Winter Wheat

[barrelburner]

What experience have you guys had with winter wheat? Due to work and rain, I planted all the fields in winter wheat this past fall just to have something, and I have seen deer in it. But more times than not, they will eat around the edge of the wheat in the old stuff. The turkeys on the other hand are a different story.

 

[LA man]

i plant it every year, it doesnt have much nutritional value but its something in their belly. and turkeys love it

 

[BSK]

Winter wheat is a pretty good winter food plot crop, as are oats, annual clovers, winter peas, brassicas, etc.

 

[Football Hunter]

its easy to grow,if nothing else

 

[Boone 58]

Deer love it on our plots and tear it up until april first and then never touch it again.
It grows excellently and seems to be the best crop we plant in Wayne county. we always mix ladino clover with it to the tune of about 2#s per 100#s of wheat. We dont need much since we have been planting it over and over again for 7 years and we always get a good re-seeding from the established clover there. The deer pound it.

 

[DWM]

it doesnt have much nutritional value but its something in their belly.

That is not correct. Wheat does have very good nutritional value up until the point where it goes into a full head. Then it starts dropping off as everything the plant has goes into producing seed. It will be late May before this starts to happen. By then the deer have plenty of other things to eat anyway.

 

[BSK]

That is not correct. Wheat does have very good nutritional value up until the point where it goes into a full head. Then it starts dropping off as everything the plant has goes into producing seed. It will be late May before this starts to happen. By then the deer have plenty of other things to eat anyway.

Correct. Winter wheat is actually a pretty good source of carbohydrates/starches, which can be burned for energy during the cold winter months.

 

[woodchuckc]

My wheat and oat (both with turnips mixed in) plots have been mowed down from about 10" tall to a nicely trimmed 2" height in the last week or so with the cold weather. They won't do that to fescue unless they are truly starving in my experience (but they do actively browse on the weeds and clover scattered in it).

The other nice thing about wheat/oats is that when we get a several day long warm spell, they will put on a growth spurt and provide some extra "fresh" nutrition. Like most plants, they are the most nutritious and digestible when actively growing.

 

[BSK]

They won't do that to fescue unless they are truly starving in my experience (but they do actively browse on the weeds and clover scattered in it).

Deer often feed in fescue fields to pick out the clovers and other native legumes that are usually mixed with the fescue. But if you see deer actually eating fescue, your herd is in trouble. Deer cannot digest fescue. It is a starvation food for deer.

 

[litilman]

buck wheat is a great food source for winter. i have bear spots in my field from them eating it so much.

 

[Football Hunter]

buck wheat is a great food source for winter. i have bear spots in my field from them eating it so much.

Really,I didnt know it would grow in winter?

 

[TheLBLman]

buck wheat is a great food source for winter. i have bear spots in my field from them eating it so much.

Really,I didnt know it would grow in winter?

Imagine that!
Learn something new every day.

 

[BSK]

buck wheat is a great food source for winter. i have bear spots in my field from them eating it so much.

Really,I didnt know it would grow in winter?

Buckwheat doesn't grow in winter. It is killed by freezing temps.

 

[woodchuckc]

I know that young buckwheat can't stand the cold for sure. A few years ago I thought I was doing good and got an early start on my summer plots. I planted one in buckwheat in mid April and had one of those late frosts in the second week of May. The buckwheat was up and about 2" tall, and it killed every bit of it.

 

[W.Seay]

"Our Deer" LOVE winter wheat!!

 

[BSK]

Buckwheat is a summer annual. It is killed by freezing temperatures.

 

[Football Hunter]

buck wheat is a great food source for winter. i have bear spots in my field from them eating it so much.

Really,I didnt know it would grow in winter?

Imagine that!
Learn something new every day.

Have I done something to you,seem to be taking me to task on everything today?