Ok alfalfa guys. I went and looked at my plots over the weekend and they are up and growing. I put 100lb per acre of 6-12-12 as soon as I saw them coming up. now they are about 3-4" tall. Is there anything else I need to do to help them shoot up before rifle season?
Food Plots Alfalfa Guys!!!!!
- Thread starter turf08
- Start date
jmb4wd
Well-Known Member
Pray for it to quit raining and the sun to shine!!!
KubotaM4900
Well-Known Member
Post some pics
Well I dont think they will do any good. They looked really good two weeks ago. I hunted both this weekend and the alfalfa looks horrible. I couldnt figure out why. I did everything right and weve had plenty of rain. So after my hunts I pulled the cards and checked my cams. Starting at 30 mins after daylight until dark the fields are being over ran with deer. They have literally ate it down to the dirt. While I was there I saw too good bucks and a doe. Each buck bumped the doe, thinking she was coming in heat. Nope, they wanted to eat where she was. I watched them walk across a 1 acre clover and oat plot to nibble on the alfalfa. Next year it will all be in alfalfa.
KubotaM4900
Well-Known Member
This is one of the more successful alfalfa stories I've heard of in a while. It's perfect it was destroyed by the deer, it's intention anyway. Interested in hearing what happens in the spring. What kind of alfalfa is it and what was the soil ph?
Hunter 257W
Well-Known Member
How big is this field? Sounds like you've hit on what your deer like and it's hard to find anything better for them than alfalfa for sure! Your plan to plant more next year sounds like a sure thing to me.
Deer eat my Alfa Rack but they never even make a dent in it. I have 4 acres and other plots (clover, no-plow, corn). The problem is that their is very little cover in the general area so the deer population is not nearly what some places have. Probably no more than 20% of the land in a 1 mile radius is in cover capable of holding deer.
Deer eat my Alfa Rack but they never even make a dent in it. I have 4 acres and other plots (clover, no-plow, corn). The problem is that their is very little cover in the general area so the deer population is not nearly what some places have. Probably no more than 20% of the land in a 1 mile radius is in cover capable of holding deer.
I dont know what the ph is. This area was a crp field for the past 10 and its surrounded by 1000+ acre wooded block. I have always heard stories of alfalfa needing a lot of lime, so when I seeded it I put down I think 200lbs for 1/2 acre. I think what makes this plot so awesome is the fact i left part of the crp standing. I left maybe 1/4 acre of crp on the end of the field not surrounded by woods. Ive got pictures of 10-20 deer in the field at any time of day. Next spring I am gonna bring in the heavy equipment and disk up everything and get the ground worked better and then reseed it all again. I will take a lot of pictures and post them as we go along. I am also gonna fence some of it in to try and keep them out of it until fall.
If you're going to spend all that time and money, send off a soil sample so you can see exactly what you need in the way of lime and fertilizer. It only costs $5-$10 and could save you much time and money.
diamond hunter
Well-Known Member
Im interested in this alfalfa stuff.When is the best time to plant? Does anyone have some basic directions as what to do? I have tractor,disc,bushhog,land to plant and resources.Thanks going in.
OK dh here is what I have learned. Deer LOVE alfalfa. Period!!! Alfalfa needs well drained soil. Aka no clay type soil. Second is it needs a ton of lime. No really a ton per acre. If you are mixing it with clover or planting the whitetail institute alfa rack plus all you need to do it lime the soil put down 100lbs per acre of 6-12-12 or 0-20-20. If you are planting pure alfalfa you need to put 15-15-15 when you sow it. As you may already know alfalfa needs nitro and without the clover you need to add some. Spray the ground first wait a day or 2 and then disk the soil. It only takes roundup a couple hours to get in the plants system after that it is done either way. After the soil has time to sit add your lime and fertilize and disk again. Make note to do this right before a rain. Then follow the disk with some type of drag or cultivator to help smooth the ground. After the ground is ready sow the seeds and wait for it to rain. Alfalfa seed is like sand, DO NOT cover the seed up. Let the rain beat it into the ground. Doing this last year I had deer walk across a 1 acre field not lowering its head at all until it reached the alfalfa. The clover plot I planted was above ankle high, lush, and green not one deer touched it. The alfalfa plot was almost pure dirt. Good luck
diamond hunter
Well-Known Member
OK,when do I plant it?
Im planning on doing mine next weekend or labor day weekend. It seems that the deer like it better when its young and tender. If you plant it any sooner it becomes tough and more like a weed than anything. I plan to post before and after pics of mine so that I can show everyone just how much they like it. Do yourself a favor and put in a hands off fence. This will allow you to see exactly how much they really do eat it down. Be prepared to be amazed.
diamond hunter
Well-Known Member
Is 2 acres enough? Would you plant this over anything else?
Hunter 257W
Well-Known Member
I'll give an opposing viewpoint from somebody who has a plot too large for the local deer. My plot is about 4 acres and is planted in the Whitetail Institute's "Alfa Rack". A mix of Alfalfa, Clover and Chicory. I think the mix ratio is 60%, 30%, 10% respectively. I don't have nearly the deer numbers some of you have and the deer don't even begin to eat my plot down. As a result it gets tall and stemmy, falls over and generally becomes worthless for feeding anything about once a month. I take care of this by cutting it for hay but if you don't have hay equipment that's not an option and you'd end up having to bush hog it. Even that isn't good because you aren't removing the cut forage from the field and will eventually kill it all as all the dead stuff accumulates over time. The main point here being, don't plant such a big plot that your deer can't keep up with it.
Truf08, you misspoke on one thing above. Alfalfa creates it's own nitrogen the same as clover since they are both in the legume family. Either one only requires a fertilize with a little nitrogen when you plant, then none from that point forward. Practically speaking though, my CO-OP has never had zero nitrogen fertilize so I always use 6-12-12 for any clover or alfalfa field. One time I did get some 0-20-20 or something like that from another source but it was so horrendously expensive that my hands shook when pouring it from the bags and I never used that again. :)
Truf08, you misspoke on one thing above. Alfalfa creates it's own nitrogen the same as clover since they are both in the legume family. Either one only requires a fertilize with a little nitrogen when you plant, then none from that point forward. Practically speaking though, my CO-OP has never had zero nitrogen fertilize so I always use 6-12-12 for any clover or alfalfa field. One time I did get some 0-20-20 or something like that from another source but it was so horrendously expensive that my hands shook when pouring it from the bags and I never used that again. :)
OK so heres what we did today. We already had the ground disked and ready for seed. THis morning we put down 800lbs of lime, and 550lbs of 6-12-12 and the drug over it. Then we sowed 6lbs of alfalfa, 6lbs clover, red top turnips, deer radishes, lettuce, kale, and canola. Then spread 50lbs of rye grass around the edge. This was done on two plots one .25 acre the other 1.5 acres. Ill post pics as soon as it comes up. Praying now for the rain to come in this weekend.
Hunter 257W
Well-Known Member
Hopefully you got some of that rain that moved through the state yesterday!
DaveB
Well-Known Member
Alfalfa will attract pigs.
You'll know if you have any in the neighborhood, the ground will look disked.
You'll know if you have any in the neighborhood, the ground will look disked.
