Food Plots Looking ahead to next spring/summer

poorhunter

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I'm really liking this food plot thing as this is my first year doing it, and I'm wanting some advice on what to do in the spring/summer next year. I have one small remote ridgetop plot that is maybe 3/4 acre that I would like to plant more often than just the fall. It is poor soul with plenty of rocks, but it does grow my fall plot ok. I do have a tractor but not much in the line of ground equipment anymore, so I'd rather go with just broadcasted seed. I could use a box blade to break the ground up if needed, but no way would I run a drill on such ground. I'm thinking of buckwheat, or frost seeding clover.

I've got a small pasture of around 4-5 acres that I would be willing to do maybe an acre sized strip plot along the edge of the field. Much better soil although still rocky. I'm thinking of spraying that strip and breaking the ground and somehow getting some soybeans to grow, but will I get enough germination without a drill by just dragging it? I do have access to a spike tooth harrow from a friend.
 

JBell

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I like the buckwheat idea for soil condition. Will help improve it as well. If deer population is good, one acre of beans won't last. You will probably think they didn't come up good, but it could be deer mowing them down. I would do a spring mix if you don't want to do buckwheat down there. Iron/clay peas do pretty well if you want decent compost and decent attract ability. They handle pressure better than just beans.
 

megalomaniac

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I also like buckwheat, but I would also put down other things to ease compaction, increase biomass, and decrease weed competition.

I'd go a mix of buckwheat, sorgham, and millet. All will grow just broadcasting into your existing plot. All are easy to terminate (the buckwheat will self terminate) for next falls plot
 

deerfever

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I do buckwheat and sunflowers in the spring. I usually rotate where I put each. Not hard to do and not.expensive at all. The sunflowers have my dove hunting interest in mind but the deer get several which drives my wife nuts! Lol I have also done grain sorghum in the spring.
 
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Popcorn

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Annual clover ( I really like Balansa Clover) with buckwheat, sunflower, short milo or short sorghum, peas and or forage beans and sun hemp. Makes for a great summer blend and all will work with your tooth harrow. Run the harrow before and after seeding and do it ahead of a rain , add in a little fertilize. They will have to learn to browse the sun hemp but they will and it is a good soil building legume with a good root system. The balansa clover will seed itself if the deer allow it to then die back in the august heat but will come back in late September.
 

JCDEERMAN

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I did a blend of soybeans, sunflowers and sorghum this spring/summer. Everything came up good, but there were a lot of weeds. Those need to be under control before anything. Next spring, I think I'm going to go with pure soybeans on some plots (so I can spray them after they're 6 inches or so to knock back the weeds). And on the 11 acres of new plots, probably going with mostly buckwheat and add a little sorghum in there. I don't want the weeds to get established in those.
 

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