Food Plots Drill ?

[ttf909]

usually burn down then plant but the rye and clover plot I'm about to plant beans into is being absolutely hammered by deer .
Next this plot gets a lot of cockleburrs that are always a problem .
This is a low density area and 10 deer at a time is odd. Probably due to the close proximity of a clear cut done to 160 acre up the road.
Think beans will be able to compete if i drill then just bushhog the standing crop?
Don't have access to a crimper .

 

[wildlifefarmer]

usually burn down then plant but the rye and clover plot I'm about to plant beans into is being absolutely hammered by deer .
Next this plot gets a lot of cockleburrs that are always a problem .
This is a low density area and 10 deer at a time is odd. Probably due to the close proximity of a clear cut done to 160 acre up the road.
Think beans will be able to compete if i drill then just bushhog the standing crop?
Don't have access to a crimper .

If you have rye and crimson try a cultipacker to roll it and don't worry about th clover

 

[MickThompson]

How big is the field? What county?

 

[ttf909]

Bradley county about 3 acre

 

[MickThompson]

You'll probably be ok. Only one way to find out for sure. I wouldn't bother bush hogging a field that the deer are wearing out right now though. If anything the previous crop stubble will shield what you're planting for a bit.

 

[BSK]

Just a thought. If they are wearing out the current crop, they will probably wear out the beans as well. But only one way to know for sure. Give it a try.

 

[Popcorn]

Dont mow it just drill it. You will effectivly crimp enough, the rye is about done anyhow, the matter left will help protect whats to come. I planted 20 acres like that friday. It will look ragged for a while but it really gets a head start that way. If you are planting gly tolerant beans you can spray later and knock down the cockle burr. If they kill your regular beans try forage beans, they are more tolerant of browse

 

[megalomaniac]

Agreed. Go forage beans in a smaller plot!

 

[TnKen]

We have some forage beans coming up now, and the deer are wearing them out. Hopefully they will come through it, but they way they are hitting them I'm not sure.

 

[Popcorn]

We have some forage beans coming up now, and the deer are wearing them out. Hopefully they will come through it, but they way they are hitting them I'm not sure.

On the forage beans if they leave a node, a fork, a bud or leaf it has a chance to continue. Last summer I posted a picture of some that had been nipped off and forked so many times you couldn't count them. Yet they continued

 

[JCDEERMAN]

Dont mow it just drill it. You will effectivly crimp enough, the rye is about done anyhow, the matter left will help protect whats to come. I planted 20 acres like that friday. It will look ragged for a while but it really gets a head start that way. If you are planting gly tolerant beans you can spray later and knock down the cockle burr. If they kill your regular beans try forage beans, they are more tolerant of browse

Agree on drilling through it and knocking it down / partially killing it. And it protects the new beans coming up. We did this and when we crimped a week later, the rye had barely started to stand back up. Timing seems to be key with rye. I think we drilled at the right time and terminated a lot of the rye at the same time

 

[Popcorn]

Optimal time to crimp rye is just before or at milk stage. Any earlier and it will keep trying, much later and it's pretty much already done and the stem isn't as fragile.

 

[JCDEERMAN]

Optimal time to crimp rye is just before or at milk stage. Any earlier and it will keep trying, much later and it's pretty much already done and the stem isn't as fragile.

And it seems there's about a 3 week window, right? When crimping while in the milk stage (or right before) and before the seed is formed. Have you seen the rye seed form and be competition with what you just drilled?

First time crimper here this year and the timing was my biggest stressor…between timing the drilling and crimping up just right. But it appears we got it right according to my cousin who's seen it. I haven't been to our place

 

[Popcorn]

Have you seen the rye seed form and be competition with what you just drilled?

I have never had a problem with rye becoming a competitor but this method leaves it in the head, in the husk and not in contact with the soil. What gets crimped in early milk or just before does not mature. The seed that does mature usually does not germinate till fall when planting activity puts it in contact with soil. Then what survived and didn't get eaten will come on to compliment whatever you plant

 

[JCDEERMAN]

I have never had a problem with rye becoming a competitor but this method leaves it in the head, in the husk and not in contact with the soil. What gets crimped in early milk or just before does not mature. The seed that does mature usually does not germinate till fall when planting activity puts it in contact with soil. Then what survived and didn't get eaten will come on to compliment whatever you plant

Good stuff