rocky soil?

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meerdeer

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rutherford tn
I have a 1/2 acre spot in the woods I was hopeing to plant 1/2 in clover & 1/2 in greens. my problem is a good chunk of it has solid rock 1 to 2 inches down, am i wasteing seed? and is there something that may do better? or should i just plant around it?
 
I don't think you could get much to grow in that area.. If the rocks are that close to the top, those seeds will just burn up.

Does the place hold water at all? I'd imagine you would have to water it like crazy to get anything good from it.

You may be better off just using feeders and mineral licks.
 
Im not sure if it holds water. I do know there was nothing growing naturally in a 12' area so I hit it with a pick ax & thats how i discovered shallow soil. how deep does the soil need to be to get growth?
 
Probably could grown small burnett and chicory on it. Ive got a patch of it on a place with very shallow soil and rock outcrops.
 
I'd say you could grow some hardy stuff.. But you would have to do alot of lime and fertlizer..

Think about it like this, for those who have septic tanks. Grass normally will not grow on very thin soils.

I'd say if it was 6 inches or so, it would grow. Does the place have alot of shade or is it out in the open?
 
The majority of it is 8"+ deep soil, i'm sure something will grow there but the center 12 to 16' circle has shallow soil.It gets full sun most of the day.
 
I'd sure give it a try, maybe try a something simple this fall, and plant something a little better this spring.

You wouldn't want to spend the time and money on seed, for it to get burnt up. Times are too hard for that.
 
Most of my food plots are about 1" of topsoil, 1" of clay, and then heavy chert rock. Turning it is impossible.

You can get growth from shallow rooted plants, such as annual clovers and cereal grains (especially grain rye [not ryegrass]), but don't expect "great" growth.
 
The major problem I have with "feed" wheat is the high percentage of weed seed in the mix. After using feed wheat several years in a row, I now have some highly noxious weeds in my plots that are not native to the area. I prefer to pay extra and get "certified" wheat seed (certifed germination rates and weed-free).

Honestly, of all the cereal grains, grain rye is the easiest to grow. I swear it will grow on concrete. When I accidentally spill some seed in my gravel driveway I get excellent germination in the gravel. I've gotten pretty good stands of grain rye even just broadcasting seed onto the top of bare clay soil--no ground prep, fertilizer or lime, and I'm talking about acidic clay soils with a pH below 5.0
 
BSK said:
The major problem I have with "feed" wheat is the high percentage of weed seed in the mix. After using feed wheat several years in a row, I now have some highly noxious weeds in my plots that are not native to the area. I prefer to pay extra and get "certified" wheat seed (certifed germination rates and weed-free).

Honestly, of all the cereal grains, grain rye is the easiest to grow. I swear it will grow on concrete. When I accidentally spill some seed in my gravel driveway I get excellent germination in the gravel. I've gotten pretty good stands of grain rye even just broadcasting seed onto the top of bare clay soil--no ground prep, fertilizer or lime, and I'm talking about acidic clay soils with a pH below 5.0
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I agree,its not the best,but with 1- 2 " of dirt over rock,hate to see him waste money on anything.
 
Grain rye will grow in 2" of soil. It's not the most attractive or nutrition food for deer, but it is a good soil builder over time. Just mow it down year after year and it will add humus to the topsoil.
 
BSK said:
The major problem I have with "feed" wheat is the high percentage of weed seed in the mix. After using feed wheat several years in a row, I now have some highly noxious weeds in my plots that are not native to the area. I prefer to pay extra and get "certified" wheat seed (certifed germination rates and weed-free).
Click to expand...

Good info Bryan and I competely agree. I made the mistake of using "bin-run" wheat last year, and paid dearly. Most of my newly planted clover plots were overrun with ryegrass that was in the wheat seed. Fortunately, I have been able to mow and spray the plots to take care of the problem, but it's been a lot of work.

You can also use "VNS" wheat (variety not stated), and it will work just fine as well. It can be bought at the CO-OP or local farm supply stores.
 

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