Spring food plots

[Cecil]

How many of you plant spring plots? We always plant fall and spring , In the spring we plant pea's and sometime's mungbeans Fall planting wheat and oats, have tried clovers with out much luck deer not eating clover well also tried Biologic deer ate well but too expensive.

[deerslayer79]

I usually plant cowpeas also,have had great results using them.Do you plant them alone or plant them with corn,milo,ect...

[Cecil]

We always plant them alone , corn doesn't do well here unless its irrigated summers too hot.

[Land_Owner]

I will be planting in late March or early April this year for the first time.  I am preparing the fields now by herbicide first, wait two weeks then follow by bush hog, discing, fertilizer and seed.

I am not entirely certain what I will be planting but I have the local seed provider warmed up that I will be coming around to place an order.  That made her smile.

[deerslayer79]

I was going to put some lime down tommorrow but DOH,we had about four inches of snow this afternoon.

[Land_Owner]

Way cool.  No pun intended.  Temp here is 85 degrees and rising.  Clear skies.  No wind.  Another Beautiful Day in Paradise.

I have had no end of difficulty locating lime at a price that doesn't empty the bank.  I believe I have found one.  I posted my search results on this Forum under "Can't Find Lime" but no one has responded to my concerns.  I could take that to mean Go For It.

[Will Bison]

I do a Spring thing but at 6,000 feet elevation it's get the seed in the ground, hope it don't snow. I shoot for May 15 as planting day but last year it was about June 25th.

[alsaqr]

This spring we will plant milo, cowpeas and soybeans.  Soybeans will go in a separate plot.  The milo and cowpeas will be planted together.  Supposedly the peas will climb the milo stalks. 

In the fall we usually plant wheat, spike oats and  turnips.  Think we will skip the wheat this year.  The spike oats did very well here last year and this. 

[Booyah]

This will be my first season to plant spring food plots. I thing I am going to plant soybeans and peas.  Last season before season I planted a mix of oats, wheat, rye and clover. The oats and rye came up very fast. The clover just barely came up.  Now the clover is coming up very good but its spread kind of thin as it was part of a mix. I am thinking about discing this time and planting soybeans and peas but not mixing them together. I would like to plant in some glover as it seems to be growing very good right now. I would like to come in late summer and plant soemthing for fall seasons. I am thinking about turnips/rape, oats or maybe chufa.  Any suggestion from anyone?

[deerslayer79]

Clovers can be a slow grower,so don't till it under just yet,overseeding more won't hurt though,I had the bright idea of mixing corn with cowpeas last year and using a spreader to apply it,won't do that again,it was a common lookin stand of crap,If I planted it with a planter it would have tuned out better,goin to try that this year.I have had excellent luck with a mix of winter wheat and or oats with turnips it rocked and have been using it for the past 5yrs.

[Land_Owner]

Earlier posts here show the sorghum I used last winter.  Same results with broadcast spreader that deerslayer got with mixed corn and peas.  Not very good looking but the deer didn't care.  They ate the peas just the same and the birds and turkey loved the sorghum.  I don't own a grain drill.  Have not found one yet in E.Central FL.  Broadcasting seed, especially overseeding this way, is not an attractive way to plant but gets the job done and the nutrition to the deer.  Now I am faced with fields of clover, good stands, where I want soybean and peas.  I am thinking about bush hogging and straight discing without turning the soil over then broadcasting lightly over the clover.  Seed that germinates may be aligned with new disc marks.  Maybe I get lucky and all of it germinates.  Right now were entering the fourth month of a severe drought so seeding is going to wait for soil moisture improvement.

[Cecil]

last weekend disc ed in winter wheat while its still green to help build up soil,could only do 2 fields tho was too wet. also got some burning done in the woods, Turkeys will move into a burned area while its still smoldering they sure like it when leaves are gone.

[sambone2]

Land Owner have you heard anything about a product called PH Gain?  I saw a post on Boar Tuff about it last nite.  One gallon mixed w/8 gallons of water will treat up to half-acres at a cost of  12.00--14.00.  It is supposed to be like a 1000 pounds of lime, and can be applied from an ATV sprayer.  We haven't been a ble to get anyone to spread lime for 6 years, so this would solve our lime problems  It is made by Evolved Habit--they also make Deer Cane.  The only place I have found it advertised is Fleming Outdoors in RAMER, AL, but they are out of stock. My feed store is trying to find it for me--I can only hope.  Sambone2

[Land_Owner]

Getting back to you late sambone2 but I have never heard of PH Gain.  Now that you have introduced me I am eager to follow up.  I have read that water borne lime is quickly released, does not produce a long lasting result although a good result is produced, and over time will cost more than spread lime.  However, like you, I am at a loss for a source of lime.  Your idea, if it pans out, is a good solution.  If I find it I will post it up here. 

[IL-Cornfed]

This season I'm trying some Bio-logic Bio-Maxx in one plot and than relying on my old reliable RR Soybeans in the others. The beans seem to consistently out produce and attract more deer than ANY commercial blends I've tried in any of our plots.

[IL-Cornfed]

Went and checked on the Bio-Maxx yesterday and it's coming along,... we just need some rain SOON! I hit it with Roud-Up last week and man it really cleaned it up, looking good. I'm more impressed with the health of the corn. Traditionally it seems as if it was always harder to get corn established but this variety seems to be doing exceptionally well.