Contributors to this thread:
Which is more nutritious for the deer? I see that oat is cheaper. Not really addressing the 'winter' type planting, but rather the fall grain from spring/summer plantings.
Nutrition wise, my customers plant oats for the horses. (I only assume that if it's better for horses it's also better for deer) I think the deer prefer the taste of wheat. The deer rarely eat in the "horse" fields in the fall.
Thanks. So you would think that if I plant 2 areas side by side they would gonerize the wheat grain before the oat grain - assuming they don't disappear one or the other while green?
I think green is good no matter what it is but based on what I see on the farm they would choose wheat all day everyday. What they eat on my customers property is the stuff that grows among the oats. I don't think the oats are palatable to them at all. The oats are probably more nutritious but taste bad. (I'm also in an area that has plenty of other choices nearby)
I now implore you to do some of both and let us know your results. I am curious what your findings will be.
My findings here in farm country are that oats are a good choice while only a few inches tall, seems once they get past that 5" height the deer ignore them except to bed in. Wheat will feed longer. When it comes to the actual oat seed, must not taste good as crusader mentioned. I've mixed corn and oats in a spin feeder for the 'pet' deer at our cottage in Michigan for legal viewing purposes. They don't touch the oats till food options get real scarce
Plant strips of winter rye, rape, ptt/radish in mid july. Hit the ptt/radish labor day with 46/0/0. The rape after killing oct frost is cocaine, the ptt/radish is winter vidals and the winterrye in spring is great for turkey/deer health. So fall plot, rape and pumpkins the rest is for the tuff time for critters, winter/spring.
I have posted a classic thread in regard to winter rye versus wheat. Everything I have read shows winter rye as a better protein source than oats and wheat but there are variables. Take the time to peruse that thread.
For my spring plantings, I used a combination of GRO's Soil Builder mix, Fast Gro mix, along with clover. I added additional Buckwheat to areas that are more bare (sandy soil) than need more OM. My plots that didn't flood in the spring have clovers and winter rye from last fall coming up too. I added Chicory to one of my plots.
Similar to alldone4, my fall plot mix is winter rye, oats, Austrian winter peas, clover, and then whatever brassicas mix I concoct. I got a blend this year from GRO called Brassica Bonanza which is 25% Winfred, 25% Kale, 20% Rutabaga, 10% Radish, 10% Pasja, 10% Swiss Chard. I got another mix from Hancock Seeds called Deer Greens which is 25% Kale, 25% Radish, 25% PTT, and 25% Rape. That will provide quite the cafeteria style.
The Brassicas and AWP will be broadcast before a rain in late July to early August. The rest goes in later August. I will also hit the Brassicas with urea (46/0/0) after 3 weeks of growth.
thanks folks. How do we apply urea without a burn?
"I am curious what your findings will be. " Guess I'll need to throw rye in there too. Anybody have a source for small quantities of this? I normally plant a bunch of things mixed together but I'd be happy to plant a pound of each separate to see what happens. I can get small quantity oats, who is sending me a pound each of rye and wheat. Not buying 50# of it :D
Small bags on eBay if no one locally has some to share
You should be able to pick up a small quantity of seed at any feed mill or local farmers and not have to pay BOB prices.
As far as applying Urea if you can get it on right before a rain you will be OK. It is highly volatile and if you don't apply before a rain you will lose nitrogen into the atmosphere as it reacts with water in the air to form ammonium + carbon dioxide.
It is best to incorporate if possible and allow it to react with moisture in the soil and bind with the soil particles. If you broadcast it on top do it before an impending rain event so that it will be washed down into the soil. So either side dressing and working it in or broadcasting right before rain will both work.
Good Luck!
A 56 lb bag of wr is $14. Dont get rye grass.
Thanks again everyone. alldone, what do I do with the other 50+ pounds? LOL
14 bucks for 56lbs? Is that just going to the feed mill and asking for rye feed like planting feed oats? I do that with cover crop oats often(8 bucks per 50lbs last week) rather than buying actual seed oats. I realize there's a chance of weed seeds but I'm not to concerned as these usually get hit by gly mid/late summer anyways
Not sure they'll have "rye feed". Never asked for it. Get a bag of seed.
If you're in the Madison area, and you only want a little bit, I have an open bag from last year. (Not sure you'll get any 'new' seed before August.) I would be glad to share a bucket with you. PM me.
I did a side by side comparison of oats (BFO) and winter rye a few years ago. Planted in August. The rye is much hardier and the animals ate both during the fall. I could not determine they had any preference. I have never let either go to seed for them to eat the grain, though. I use them as cover crops for clover or alfalfa. I have also used wheat with same result. The grain just becomes next years weeds in that situation.
In Wisconsin, oats does not survive past the first hard freeze - ~early December down year. That is fine if all you want is a fall plot and then a nice seedbed for something else in the spring. If you want something for them through the winter and the stress period in spring, you will want winter wheat or winter rye. As mentioned, much hardier.
I paid $13 for 50# from West Bend Elevator last year for Winter Rye. It was good seed. They carry lots of different seed there as well as some of John's GRO products.
I read about a really cool test plot - Cool-season grains planted side by side. Here is what they found -
Oats were selected first, and grazed on more than the others. Rye was the second choice. Triticale (a hybrid or rye and wheat) was selected similar to Rye. Wheat was selected less than the above. All of the above choices are selected forages of deer - they are excellent for deer! Don't let Wheat being last deter you from planting, still an excellent grain. The deer never grazed on Barley. There is, of course, more to this story. Whatever you decide, choose a winter hardy variety. Planting in the late summer provides awesome nutrition and attraction. You can't go wrong with Winter Wheat. BC
Early spring thru the snow the deer/turkey love the wr.
