buck forage oats question

[yukonhunter]

Has any body had experience with it, and what time of the year should I plant it..thx

[wdswtr]

I have planted it with very good results.   The deer really didnt get into it till after the first frost but when they did they sure enjoyed a full acre of it till it was gone lol.  I usually plant it late august early september for a late season fall crop.

[yukonhunter]

Thx

[landtracdeerhunter]

First week of September here for planting.  Let me put it this way, oats are just below the Daikon Radish, on the " To Plant List."  Great source of nutrition!

[SplitG2]

I never planted BFO but have planted oats.  I plant regular field oats the first week of September and deer hit it hard on my place come October.

[yukonhunter]

Thx guys, I can't wait ...do you think its too late to put lime down

[ants]

The owner of the farm i hunt planted regular oats a few years back. He planted in late summer. The deer & a few bear demolished it. I wish he would plant it again but the last few years he has done corn....Not a bad thing.

[WesternNY]

I just bought a 80 pound bag of feed oats, they will grow and I think it was around $20.  That should be enough to almost do an acre.

[Renegade Hunter]

I planted forage oats last year. They are real easy to plant. All I did was scrap the layer of grass off the top, put down some lime and fertilizer then seeded the crap out of it lol. Grew in lush and tall. And Im no farmer! First I saw little patches mowed down. Once the frost hit it was game over. They would dig for it in the snow. Great crop.  Good luck with yours!

[jesse.james]

How much direct sun do they need. I'm thinking About planting some throw and grow because it works with not a ton of sun.

[Renegade Hunter]

Yea I hugged it right up against the woodline. Wouldn't get direct sun until after 11 or noonish. Grew just fine. The stuff grows like a weed. BTW I planted it Mid August.

[wdswtr]

Thx guys, I can't wait ...do you think its too late to put lime down

 

Well sooner would of been better but later is better than never.  If you lime now and plant end of first week in september, 5 weeks will help epecially with all this rain. 

[growalot]

So....I have to ask.. the farmers around here planted oats with clover in the spring...one an oat that grew taller(a blueish green) with crimson clover and next to us a farmer grew a shorter greener oat with loose seed heads and with regular red clover...Not once did I see deer in either field until the clovers grew tall enough to eat and still just 4 deer three different times.....

Now the one farmer chopped the field next door...the other still has his oats standing...and he'd planted 2 weeks earlier than the field next door...anyhow...once the field was chopped...the deer have been in it every day...(4) 4 pt and a 6pt with one single doe just last night and on and off during the day...

 

So my question...... what is the difference ..that makes deer crave the fall planted oats?

 

(sp)

Edited July 30, 2013 by growalot

[WesternNY]

So....I have to ask.. the farmers around here planted oats with clover in the spring...one an oat that grew taller(a blueish green) with crimson clover and next to us a farmer grew a shorter greener oat with loose seed heads and with regular red clover...Not once did I see deer in either field until the clovers grew tall enough to eat and still just 4 deer three different times.....

Now the one farmer chopped the field next door...the other still has his oats standing...and he'd planted 2 weeks earlier than the field next door...anyhow...once the field was chopped...the deer have been in it every day...(4) 4 pt and a 6pt with one single doe just last night and on and off during the day...

 

So my question...... what is the difference ..that makes deer crave the fall planted oats?

 

(sp)

 

In spring, by the time oats get up there is enough preferred browse but more importantly once oats get any good height to the plant they are not tender and not preferred. 

 

Planting Sept 1 is best as the plant will be still tender growth rather than long mainstem plant material.

 

Bottom line, once they get tall the deer don't like them.

[landtracdeerhunter]

So....I have to ask.. the farmers around here planted oats with clover in the spring...one an oat that grew taller(a blueish green) with crimson clover and next to us a farmer grew a shorter greener oat with loose seed heads and with regular red clover...Not once did I see deer in either field until the clovers grew tall enough to eat and still just 4 deer three different times.....

Now the one farmer chopped the field next door...the other still has his oats standing...and he'd planted 2 weeks earlier than the field next door...anyhow...once the field was chopped...the deer have been in it every day...(4) 4 pt and a 6pt with one single doe just last night and on and off during the day...

 

So my question...... what is the difference ..that makes deer crave the fall planted oats?

 

(sp)

 

The Fall grasses lose  their nutrients quickly. and become less palatable.  The fresh young protein, carbohydrates , mineral rich oat grass fills the void. It's a + here for feed value alone. I have increase yearly acreage to now, 3.  At a cost of about $12 / acre, it the most valued on my list, aside of the radish,(LOL)  at the cost of $ 48 / acre for seed.

 

Edit: Winter wheat is also a favorite.

 

Oat ground doesn't need to be worked as fine. They can be "roughed in" and still produce well.

Edited July 30, 2013 by landtracdeerhunter

[wdswtr]

Grow my experinece is the frost is the key.  They do not get touched hardly at all till after the first frost.  I would guess it like other plantings it sweetens them up and makes them more palatable.  By frost time they are mature and very tall and the deer just devour the whole field.   I do not recomend planting them in the same spot every year either as they will rob soil nutrients in a short time so rotatting them is a good idea. Buck forage oats also claim as a sweeter oat than most other oats. 

[growalot]

Thanks for those answers guys...now here's just one more...when I planted winter trictical in the spring... I would mow it to keep it from getting tall  and lanky...if a person put in a winter grain such as oats, rye, wheat a tad too early or mother nature delayed fall/winter a bit..... will mowing keep it tender and growing well?...

[SplitG2]

Grow it will help.  Grains rank out when they get too tall.  Cut them back to 5" and you will be ok.  I plant labor day weekend and the deer do the rest!

[landtracdeerhunter]

Thanks for those answers guys...now here's just one more...when I planted winter trictical in the spring... I would mow it to keep it from getting tall  and lanky...if a person put in a winter grain such as oats, rye, wheat a tad too early or mother nature delayed fall/winter a bit..... will mowing keep it tender and growing well?...

 

Don't think u will have to worry about mowing. You're have doe coming in from all over, once they find it.  What a nice thing to have happening,  during breeding season, LOL.