Fallow Food Plots Offer Hidden Benefits For Deer and Turkeys
It’s okay to let last year’s food plots age for awhile. Here’s a look at the many benefits of going fallow and skipping a replanting cycle.
deerassociation.com
Food Plots Fallow Plots
- Thread starter tellico4x4
- Start date
deerassociation.com
About Mark Turner:
Mark Turner is an NDA member and Level 2 Deer Steward who is currently a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Tennessee working under the direction of Dr. Craig Harper. His research is investigating how nutritional carrying capacity and land use influence deer body and antler size across the eastern United States. Instagram: @markturner442I did the copy and paste above to save someone else the trouble.
I really don't care about his deer steward level or his phd and am surprised that he is reviewed by Dr. Harper because there much he has said here that I cannot agree with and some that borders on grasping at straws for a word count while working on that phd.
So much in this article goes against proven methods, reasons and logic derived from real world application.
Planned habitat not fallow ground.
If you can let half your plots go fallow and not get the other half wiped out, you were planting too much ground to begin with.
He allows nothing for drilling into standing live crops rather than spraying.
Year round crop coverage reduces the weed seed bank and out competes a lot of weeds.
Often ground allowed to go fallow will erode, harbor crop destroying insects.
Leaving ground fallow interrupts the process of soil building that year round crops contribute to.
The article practically suggests not spraying so you can come later and discover that due to resistant species you need to spray.
There is no mention of rolling down or crimping existing live crops as an option that improves soil moisture levels, insulates the ground and helps retard weeds.
Opting to leave fallow vs. planting cereal grains and soil building plants is not a viable solution to the tonnage you are losing by not planting the next crop. Weeds, forbs, volunteer crops will never produce tonnage compatible to a solid back to back double cropping.
If you want cover, plan it and treat it as such.
You want to regenerate forbs, mow it, fertilize it but WHY would you till more ground than you need just to let half go fallow!?
The cowpeas will not be very palatable in August but your soybeans will be and the sorghum, sun hemp and sunflowers will be killing it! We never clear the table by planting in standing crops or rolling / crimping.
If you have the acres to grow weeds, try it! You will discover something other than the picture painted here. The student fails to mention the short period of time ragweed is palatable and encourages allowing mares tail to grow unchecked, anyone who has had a battle with an established stand of mares tail knows better.
Sometimes common sense and real world application experience beats a hypothetical thesis.
I'm sure he is a nice kid but does it seem like they are running out of topics.
DoubleRidge
Well-Known Member
You bring up several points that I didnt consider and I agree with what your saying. In particular you said "If you want cover, plan it and treat it as such" great point.
Then you said: "you want to regenerate forbs, mow it, fertilize it"... To a certain point I agree but areas that contain forbs, which I've mowed multiple years in a row, will normally turn to grasses...so my understanding is I need to either lightly disk these areas or burn them to generate more forb type plant communities...not to change the subject of fallow food plots...but kinda along the same lines and I always appreciate your input.
BSK
Well-Known Member
If you want forbs, disk (or disturb the ground). If you want grasses, mow.
BSK
Well-Known Member
I'm glad you said all that Popcorn! I found little in the article to agree with.
If you want forb producing areas, create those outside of your plots. If you have so much acreage in plots that you can allow plots to sit fallow, you're an anomaly.
If you want forb producing areas, create those outside of your plots. If you have so much acreage in plots that you can allow plots to sit fallow, you're an anomaly.
I should have taken the time to better respond. I agree with you that the grasses will take these areas. Mowing ragweed high before it gets over knee high will cause it to sucker and will briefly extend the period that it seems palatable while still shading out the grasses but I find mowing these areas in late winter brings out the cool season forbs come spring better and they will still be able to outcompete the grasses. When they do not a grass specific herbicide like clethodim can come to the rescue. Rotational prescribed burns are always a good thing but again do it early so the cool season plants get a head start. Sometimes it is necessary to employ a disk but I do try to avoid it as much as possible. Remember any sun to soil contact in warm weather will bring the grasses.
megalomaniac
Well-Known Member
Fallow plots provide a lot of benefits.
But much worse headaches that end up negating the benefits in the long run. The main problem is allowing fallow plot weeds to go to seed during the fallow weed growing season. Those billions of tiny new weed seeds are direct competition for your one desired annual plot.
But much worse headaches that end up negating the benefits in the long run. The main problem is allowing fallow plot weeds to go to seed during the fallow weed growing season. Those billions of tiny new weed seeds are direct competition for your one desired annual plot.
BSK
Well-Known Member
I'm just going with the "undisturbed soil" model similar to what you do. I'll spread my summer seed, and then mow the seeded-out and dead crimson clover and wheat down on top the summer seed and then immediately spray for any existing weeds. Whatever grows in those plots in the summer is what I'll have. I'm sure it will be a mix of the seed I broadcast and some broadleaf weeds and some grasses. But those type plots sure do hold soil moisture in the dry summer months and provide some food. Plus, they're easy to work with for fall planting (again, undisturbed-soil planting).
