Food Plots Drilling annuals into perennial plot

[drrxnupe]

I know that this is going to stir up another controversy...but I'm curious to know of success stories. I know that MOST will say to leave established perennials (ladino clover, chicory) alone and have a separate plot for annual attractant plots.

Well...this is my first year doing plots (did 4 in all). Because I had a ton of ladino, I made the rookie decision to plant a base of ladino in all 4 plots but use a different annual as a nurse crop (wheat, crimson, oats, or brassicas). If all goes well this year, I should have a lush fall food source from my annuals and nice stands of perennial of clover in the spring/summer.

Now...my concern is for next fall/winter. What should I do in order to have something available seeing as though I should have dormant perennials in my plots? How much would it really hurt to drill cereal grains or maybe brassicas into them?

 

[PickettSFHunter]

It is very normal to put something like oats, wheat, rye in establishing clover stands and established clover stands.

 

[drrxnupe]

It is very normal to put something like oats, wheat, rye in establishing clover stands and established clover stands.

I would think (and hope) that this is the case. It's funny, but you'll see guys posted stuff in the QDMA forums against this???

 

[PickettSFHunter]

Ive seen alot more for it than Ive ever seen against it. Cereal grains do well in legumes like clover. It just makes good sense for the dormant period. Ive never drilled it, because I have no drill, I just broadcast straight into clover but same objective/result. Ive never done brassicas that way, but have seen where it has been done with success, brassica will shade more so than grains though and generally require more nitrogen, which is something I dont want to be adding to a clover plot.

 

[tellico4x4]

We mix it all including clover, brassica, wheat, oats, etc...

 

[Boll Weevil]

What should I do in order to have something available seeing as though I should have dormant perennials in my plots?

By next fall/winter I'd think your clover should be really well established; you may not have to drill anything at all (unless you just want to). All I plant is Durana so can't speak for other perennials but it typically goes dormant in July and August (although this year because we had so much rain hung right in there during the heat). The first slightly cooler nights + rain showers in September and it springs back to life. It's always in great shape heading into the winter and by early spring is THE top forage target.

Once you get it established, managing competition and fertilizer at the right time is all it needs. If you decided to drill a cereal grain I'm not sure how well it'd do next year...clover might be too thick.

 

[tellico4x4]

We've found that the cereal grains kind of form a "nurse crop" for clover in spring.

Depending on how hot the summer looks to be determines if we mow the cereal grains after they mature. If it looks to be a scorcher, we don't mow as the grain provides some shade for clover. If it's like this past summer, we mow once the grain matures. That provides a bunch of cuttings that also helps soil. A side benfit is that turkeys & small game enjoy the grain seeds. We started this about 6 years ago and now have 15-20 coveys of quail on property! That's something I thought I'd never see again.