What’s in your fall food plot seed blend for 2019?

[Putnamcounty Bowhunter]

I’ll start the thread off with what I’ll be planting- 

ive got a little bit of everything planned to go in this fall-  two larger plots (totaling about 2 acres) is a mix of 45lbs biologic’s deer food plot plus (wheat, oats, radish, turnips), 50lbs frostmaster peas, 50lbs buck forage oats, 5lbs trophy radish, 5lbs green globe turnips, and 5lbs clover blend of jumbo ladino & renegade red set to go In the first heavy rain in August.  

Towards the end of August, I’ll go back and topseed with 50lbs rye, 50lbs triticale.  

In the smaller staging/kill plots I plan on trying something new (for me), sucraseed’s northern sweet spot (mix of Aber variety high sugar ryegrass, fixation Balansa clover, frosty berseem,  domino white clover, ptt, and chicory.    Going to cut that seed blend with some additional clover- left over bad of wti imperial clover and a bag of evolved harvest provide clover (barblanca white, freedom red).      The red and white clovers won’t do much this fall, so I’m mainly counting on the high sugar ryegrass, annual clovers, and the little bit of brassica to provide fall attraction in the kill plots-   If it’s not filled in by September, I’ll topseed with a little cereal rye and forage oats to play it safe!  

Next year we are planning to put in a much larger destination plot that will be planted in real world beans but With only 3-3.5 acres of total food plot coverage on 120 acre lease this year and little ag nearby, I’m relying on lots of variety and a healthy dose of cereal grains to keep the herd on the property through the winter.  The clover and rye should provide early green-up forage in the spring and decent poulting cover for turkeys.  

For everyone out there with less than 5 acres of food plots, consider layer your cereal grains to provide a constant source of attractive new growth this fall and winter.   It may seem excessive, but 50lbs of oats/50lbs of wheat in August followed by two additional plantings of 50lbs rye and/or triticale in early September and against in mid September will ensure there is always something green and nutritious growing in your plots.    

A 150lb dose of urea or heavy nitrogen foliar feeding that contains some iron and micros applied in early September will keep that new growth coming and make it more palatable (I.e. attractive) to your herd come hunting season.  

Even if you don’t plan on turkey hunting next spring, including 5-10lbs of red and white clover seed in your fall mix will extend the life of your food plots and provide crucial early spring nutrition at a time when native forage is lacking. You can also frost seed the clover in late February/early March to fill in any bare spots, but fall planted clover with a nurse crop of rye will guarantee an established clover plot come spring- from there simply mow the rye before it goes to seed and enjoy the lush perennial clover plot your left with, or plow it under before a June planting of soybeans to provide rich organic material and nutrients to your summer nutrition plots!  

No matter what your food plotting goals are, fall planted clover and cereal rye will help you achieve them while providing your deer and turkey with up to 10 months of nutritious forage from a single planting!  

Please share your fall food plot seed blends and tips here.  

Good luck and happy plotting! 

[kpkot]

160 lbs of seed for two acres? I have got to ask how much this plot will cost you?  

This year I will be Maintaining an existing clover plot in addition planting an acre of oats in fall. Farmer we lease to has put in about 30-40 acres of soybeans. 

[Skillet]

Dirt. I have a dirt plot, with a nice crop of Goldenrod starting.

Round upped it. Tilled it. Limed the heck out of it. Seeded it with Imperial Whitetail clover (twice because the first time, a downpour wiped the seed out).

And after all our work, I have a really nice dirt plot. 

Edited July 22, 2019 by Skillet

[Five Seasons]

i'm going to try some more throw and grow, limited till in my "bow stand plots". props to you guys who work those big acre plots. I'd love to be able to have this opportunity some day.

[G-Man]

1 hour ago, Skillet said:

Dirt. I have a dirt plot, with a nice crop of Goldenrod starting.

Round upped it. Tilled it. Limed the heck out of it. Seeded it with Imperial Whitetail clover (twice because the first time, a downpour wiped the seed out).

And after all our work, I have a really nice dirt plot. 

Go with a cereal grain fast growing and will suppress golden rod. Plow down in spring and seed clover

[G-Man]

I have mix of clover, winterpeas, brassicas 

[corydd7]

Wheat and rye on a new staging plot with some radishes lightly sprinkled in. I should get my soil sample back in the next day or two, if the ph is higher then expected I will add turnips to the plan.

Turned over annual plots I've been building soil quality and planted WTI clover in April. Top seeded the clover plots with beets and greens which I had awesome results with last year. 

Questions for everyone, my property is filled with briars with that being said I have been thinking of turning over a clover and chicory plot and replacing it with beets and greens. With all the briars on the property should I focus on late season food source or stick with the clover mixure? 

 

[Putnamcounty Bowhunter]

Haha yeah it’s a lot of seed but after reading a lot stuff from Jeff Sturgis and seeing guys put it in to practice out in Michigan, I’m sold on the concept of layering cereal grains over multiple plantings.    

The seed cost is def higher than some other routes, but in the scheme of things $150/acre for a thick stand of layered food plot crops that will produce close to year round isn’t bad-  if I had enough acreage cleared to justify planting roundup ready beans this year that would have cost about the same in seed, not counting coming back in around late August  and over seeding with brassicas and grains.  

The layering method can be done for far less if I’d passed up some of the variety I wanted to include this year.   This is the first year on this lease for me, so part of the reason I am planting so many different varieties is to get a sense of what performs well on this ground and what the deer seem to prefer.   Will tailor blend/scale back accordingly in years to come. 

A cheap and hardy alternative that will still produce a 10 month plot for about $50/acre would go as follows: 

100lbs cereal rye: $25

50lbs bin oats: $10

10lbs vns red clover: $15 

add 5lbs radish or turnips: $10-$20 depending on variety 

Early-mid August- broadcast oats, drag with chain harrow, top seed with clover and brassicas (if using) 

Early sept.- broadcast 50lbs of rye ahead of rain storm, focusing on any bare spots.  

3rd week of September- broadcast 50lbs of rye ahead of rain storm across whole plot.  

 

Another reason for the seemingly high seeding rates is that I am broadcasting the seed with minimal tillage and have to account for reduced germination rates and seed loss to birds/rodents.  

 

I have found that you can broadcast pretty much any seed out there if you time it before a good soaking rain and adjust the seeding rates by about 20-30%.  For larger seeds I’ll either plant in the rain (this is my preferred method for broadcasting soybeans/peas) or drag a chain harrow/ride a quad across the plot to incorporate ahead of rain.     

[Putnamcounty Bowhunter]

3 hours ago, G-Man said:

Go with a cereal grain fast growing and will suppress golden rod. Plow down in spring and seed clover

+1 except I’d suggest seeding the clover in the fall with the cereal grains as a nurse crop.   By the following spring the clover will already have established roots and will jump out of the ground so that by the time you mow the grains down in May, there is very little weed infiltration.

I’ve found that warm season weeds are a much bigger Issue in Spring planted clover, even frost seeded, than clover planted the previous fall.   I do not use heavy tillage or herbicides on my plots so fighting weeds with allelopathic grains like rye and beating them out of the ground in the spring is really important to keep them from overrunning my plots.  

[BizCT]

Looks great. I hunt Putnam County too, what town are you in?

[Five Seasons]

1 hour ago, Biz-R-OWorld said:

Looks great. I hunt Putnam County too, what town are you in?

[moog5050]

One plot is already white clover that I seeded in March or April - leaving that one alone.  The other (about an acre) will have beans and frigid forage brassicas.  Those go in this weekend thanks to the rain scheduled for Monday-weds of next week.  Then 200lbs of 15-15-15 in 4-6 weeks and done.

[BizCT]

48 minutes ago, Pigmy said:

I saw his other post. 120 acres up in ulster county near catskills.

[Hunter007]

2 hours ago, Biz-R-OWorld said:

Looks great. I hunt Putnam County too, what town are you in?

Kent carmel mahopac around there but we been over this already  

[BizCT]

Kent carmel mahopac around there but we been over this already  

Huh?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Hunter007]

20 minutes ago, Biz-R-OWorld said:

 

Huh?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Sorry mistake 

[cas]

This year I'm planning on using my special blend of no till corn.  I like to put it down four days before opening day.

[Five Seasons]

[Putnamcounty Bowhunter]

On 7/22/2019 at 11:35 AM, G-Man said:

I have mix of clover, winterpeas, brassicas 

G-man, can you expand a little on how you employ winter peas in your plots?   I’ve had mixed results with beans and peas- seems like they either get crushed the second they pop out of the ground (happens to my fall planted peas) or get completely ignored (happens to spring and summer peas).  

As a result I’ve been a little reluctant to rely on peas too much in the fall, but with the planned expansion of the plots at my new lease for next season and a couple acres to play with this year,  I really wanna “give peas a chance” lol 

ive got a 50lb bag of frostmaster white blossom peas I’m planning on splitting between two acres but would curious to hear how you plant them- do you mix everything, plant strips, grow them separately in monoculture stands?  How many acres do you plant in peas? Seeding rate? How they perform?    Thanks in advance for any info! 

 

I figured if I spread them out, some of the other crops will absorb some of the browse pressure and I might get a few pea plants over 6”, but also see the potential benefit of planting them all in the same area where they won’t have to compete with other plant varieties.   

[G-Man]

12 minutes ago, Putnamcounty Bowhunter said:

G-man, can you expand a little on how you employ winter peas in your plots?   I’ve had mixed results with beans and peas- seems like they either get crushed the second they pop out of the ground (happens to my fall planted peas) or get completely ignored (happens to spring and summer peas).  

As a result I’ve been a little reluctant to rely on peas too much in the fall, but with the planned expansion of the plots at my new lease for next season and a couple acres to play with this year,  I really wanna “give peas a chance” lol 

ive got a 50lb bag of frostmaster white blossom peas I’m planning on splitting between two acres but would curious to hear how you plant them- do you mix everything, plant strips, grow them separately in monoculture stands?  How many acres do you plant in peas? Seeding rate? How they perform?    Thanks in advance for any info! 

 

I figured if I spread them out, some of the other crops will absorb some of the browse pressure and I might get a few pea plants over 6”, but also see the potential benefit of planting them all in the same area where they won’t have to compete with other plant varieties.   

40lbs to an acre for winter peas, mixed with 3lbs clover and turnip. ,just before expected rain I broadcast all on top of a rough prepared bed( non rolled or dragged) I lose some.clover and turnip deep but it allows peas to wash in and germ well. I do an acre of this mix and then an acre of turnip/brassica  on opposite side of field. I also have 3 acres of field corn separating them with , Egyptian wheat.and sorghum to screen from edge.of the woods.

[Putnamcounty Bowhunter]

Thanks for the info g-man!     I’d imagine the 3 pounds of turnips eventually dominates that plot.  Are the peas just early season attraction until the brassicas are established or do they last for a while?   Do you get any surviving peas with the spring flush of clover?   I’ve heard as long as they’re protected by snow or it’s not too cold that they can and do bounce back in the spring, but never had them last long enough to see it first hand.  

By next spring, My food plot layout will be fairly similar to yours with two 1 acre plots separated by about 2.5 acres of grain crops... planning on a mix of rr soybeans and was toying with the idea of planting a 10 yard strip of “dirty corn” on the perimeter by mixing in a bag of wi’s power plant to dirty up the corn.   

 

Do you alternate the location of the brassica plot and the pea plot each year?  Wondering how repeated turnip plantings in the same ground work out since you use them in both blends?  

[Putnamcounty Bowhunter]

On 7/23/2019 at 5:55 PM, G-Man said:

40lbs to an acre for winter peas, mixed with 3lbs clover and turnip. ,just before expected rain I broadcast all on top of a rough prepared bed( non rolled or dragged) I lose some.clover and turnip deep but it allows peas to wash in and germ well. I do an acre of this mix and then an acre of turnip/brassica  on opposite side of field. I also have 3 acres of field corn separating them with , Egyptian wheat.and sorghum to screen from edge.of the woods.

Why not plant the peas in the rough bed, then either cultipack or smooth out with a drag harrow, and then go back and throw out the clover and turnips?   I would think having the seeder open wide enough for the peas would cause  spotty seeding of the clover and turnips since the seeds are so much smaller.   

 

Curious how long the corn lasts for you too... between the bears and raccoons, I don’t think a single kernel from 3 acres of corn would make it to October 1st where I hunt.    They seem to ignore the soybeans for the most part though.  

[G-Man]

7 minutes ago, Putnamcounty Bowhunter said:

Why not plant the peas in the rough bed, then either cultipack or smooth out with a drag harrow, and then go back and throw out the clover and turnips?   I would think having the seeder open wide enough for the peas would cause  spotty seeding of the clover and turnips since the seeds are so much smaller.   

 

Curious how long the corn lasts for you too... between the bears and raccoons, I don’t think a single kernel from 3 acres of corn would make it to October 1st where I hunt.    They seem to ignore the soybeans for the most part though.  

It seeds pretty even , 7mph with fast spinning plate .. as for planting then rolling them planting.  It's all about Time, I'm on call 24/7 365 days a year. If I was retired or weeks if vacation for planting and weather cooperates every time I have a day of I would do a lot differently.  

 Corn by me use to be gone by mid Nov. Since corn prices went up most fallow field by me are now corn and I can get it to last into spring so.e years depending when they harvest.bears dont seem. To bother my corn, they prefer the heavily fertalized farmers ..Soybeans by me will not grow as Turkey, woodchucks , squirrels and deer devour them as soon as they are planted.

[Putnamcounty Bowhunter]

Wanted to share some pictures of the fall plots.   The first round of planting with brassicas, legumes,  oats and winter wheat went it right ahead of a storm in the last week of July.   Right around the same time, I cut a meandering path through some early growth forest/bramble to connect my two plots and planted it in Northern Sweet Spot.    Its a fairly long corridor in thick cover so i hung a stand about halfway between the two plots and cut a little backdoor path to it that I should be able to use during the prevailing north-westerly winds without spooking any deer.   

The plots were planted in strips into standing laredo soybeans that were then terminated over top of the seed (As of 9/4 the standing beans are still producing leafy forage and should continue up until the first frost, but they will not produce pods.

I followed up the initial planting over labor day weekend with 50lbs/acre of rye and maybe another 30-40lb mix of some oats, wheat, and triticale that I hadnt used the first time around, including the areas with standing beans since they'll soon be toast. 

Nothing fancy, all the seed was broadcast ahead of rain and used a chain harrow behind atv to terminate the beans and ensure good seed to soil contact.   included about 200lbs of triple 19 at planting along with 50 lbs/acre of 70% granular humic acid and 50lbs/acre of Sea-90 micronutrients at planting followed up with a foliar application of Nutratender plot fertilizer (from keystone pest) around August 15th and 50lbs of urea over Labor Day.   

Plots are being visited all day long by deer and turkey and producing tons of forage.   All the attention is on the cereal grains, remaining soybeans, and peas at the moment, allowing the brassicas to do really well so far.    Sweet spot isnt seeing as much browsing as main ploits, but theyre definitely using the path and browsing as they go which should make for great hunting opportunities without having deer camped out under me the entire time.   

  

Some pics of the larger plot (about an acre).  In the upper right hand corner of first pic you can see the entrance to the sweet spot path that connects the two plots.   There is also a larger trail system that connects them on the other corner thats planted in cereal grains chicory and clover.   

Some pics of the sweet spot trail: 

 

Some close ups of the smaller plot: 

 

 

 

 

[Putnamcounty Bowhunter]

Pretty happy with the way it came out considering everything was broadcast seeded with zero herbicides and no tillage (other than the smooth side of a chain harrow used to lay the standing beans down over the seed).  

Soil is incredibly rocky clay that most of the “experts”  I consulted said would take years to make productive.  This is the first year anything has been grown on this site.