Food Plots Hot, dry spell

[BSK]

Getting worried about this hot, dry spell. Only got 0.66" with the last rain a week ago. And west of Nashville, no organized rain in the forecast for the next two weeks. Three weeks without rain will devastate my newly planted plots.

 

[WilcoKen]

I've seen this pattern before. High pressure dome gets over us and seems like nothing will bust it up.

 

[JCDEERMAN]

I'm starting to get worried as well. Our buckwheat and sunn hemp was coming up fairly well and about 5" tall. Also worried about the 10 acres we planted over the weekend in sorghum. At least it's in the ground because it was drilled, but still! I need to go wash my truck

 

[megalomaniac]

Glad I planted mine in TN 4w ago. They have some nice roots now and will be able to handle these temps and short dry spell (millet and dwarf sorgham... not feeding deer, just improving soils and suppressing weeds)

 

[WilcoKen]

Not much precip anywhere. Not good.

 

[BSK]

An outside shot of a storm complex coming down out of the Midwest tomorrow morning, and sweeping through the northern half of Middle TN. But if we miss that, nothing in the forecast until Monday June 27. My food plots will certainly be dead if we have to wait that long for rain.

 

[JCDEERMAN]

It's getting ridiculous. Heck, nothing surprises me anymore. I'll be really depressed if our all near 30 acres fail :oops:

 

[WilcoKen]

It's getting ridiculous. Heck, nothing surprises me anymore. I'll be really depressed if our all near 30 acres fail :oops:

I hope that doesn't happen. This is the first year in a long time I did not do a plot. Ive done corn and beans every year for 10 years until this year. Didnt want to spend the $ on diesel, seed and fertilizer. I've noticed i have a lot of wild white clover in the plot this year. So maybe that will be enough. Might overseed with wheat in early September. Maybe we will see better precip chances then.

 

[TRIGGER]

My clover isn't doing good but the weeds sure are.

 

[DoubleRidge]

I hope that doesn't happen. This is the first year in a long time I did not do a plot. Ive done corn and beans every year for 10 years until this year. Didnt want to spend the $ on diesel, seed and fertilizer. I've noticed i have a lot of wild white clover in the plot this year. So maybe that will be enough. Might overseed with wheat in early September. Maybe we will see better precip chances then.

I'm in the same boat.... didn't plant summer plots....but it's interesting you mention it.... I also noticed allot of white clover in patches along with other "weeds" they seem to be browsing on....I did take a sprayer and spot sprayed thistle and a few other nasty weeds....then with what spray mix I had left I sprayed some long strips...just to create some earlier successional growth in areas.....the plots are not pretty....but the deer, turkey and dove are using them...late August or early September we'll spray all the plots, sow fall blend and then mow them down...hopefully just before a good rain.

 

[TheLBLman]

I have great confidence in my young native ragweed plots to do well
Nothing beats Mother Nature's Wildlife Weeds.

My clover isn't doing good but the weeds sure are.

Not sure what "weeds" you have, but hopefully some are natural native forbs.
Some natural forb "weeds" can compare well in soluble protein to clover,
and your deer may actually prefer the natives.

 

[TNlandowner]

May was extremely dry as well in Carroll County. We got 3 inches at the end of the month to bring up the total, but hasn't rained much since. My fish ponds are way down... even the wildlife are suffering in the heat. Deer and turkey are coming into my back yard to drink in the middle of the day.

 

[Popcorn]

My corn and beans all planted no till with a good mat of matter are up and looking good BUT I planted 35 acres of Green cover seeds "heavy Browse" friday on the promise of that rain that didnt happen and to compound the negatives the ground is poor, chirty no organic matter ridge top. Already written that off, just wait till late august and plant my winter crop there.

 

[tellico4x4]

Finished topping the weeds in clover plots yesterday. Overall still in pretty good shape. Ones with some shade actually look great but ones in total sun are starting to get crunchy

 

[tellico4x4]

Running about a month behind this year & had planned on spraying weeds after next rain and when a tad cooler. With the exception of a couple hours mid day today, doesn't look like any for rest of month. Got some nutsedge that I really need to get after but not sure what to do with the heat...

 

[Popcorn]

Running about a month behind this year & had planned on spraying weeds after next rain and when a tad cooler. With the exception of a couple hours mid day today, doesn't look like any for rest of month. Got some nutsedge that I really need to get after but not sure what to do with the heat...

DO NOT spray clover right now. In this heat and dry soils clover is in distress and is bordering on going dormant. It's easy to kill it under these conditions. Basagran (sedge) burns clover under good conditions, it can really do damage in this situation.
Also know that many herbicides need to sit on the leaf and be absorbed as it drys. At 100 degrees and out in the direct sun most evaporate quickly and the chemicals become a powder on top of the leaf with greatly reduced efficiency.

If you have no choice mix hot and use plenty surfactant.

 

[TheLBLman]

Looks like a good rain is hitting Hop-Town right now.
Most of it going too far east to help me much.
Maybe get a little.

 

[tellico4x4]

DO NOT spray clover right now. In this heat and dry soils clover is in distress and is bordering on going dormant. It's easy to kill it under these conditions. Basagran (sedge) burns clover under good conditions, it can really do damage in this situation.
Also know that many herbicides need to sit on the leaf and be absorbed as it drys. At 100 degrees and out in the direct sun most evaporate quickly and the chemicals become a powder on top of the leaf with greatly reduced efficiency.

If you have no choice mix hot and use plenty surfactant.

Great point about evaporation on leaves, never thought about that, thanks!

 

[JCDEERMAN]

Looks like BSK had luck on his side. Still looks grim for our place in Hickman. We are right on the cusp of the storm cell

 

[TheLBLman]

Looks like BSK had luck on his side.

Hope he did, but I didn't see much happening,
and looks like it's all moved on east now.

No chance of much happening again now for the next 8 days.

 

[Popcorn]

Working near Cumberland City, we got high winds, wall cloud, temp drop and 3 drops of rain….
Cadiz area got a good shower and Clarksville got a sudden down pour….

 

[sharpshooter]

15 drops at my house, Anderson co. Radar showed red about a mile away after the line passed. It's about to get real crispy here.

 

[RS]

My place in Humphreys Co didn't get a drop.

 

[BSK]

Looks like BSK had luck on his side.

Nope. Not one drop.

One soybean plot in a narrow valley, doing great. Surface of soil still moist. Three ridge-top plots saw good germination, but plants are stunted. Three more ridge-top plots are now almost bare dirt. Total failure. Sunn hemp is up and seems to be doing well, but doubt it will last another week to 10 days without rain, especially with the 100 degree temps forecast for next week. And no organized rain in the 2 week forecast as of this afternoon.

 

[BSK]

I sure hope we have a wet late summer and early fall. I'm going to need great fall food plots. Looked at a bunch of oak branches blown out of treetops from the gust front this morning and very, VERY few acorn buds on any of the white oak varieties. A tad more on some of the reds, but still not a lot.

I find that strange, as in Nashville I'm seeing a ton of acorn buds on downed white oak limbs. But then, at my place in Humphreys, we almost never see two good acorn crops in a row, and last year was the bumper crop from Hades.

 

[JCDEERMAN]

Nope. Not one drop.

One soybean plot in a narrow valley, doing great. Surface of soil still moist. Three ridge-top plots saw good germination, but plants are stunted. Three more ridge-top plots are now almost bare dirt. Total failure. Sunn hemp is up and seems to be doing well, but doubt it will last another week to 10 days without rain, especially with the 100 degree temps forecast for next week. And no organized rain in the 2 week forecast as of this afternoon.

Geez! Well we most certainly didn't get any. A man can't catch a break on anything these days

 

[JCDEERMAN]

I sure hope we have a wet late summer and early fall. I'm going to need great fall food plots. Looked at a bunch of oak branches blown out of treetops from the gust front this morning and very, VERY few acorn buds on any of the white oak varieties. A tad more on some of the reds, but still not a lot.

Good to know. I did notice all the oak branches at the house

 

[TnKen]

No rain for me either. I planted some buckwheat yesterday because I thought we were going to get some.

 

[tellico4x4]

Looks dry to me at least thru the 4th.... Rethinking my approach.

 

[JCDEERMAN]

Still no rain in Hickman. Just got an assessment of our place though. My cousin went to our place over the weekend. Surprisingly, the buckwheat was up to about a foot tall in all the new plots (21 acres). I can't believe that, but is testament to how resilient buckwheat is. Not sure on the sunn hemp - he doesn't know what it looks like.

Another testament to no till - all the sorghum we planted last weekend has sprouted and is about 1-2" tall. We had rain I believe the Wednesday -Thursday prior, drilled in sorghum (9 acres) that Sunday and then sprayed. All that thatch from cereal rye and crimson clover was holding moisture in the soil. So much so, that all that sorghum sprouted in this 100 degree dry heat. Couldn't believe that. Now, will it withstand another whole week with no rain and 100+ degree temps? Lord help us