new food plot strategy for 2015
Whitetail Deer
For the last 20 or so years one of my favorite deer food plots has been soybeans left standing for really season long feed and hunting ( really great in late season ).
The problem ........ over the last 10 years my turkey pops have skyrocketed . a couple days ago I counted 40 turkeys in one 1/2 acre bean plot . That many turkeys will pick a bean plot clean in just a few days .
I may have to rethink my food plots for the future . I already plant some turnips but what other brassicas or anything else would be a good replacement for my soybean plots ? Something that the turkeys wont wipe out .
any suggestions welcome
Nutritionist should chime in soon. I planted purple top turnips August 17th and $10 worth of seed planted about 1/2 acre. They grew like crazy! The deer have been eating the tops and now the bulbs. I picked some last weekend and made turnip, potato and onion soup. Not bad. I also plant winter oats in mid to late August and overseed with clover. I do soy in the spring but plow them under before planting the oats, turnips and clover. I like playing around with planting different things but I'm a total amateur and always enjoy reading Nutritionist's recommendations.
I plan on corn planted at the regular season and then sow in wheat about the first of September. I'll then knock the corn over so I can shoot across it out of my permanent ground blind. Deer here love winter wheat and the following early spring I'll sow in alfalfa or clover for summer. The corn is Round up Ready so bare dirt will be the seed bed for the wheat. This kill plot is about 1/2 an acre or more and other stands are in the area also.
yea I did a test backyard plot Forage oats and winter greens and turnips , lt took off good easy to grow
Winfred Kale. I planted some this past August that was part of a seed blend.
It got huge. Leaves were the size of dinner plates and got to be about 30 inches tall. Tons of forage. the deer hammered it once it froze.
I have planted oats several times ..... not that impressed
anyone ever tried sunflowers ?
In the past, I have planted 12 acres to RR soybeans that I do not harvest. It has been an excellent draw; however, this past year the deer hammered them to the point they never got over 10 inches tall at the tallest. They still but on a few pods per plant though.
I am still going to put in half the acres to soybeans; however, I am going to put the other 1/2 into Winfred Brassica. Does it hurt to plant the Brassica a little sooner that Fall? Since it will take some grazing, I was thinking of planting in June. What's other opinion of that.
I was planning on using the alfalfa seeder on my Van Brundt drill and was going to prepare the ground as if I am planting alfalfa (i.e. smooth, firm, weed-less, seed bed). What have other done for soil preparation?
Also, Walks with a Gimp, I am refurbishing a JD 494A planter. Eventually, I want to try some dry land corn, what brand/number have you used for best success in NE?
Not all brassicas and turnips are created equal. There are varieties running 42 to 150 days in maturity. Brassicas are like corn. You can't plant the same corn in Wisconsin as one does in North Carolina.
What brassicas one should plant should be matched with soil pH, time of planting, soil type and equipment.
If one plants sugar beets less than 1/2 deep you are rolling the dice. Sugar beets don't like water.
Brassicas vary from 12" tall to 5' tall. Brassicas can be very palatable and consumed all year long or rarely touched. There are many interested brassicas i'll be bringing into the market in the next 2 years and they are all higher sugar, multi graze and can be planted on more soil types.
