brassica question
Whitetail Deer
On the property I hunt I have an old pasture overgrown with poplar and sycamore saplings. Little by little I have been cleaning these out and planting plots and fruit trees and when ever I find an oak sapling in there I leave it of course, along with a wild cherry here and there. The property belongs to a family member that allows me to hunt and plant plots and he wants this thicket gone, so I am making that happen.
I have been down with a bad back that is the result of dragging two worn out knees around for the past five years. I only ended up with a 1/4 to a 1/3 of an acre cleared out this summer. I plan to try to get some more cleaned up, but not sure how the back and knees will hold up. How late in August can I plant the dwarf Essex and the ptt and still get some growth?
Soil tests are taken and I have the fertilizer on hand so I am ready to go. If it dries out a bit I will be in there late this week. I am in west central Indiana, right on the Illinois border. Thanks in advance for any input.
By the way-I have applied for early retirement and have knee replacement scheduled for December, so next spring I should feel better and actually have some time to do things right! Mike
Hows the deer herd there, 1/3 acre will be mowed by 3 to 4 deer, ? If you have any other exposed soils , you can also plant will help, It does not have to be neat or in nice rows, small kill plots take more deer with a bow then big ones. You still should be good to plant now. U have a disc , seeder , broad cast speader ?
I have a disc and broadcast spreader. The brassicas will be next to a 1/2 acre clover plot and the access trail that is close to 300 yards is in clover as well. There is a skidder trail adjacent to this new plot that I planned to just let grow native, but it is still bare after two years. May hit it with some lime/fertilizer and seed it too. It's not very much area. To the north there is 2 acres that is in a milo, sunflower mix and once that came up I went over the light spots with a 4 clover mix. With the weather we are having it will probably be closer to the middle of August before I can get anything into the ground. Lot of rain and the I would tear the access roads up just trying to get in there.
I'd get planted what you can now and continue to work clearing the thicket. That way you'll more likely to have some bulbs and considerably more forage. If it gets to late in August for the rest, I'd probably go with a mixture of oats, cereal rye and red clover and plan on discing that under for brassicas next July. Just my .02
elkaddict-I appreciate your input and what you suggest is what I will probably end up doing. Unlike a lot of the country, my are has been blessed with plenty of rain. Great for what is in the ground but makes it tough to get much work done! Thanks for the feedback-
I would think the optimum time would be mid to late August but early September should give you some growth.
I would think the optimum time would be mid to late August but early September should give you some growth.
