the weeds go if it's not obnoxious due to some weeds being a food source as well. We have abandoned the desire for a magazine quality plot.

We definitely had more “failed” plots this season than in years past. I think we had three that just bombed out with poor/minimal growth in sections. You can see in the images where - one we’ve reworked and seeded winter rye. The other we top dressed with DER and PTT, since in Ohio there is a slightly longer growing season still.

All that said, the plots are serviceable. Wanted to get oats in but my partner didn’t bring them and we got to the plot and made do with the Rye. We had really good luck with oats last year. First time in a monoculture and wow, I’m sure we will make it a point for next year. Rye should be helpful though. We are calling it done for plotting this year. Time to get ready for opener.

One thing I really learned this year is that food plot seeds don't germ or grow well or at all in extreme dry conditions(which we all know mostly).. but damn do the weeds still grow.. I will most certainly hold off in following years for more steady and occurring rain events before planting.. The germination then dying process this summer was brutal, and without terminating the plot completely after failure, the weeds will beat ya lol. 

Maybe its me just being rusty the last few years when i depended on my brother to do these things while i was home with kids.. 

[LET EM GROW]

The difference in soils and soil health with poorer soil vs rich soils is amazing.. My plots at camp/lease are terrible clay soils.. lots of rotations and amendments needed to produce great crops.. Behind my house in Black Muck soil.. for 3 years Ive rotated crops and only used minimum till twice..

Last fall i started this 1/2acre plot behind my house in to a perennial plot of Clovers, chicory and alfalfa.. The plot did really really well. minimal weeds with zero herbicide use. But around me every year this year is alfalfa.. I'm not pulling deer to my 1/2 acre plot over the farmers 100 acre fields.. So i used a moderate dose of gly (in hopes to not kill off the perennials but everything undesired instead) and took the neighbors tractor and really lightly disked the plot .. just enough to disrupt perennial growth and regenerate it.. after disking i seeded a bulb blend into this plot in hopes to pull deer late season and watch them all winter. Here's the plot 3.5 weeks in.. Low lands average frost date is usually a couple weeks later than what it is 2 miles away on top of the hill.. 

All the clovers popped right back as well as the alfalfa.. Chicory did not which I figured it wouldn't.. Bulbs are exploding.. all the dark spots in the plot are the perennials popping back..  

[LET EM GROW]

A pic from the center of the plot a week ago.. 

[Five Seasons]

1 hour ago, LET EM GROW said:

after disking i seeded a bulb blend into this plot in hopes to pull deer late season and watch them all winter. 

 

 

this is kind of my thinking with my fall plot. I'm absolutely surrounded by corn and soy, so while the deer might graze my plots, it's not some concentrated food source in the middle of nowhere. However, come time that the corn is down, snow is on the ground and maybe late gun my hopes are that it sucks them in. 

[LET EM GROW]

47 minutes ago, Belo said:

this is kind of my thinking with my fall plot. I'm absolutely surrounded by corn and soy, so while the deer might graze my plots, it's not some concentrated food source in the middle of nowhere. However, come time that the corn is down, snow is on the ground and maybe late gun my hopes are that it sucks them in. 

Yep, If you provide preferred foods closer to a bedroom vs the corn.. you will certainly pull them in as well. 

[stubborn1VT]

10 hours ago, LET EM GROW said:

One thing I really learned this year is that food plot seeds don't germ or grow well or at all in extreme dry conditions(which we all know mostly).. but damn do the weeds still grow.. I will most certainly hold off in following years for more steady and occurring rain events before planting.. The germination then dying process this summer was brutal, and without terminating the plot completely after failure, the weeds will beat ya lol. 

Maybe its me just being rusty the last few years when i depended on my brother to do these things while i was home with kids.. 

I agree with this.  I learned alot from partial plot failure.  I have weeds and orchard grass.  I planted based on a forecast of 3 days of rain.  We got one brief shower.  Managed to salvage the plot by overseeding before a batch of rain 2 weeks after the original planting and got decent germination out of that.  The only areas that don't look good are along the edges where the tree roots reach under the plot and rob moisture.  Dust bowl.  Don't think you're rusty.  It was a brutal summer.

A few things I think might have helped me are: 1) using high end/ coated seed.  I think it would have helped with germination 2) over packing the soil with a roller hurts germination.  As dry as it was, I made too hard of a seed bed. 3) As dry as it was, I now wish I hadn't tilled up so much of the plot.  I had grasses, clover and trefoil that I could have simply mowed, limed and maybe hit with a little low N fertilizer.  Especially around the edges of the plot.  Would sure beat bare dirt.  

We'll see how things look in a week.  I overseeded bare spots with oats and a tiny bit of Hunter brassicas yesterday morning and then we got THREE+ inches of rain yesterday.  My plots may turn out well after all!

[LET EM GROW]

13 hours ago, stubborn1VT said:

I agree with this.  I learned alot from partial plot failure.  I have weeds and orchard grass.  I planted based on a forecast of 3 days of rain.  We got one brief shower.  Managed to salvage the plot by overseeding before a batch of rain 2 weeks after the original planting and got decent germination out of that.  The only areas that don't look good are along the edges where the tree roots reach under the plot and rob moisture.  Dust bowl.  Don't think you're rusty.  It was a brutal summer.

A few things I think might have helped me are: 1) using high end/ coated seed.  I think it would have helped with germination 2) over packing the soil with a roller hurts germination.  As dry as it was, I made too hard of a seed bed. 3) As dry as it was, I now wish I hadn't tilled up so much of the plot.  I had grasses, clover and trefoil that I could have simply mowed, limed and maybe hit with a little low N fertilizer.  Especially around the edges of the plot.  Would sure beat bare dirt.  

We'll see how things look in a week.  I overseeded bare spots with oats and a tiny bit of Hunter brassicas yesterday morning and then we got THREE+ inches of rain yesterday.  My plots may turn out well after all!

Agree completely. I will say, seeds i got from Grandpa Rays is far better than anything i have ever planted before, including this year for plot comparisons. They germ so much easier in tough conditions. And last better in tougher conditions as well. He uses natural growth promoters on all his seeds and zero "coatings".. With super dry soil, I think its best to leave it alone, get a rainfall first  and then prep and seed before the next rainfall. I know easier said than done as we get impatient. But with as many years as I've done this, I think finally getting back into i got anxious and desperate briefly lol. IT sure was a brutal summer for planting fall plots. But i guess as long as your learning from mistakes you're still winning   

[Five Seasons]

1 hour ago, LET EM GROW said:

 But i guess as long as your learning from mistakes you're still winning   

this. this right here. I think some people have this idea that a food plot is easy if you have some open space. Ha.