Food Plots In a quandary

[BSK]

Anyone else not quite sure what they're going to do with plots for summer? After how much time, effort, and money I poured into last summer's plots, and have them all completely fail due to the drought, I'm not in the mood to repeat that process. I really can't decide what I'm going to do for this summer. I may plant a few of my best-soil plots in RR soybeans, but beyond that, I may do nothing for summer, other than mow the unplanted plots a few times during the summer.

 

[TNJones4530]

Thinking of doing an acre or so of whitetail institute power plant and then the rest in buckwheat to just try and build soil and suppress weeds

 

[rifle02]

Last week I planted several bags of forage oats and a biologic plot mix. They were from last fall and never got planted then. I put them on some sloped areas that seem to be prone to erosion. Maybe they'll help. I am going to put out enough buckwheat for one acre. It was bare dirt last year. I need to get something going there. Otherwise last year the only thing that grew was Weeds mostly ragweed. I did find that deer browsed almost all of that ragweed, they seem to really like it! That's like free food plot. My plot areas which are small in total sq. ft. can easily be overrun by some kind of false indigo. Worthless stuff.

 

[BSK]

My plot areas which are small in total sq. ft. can easily be overrun by some kind of false indigo. Worthless stuff.

Back when I first started experimenting with food plots, I actually planted a plot in false indigo. Grew great, even in terrible soil. Deer completely ignored it.

I tried a bunch of unusual stuff: false indigo, crown vetch, Alyceclover, etc. None of them were browsed much by deer. So far, the best have been Arrowleaf Clover (early summer), ragweed (late summer) and iron and clay cowpeas (although the deer quickly wiped them out).

 

[rifle02]

The only thing I noticed that utilizes that false Indigo is honeybees. But it really grows like crazy and the extremely poor soil that I have to work with. A former pine Plantation now clear cut.

 

[megalomaniac]

I'm taking advantage of the drop in fertilizer prices to really focus on building soil on the plots that need more organic matter.

Going light on sorgham/ millet mixed with a lot of cheap beans and lots of fertilizer! If the beans do well, I'll just leave the beans standing and broadcast some wheat/ clover/ brassicas into them.

 

[BSK]

I'm lucky in that summer foods aren't a big need for my place. We hold few deer in the summer, and we're directly adjacent to mile-wide ag bottomlands in corn and soybeans. My heavy focus is fall plots, and that mixture we have down!

 

[JCDEERMAN]

I'm thinking 70-75 lbs of beans and a few pounds of sorghum mixed in. I have some sunn hemp and buckwheat I may mix in there just to get rid of it. Clover plots are having a little corn drilled into them.

We are due for a "normal" year plots-wise and way overdue for a good acorn crop!

 

[BSK]

We are due for a "normal" year plots-wise and way overdue for a good acorn crop!

I hear that!

 

[Popcorn]

All plots except clover and a couple real good soil plots are getting Eagle seed summer blend plus sun hemp. I'll plant at 34 lbs per acre and after germination will top dress with some fertilizer. Soil building food and cover all in one

 

[deerhunter10]

Starting to spray Saturday. Lots of grain this year. Trying soghrum for the first time. Sadly for us we have some clover plots in bad shape. So going to have to redo them in the fall.

 

[buckaroo]

Sorghum, which I harvest to feed our quail, chickens, I just planted an acre of soybeans, I know a bit early, it shouldn't come up after this next cool spell

 

[rtaylor]

Just ordered a few bags of buckwheat. My bees like and the turkey love it once it comes to seed heads.

 

[Shooter77]

might do 2 acres of spring peas with sorghum mixed in. My first time doing spring/summer plots. also got 3/4 acre I'm going to do clover in.