Food Plots Replant

[kevin mays]

friend gave me some soybeans . He had them in generic bags and didn't know the variety. . Wish I had never messed w them. Germination was horrible. I guess they were probably erosion control . They sucked!
I've spent the day cleaning up the mess.
Starting over
On the positive corn is doing good.,
I didn't want to drive to west tn to pick up my 4row John Deere planter so I used a haybuster and modified it to make a corn planter. Was fun fooling w it.

Cleaned up about 5 acres
Hope to replant tomorrow

 

[TNTreeman]

A bad day planting is better than a good day working. Still plenty of time for beans , hope these work for you. Did you do Eagle?

 

[kevin mays]

No
I'm gonna buy what ever co op has. I do like eagle I just got caught in a time pinch and didn't order. Can you get them local in tn ?or do you order. Last time I bought them I had them delivered

 

[TNTreeman]

No
I'm gonna buy what ever co op has. I do like eagle I just got caught in a time pinch and didn't order. Can you get them local in tn ?or do you order. Last time I bought them I had them delivered

I got them last week at local coop. I'll check if you want me to?

 

[megalomaniac]

I used a haybuster and modified it to make a corn planter. Was fun fooling w it.

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How did you modify it?

We taped up 2 out of 3 drop tubes, but the pressure of the corn seed pushed the tape off every 100y or so and had to keep reapplying it.

 

[MickThompson]

How did you modify it?

We taped up 2 out of 3 drop tubes, but the pressure of the corn seed pushed the tape off every 100y or so and had to keep reapplying it.

Haybuster is the best to do this mod to. It doesn't force seed down. It's a true controlled spillage drill. The seed gets lifted up to the port. You get no say on spacing within the row though.

 

[kevin mays]

I used a zip tie to close hoses to modify
Then I zip tied a baggie to each hose that was opened and counted the seed dropped in a 17ft run. Til I got 28 seeds per 17 ft run
Worked good for what it was
28 inch rows
Plant spacing was just ok
But for a turkey plot it was jam up

 

[kevin mays]

I got them last week at local coop. I'll check if you want me to?

Thx man
I already used what my co op had

 

[kevin mays]

 

[deerhunter10]

How did you modify it?

We taped up 2 out of 3 drop tubes, but the pressure of the corn seed pushed the tape off every 100y or so and had to keep reapplying it.

We made blockers out sheet metal and bent them to fit from the back side to close off the the hole where it feeds down the tub on our hay buster. Planted sunflowers and corn this way. Have to get a little creative with spacing and how you go around the fields some times but they work good.

 

[Granddaddy]

friend gave me some soybeans . He had them in generic bags and didn't know the variety. . Wish I had never messed w them. Germination was horrible. I guess they were probably erosion control . They sucked!
I've spent the day cleaning up the mess.
Starting over
On the positive corn is doing good.,
I didn't want to drive to west tn to pick up my 4row John Deere planter so I used a haybuster and modified it to make a corn planter. Was fun fooling w it.

Cleaned up about 5 acres
Hope to replant tomorrow

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But your corn looks great!

 

[kevin mays]

But your corn looks great!

Thank you
That's exactly what I was telling my sons . There is always something poitive!
Crazy thing I rotated the areas from where I had cow peas and sunflowers and beans last yr .
So I mowed all the residue dow
Few weeks later
I sprayed round up and dual magnum to control the grasses as a pre emerge . Think g I would follow up w gly and atrazine.
After I planted the corn I noticed the grasses were nothing but broadleaves were sprouting. As I looked closer they were sunflowers, cow peas , and beans. The corn is now over 6ft tall and the rows have lots of beans, peas and sunflowers flowers .
Pretty cool food plot

 

[kevin mays]

 

[TNTreeman]

Thank you
That's exactly what I was telling my sons . There is always something poitive!
Crazy thing I rotated the areas from where I had cow peas and sunflowers and beans last yr .
So I mowed all the residue dow
Few weeks later
I sprayed round up and dual magnum to control the grasses as a pre emerge . Think g I would follow up w gly and atrazine.
After I planted the corn I noticed the grasses were nothing but broadleaves were sprouting. As I looked closer they were sunflowers, cow peas , and beans. The corn is now over 6ft tall and the rows have lots of beans, peas and sunflowers flowers .
Pretty cool food plot

That's what I have to tell myself . It doesn't have to be a pretty weed free plot to be a productive plot. I get caught up in that too much . This year I planted beans and corn together . It won't be pretty but it'll hopefully be productive.

 

[BSK]

That's what I have to tell myself . It doesn't have to be a pretty weed free plot to be a productive plot. I get caught up in that too much . This year I planted beans and corn together . It won't be pretty but it'll hopefully be productive.

Same.

I've learned to not care about how "pretty" my summer plots look. Deer will feed on some of the weeds anyways.

 

[deerhunter10]

Ive only had a perfect plot only a hand full of times and most of the time its clover sprayed just right with the right weather. ive never minded the weeds. Spend to much time and money to try to get perfect hay to have the patience to try to get foodplots perfect. We do our best to keep our sunflowers clean but even then we burn down almost always so its all clean by then.

 

[kevin mays]

This is a 30acre corn planting . Got 4in of rain couple days after planting. It's held up good considering . Replanted the low areas today.

 

[Popcorn]

Just in time!

 

[Ski]

I've learned to not care about how "pretty" my summer plots look. Deer will feed on some of the weeds anyways.

I've seen deer completely bypass my summer plots to eat weeds. For me summer plots aren't for feeding deer. They're for building soil & thatch for the fall plot that will feed deer. So really it would be best if the deer don't eat it.....yet.

 

[BSK]

I've seen deer completely bypass my summer plots to eat weeds. For me summer plots aren't for feeding deer. They're for building soil & thatch for the fall plot that will feed deer. So really it would be best if the deer don't eat it.....yet.

I was spraying food plots with grass-killer the other day, and one of my smallest plots (1/4-acre) had so little planted plants left that I didn't bother killing the grasses. If I killed the grasses, I wouldn't have anything to mow down onto my seed in fall!

 

[JCDEERMAN]

I've seen deer completely bypass my summer plots to eat weeds. For me summer plots aren't for feeding deer. They're for building soil & thatch for the fall plot that will feed deer. So really it would be best if the deer don't eat it.....yet.

This! Now, we still plant beans, corn and sorghum but it's all a weedy mess and we just let it go. We will spray in fall and drill or vice versa

 

[kevin mays]

This! Now, we still plant beans, corn and sorghum but it's all a weedy mess and we just let it go. We will spray in fall and drill or vice versa

What animal likes your the sorghum . Does it all get eaten?

 

[Popcorn]

What animal likes your the sorghum . Does it all get eaten?

I always include a sorghum in my summer blends. Nothing will bother it but the day the seed ripens turkey and deer will pick them clean. I often mix Milo (short) and Susan sorghum (tall and later ripening). Interestingly the seed ripens from the top down and that's how they remove them. The stalks become organic matter and thatch for my fall planting

 

[kevin mays]

Beans and sunflowers are up
Day 7

 

[megalomaniac]

The other great thing about sorgham (in addition to providing TONS of green manure for fall plots) is that it gives vertical structure for the forage beans to climb up on. This is huge when it comes to keeping deer from being able to completely wipe out all the beans over the summer.

 

[JCDEERMAN]

What animal likes your the sorghum . Does it all get eaten?

Yes mainly by deer and turkeys. As others have mentioned I like it for the green manure and organic going back into the soil, as well as kind of structure to break the field up, not only in sections, but also for just enough cover for them to feel safe out there eating beans and other forage

 

[BSK]

If I had enough acreage to spare, I would definitely go back to planting sorghum (actually, the shorter milo). But I have so few acres of food plot that I need every square inch in fall annuals, and sorghum/milo needs to be left standing to mature and be palatable to deer into the late fall months.

And I agree with others, the green manure production from sorghum is amazing.

 

[kevin mays]

I've been using cowpeas and sunflowers for green manure
Not opposed to milo
I have had it many times
Just never really seen the deer hit it hard
Turkeys love it
But man o man have the turkeys enjoyed my sunflowers

 

[BSK]

I've been using cowpeas and sunflowers for green manure
Not opposed to milo
I have had it many times
Just never really seen the deer hit it hard
Turkeys love it
But man o man have the turkeys enjoyed my sunflowers

It has been my experience that deer don't hit sorghum/milo until after the first freeze.

 

[Ski]

Yes mainly by deer and turkeys. As others have mentioned I like it for the green manure and organic going back into the soil, as well as kind of structure to break the field up, not only in sections, but also for just enough cover for them to feel safe out there eating beans and other forage

The structure/cover is my favorite part about it. I see even older bucks out in broad daylight eating in the areas with chest high sorghum. They're eating beans & cowpeas, not the sorghum, but the sorghum gives them cover. I don't see anything eat sorghum heads until deep into November & beyond.