Am I on the right track? A few plot questions

[Greg M]

Trees should start hitting the ground this weekend and plot cleared and ready for working in mid April. I won't be able to get a soil test or lime done beforehand this year, but the ground is in a bottom and appears to be relatively fertile. On a wing and a prayer, I'll get it plowed up and cultipacked by the end of April for sure. I'm sure being NE TN it will need lime.
Question 1: How long after planting should I wait to get it limed if needed?
Question 2: If cultipacking vs. drilling, does the reccomendation for increasing seed volume by 50% really make a difference?
Question 3: If drilling, does the ground have to be turned as much as broadcasting and packing? or can it be a little more "natural"?

Still on the fence between AK Red Zone and just straight Eagle beans.

Question 4: Do those of you using Eagle mow it all down and plant something else in the fall like forage oats, peas, etc, or do you let the beans rock it out all year?
Question 5: With clover plots, when using mixes with berseem, red or other annual clovers, how do you replant them the next year? Do you have to plow up the existing clovers, or do you just overseed with more annuals?

Sorry for so many questions, but I have insomnia.

 

[Football Hunter]

Just my thoughts,just walk in where your going to make the plot,get some samples of dirt,take to coo op.Easy.Lime first,IMO,why wait?You'll get more out of that than anything else.Takes times,months for lime to work.Why skip the most important part?

How big is your plot gonna be?Youll need several acres for any kind of beans to make it.

 

[Greg M]

The reason for not liming is that I live 800 miles away and am using a vacation week to come hang stands and plant. The plot will be somewhere between 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 acre. I'm hoping that the clearing will be done early and I can con a friend into going and liming it for me.nSo, back to the other 6. :-)

 

[Football Hunter]

OK,dont know where bluff city is,but Id say you are gonna have problems with beans.Not enough area,deer might wipe em out.JMO

 

[Football Hunter]

Ok then for 1 -6

1.Like I said,you should do it before,if for no other reason your gonna have to run over your new plot to lime.As far as your ? As to how long to wait,0 days,why would you wait,it takes a long time for lime to work in.

2.I would go with the recomendation.

3.The point of drilling is to not have to turn the ground at all,dont disturb all the noxious stuff.

4.I dont use beans,wish I could but my plots arent big enough,they would get wiped out.

5.I frost seed my plots with clover each spring if they need it.

6.Dont see a 6,but I wish you good luck.

 

[Greg M]

Thanks FH! FYI, Bluff City......ok, I can sit in most of the trees on my property and see Bristol International Speedway.... :eek:

 

[Football Hunter]

Frost seeding: You broadcast seed in late winter/early spring ,the heave and thaw of the ground caused by frosts will pull in the seed,and it will sprout when green up time comes.

 

[deerchaser007]

NOTE,.. frost seeding is gonna be very difficult this year if the temps stay this warm. This year,.. it may just turn into a overseed before a rain,.. or if we catch a good snow again,.. get the seed out before the snow and let the melt soak the seed in.

 

[MickThompson]

LSU, if you have the equipment to cultipack, you will get a better stand with less seed than frost seeding. Frost seeding is used to add a planting into an established perennial without damaging the established crop. If you're starting from scratch, disk the field, cultipack it, plant it, and cultipack the seed in. Any lime or fertilizer should be disked in before planting.

 

[Football Hunter]

Duranna has worked great for me.

 

[MickThompson]

Thanks buddy; that sounds like a good idea to me. I do have all the implements to do that. What brand of clover has worked best for you guys?

Since you're planting it with chicory, I'll assume you want a perennial. Any of the perennial white clovers such as ladino, durana, etc. will be fine. You could also add in some red clover to extend the season that the crops will be producing forage.

gmckinney, sorry for the hijack.

 

[MickThompson]

Question 1: How long after planting should I wait to get it limed if needed?
Question 2: If cultipacking vs. drilling, does the reccomendation for increasing seed volume by 50% really make a difference?
Question 3: If drilling, does the ground have to be turned as much as broadcasting and packing? or can it be a little more "natural"?

Still on the fence between AK Red Zone and just straight Eagle beans.

Question 4: Do those of you using Eagle mow it all down and plant something else in the fall like forage oats, peas, etc, or do you let the beans rock it out all year?
Question 5: With clover plots, when using mixes with berseem, red or other annual clovers, how do you replant them the next year? Do you have to plow up the existing clovers, or do you just overseed with more annuals?

...

1. If you wait very long after planting to lime, you'll crush your seedlings. I've seen footprints in clover plots where someone walked through it right after the seed sprouted. Now imagine that person weighs as much as a tractor. Lime works fastest if it is disked in. If you can't get it done before planting, I would wait.

2. Yes, you need the extra seed. broadcast planting isn't as precise as drilling. Drilling spaces the seed and places it at the exact depth. Not so with broadcasting.

3. Since this is going to be a new plot, I would turn it if I could.

4. Eagle beans are just like any other soybean-they die as soon as we get a good frost. That said, waiting until they die to replant means the cool season planting that follows won't have very many good growing days. Warm-season plots help fill the nutrtitional gap of late summer/early fall- the time when natural vegetation is becoming less palatable and nutrtiious, but before deer start hitting the acorns. If you plow under your beans and replant in early September, you just defeated the purpose of planting those beans in the first place.

5. This is why I don't mix annuals with perennials. The annual clovers (crimson, berseem, arrowleaf come to mind) are strong reseeders. You should be able to lightly disk the plot the next fall and get them back. I had a plot where we got a really good stand of crimson for 3 years running with no additional maintenance.

 

[Greg M]

Now that's the kind of info I was looking for! Thanks Mick.