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Post by smsmith on Feb 17, 2023 12:33:29 GMT -6
That makes perfect sense to me. I agree that in your area a good clover/alfalfa field draws more deer than anything else (except during winter anyway). You are close to a bunch of great lakes in that area, you could fish a different lake for many days before you'd have to fish the same one again if you didn't want to. The hay fields up there are an unbelievable draw for the deer, so I think this will be a good change. I was briefly considering renting out most of my tillable to the highest bidder (that was a guy who would run a continuous corn rotation) and then keep out about 6 acres of tillable land for me to do food plots. I was going to plant a clover/alfalfa mix there since I thought that would be a great draw for a deer. Then the more I thought about the effort that would take on my part since I have minimal equipment up there, the less I liked that plan. I went with a farmer who actually offered the lowest rental dollar amount per acre, but he seemed like the most trustworthy and his hay plan would give me some solid deer food with no effort on my end. I'm definitely losing some winter food I had with the former corn/bean rotation, but I don't think it will negatively impact our deer harvest up there. It seems like we usually have good luck in the early bow season on field edges, but all the action during the rut and gun season happens in the thick swamp without regard to crop rotation. Now that my boys are getting older and are really into fishing, we've been spending more time at the cabin fishing. The panfish are pretty stunted in most areas in Rusk County, but there is some really good walleye fishing along with some random bonus fish that taste pretty good - channel cats, rock bass, northerns, smallmouth bass. It has taken a while, but we now have some pretty decent fishing patterns and locations for pretty much the entire fishing season up there. We have a really solid milk run of spots now and we typically can count on a great fish fry every time up there. Throw in some pretty decent trout fishing up there and it made it hard to justify giving up all that good fishing to mess around with food plots. Time will tell if this plan is a good one or not, but my kids and dad all think this is a good idea. Going to the cottage/cabin should be fun. Your thought processes make sense to me. Kids aren't kids forever, it won't be too many years and they may be too cool to want to hang out with you and Grandpa.
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Post by Sandbur on Feb 17, 2023 16:22:01 GMT -6
I would rather fish than work on foodplots as well. On the north Sandbox, I do very little anymore but just occasional timber harvests. On the Sandbox at home, 3-4 acres of corn put in by the farmer who rents my place is enough. On the rental acres it is about 40% alfalfa and the rest is corn. Sometimes silage, sometime combined. I have no idea what ‘cut corn’ means to some who post things in other places. I've had about an acre of a clover mix as a plot up there as long as I've had the place. It was pretty nice looking when I took the time to work on it, but the last few years it has been pretty pathetic looking. It should be interesting to see how it turns out with a farmer taking over that plot section as well. It has taken a few years, but we've finally found a few pretty good patterns for walleyes on lakes up by my cabin so that is impacting my food plot decisions as well. I can spend a couple weekends to create a marginal food plot (that likely won't impact our deer hunting success one way or the other) or spend those same weekends catching great tasting walleyes. I've made my decision! I really enjoy working on plots and habitat work when I can walk out my back door at home, so I'm spoiled in that regard. I don't get the same enjoyment at my cabin where it seems like all I do is work when I go up there, so I'm looking forward to seeing how this works out. Before my cabin burned, we spent lots of time on maintenance and repair. It was good at that time in life. Now I mow my camping spot in mid August and that is about it.
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Post by Foggy on Feb 17, 2023 17:12:53 GMT -6
Well.....I dont understand why I cannot post a picture here. So......I found a picture on the Great Plains site......and this is what my new drill looks like. Kinda excited to put it to wok. My Tar River is going down the road tommorow.....and I sold my two row JD 71 planter to a friend. Picked up a used Herd Spin-Spreader for SD yesterday in Wisconsin. I'm starting to feel like a machinery jockey again. . Fun. I chose this brand as they have the best seed delivery system......and two seed boxes for small and larger seeds. I also like the closing wheels, a 4 speed transmission for seed delivery, the seed adjustments, and the quality and durability of this product. It's a multi-generational tool (if it works up to my expectations). The five foot width stays behind my tractor tires.....so I got a built in row marker and you dont beat the drill against brush and trees if you plant along the treeline.
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Post by smsmith on Feb 21, 2023 7:59:00 GMT -6
Sitting on the porch drinking coffee in the sun and dreaming of bare ground at home.
I've been helping the neighbor do about a one acre plot for a couple years now. Last year, we let it go fallow from spring green up until June, then I nuked it a couple times to get ready for brassica/crimson clover plot. The plot turned out "ok" but plenty of weed pressure still.
A couple times now I've considered frost seeding/packing oats early in spring, then using 2-4D or some other broadleaf herbicide to get a handle on non-grassy weeds. We'd need to terminate the oats in July somehow in order to plant brassicas. I know we could mow them off with Billy Goat mowers (we each have one), but that sounds like an awful lot of work. Would a finish cut tow behind mower be able to deal with oats? I'm guessing not. I could terminate with glyphosate and seed into the stubble, then cultipack/drive over the oats I suppose.
I don't think he'll be buying any new plotting equipment, nor will I. So we'll do this with what we've got.
Anybody got any thoughts?
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Post by Sandbur on Feb 21, 2023 9:36:06 GMT -6
Sitting on the porch drinking coffee in the sun and dreaming of bare ground at home. I've been helping the neighbor do about a one acre plot for a couple years now. Last year, we let it go fallow from spring green up until June, then I nuked it a couple times to get ready for brassica/crimson clover plot. The plot turned out "ok" but plenty of weed pressure still. A couple times now I've considered frost seeding/packing oats early in spring, then using 2-4D or some other broadleaf herbicide to get a handle on non-grassy weeds. We'd need to terminate the oats in July somehow in order to plant brassicas. I know we could mow them off with Billy Goat mowers (we each have one), but that sounds like an awful lot of work. Would a finish cut tow behind mower be able to deal with oats? I'm guessing not. I could terminate with glyphosate and seed into the stubble, then cultipack/drive over the oats I suppose. I don't think he'll be buying any new plotting equipment, nor will I. So we'll do this with what we've got. Anybody got any thoughts? Plant in early spring with oats, red clover, annual clover and throw in a handful or turnips. Once and done, except maybe a mowing or two? Succotash
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Post by Foggy on Feb 21, 2023 10:19:14 GMT -6
Sitting on the porch drinking coffee in the sun and dreaming of bare ground at home. I've been helping the neighbor do about a one acre plot for a couple years now. Last year, we let it go fallow from spring green up until June, then I nuked it a couple times to get ready for brassica/crimson clover plot. The plot turned out "ok" but plenty of weed pressure still. A couple times now I've considered frost seeding/packing oats early in spring, then using 2-4D or some other broadleaf herbicide to get a handle on non-grassy weeds. We'd need to terminate the oats in July somehow in order to plant brassicas. I know we could mow them off with Billy Goat mowers (we each have one), but that sounds like an awful lot of work. Would a finish cut tow behind mower be able to deal with oats? I'm guessing not. I could terminate with glyphosate and seed into the stubble, then cultipack/drive over the oats I suppose. I don't think he'll be buying any new plotting equipment, nor will I. So we'll do this with what we've got. Anybody got any thoughts? Plant in early spring with oats, red clover, annual clover and throw in a handful or turnips. Once and done, except maybe a mowing or two? Succotash If you dont terminate the oats....wont they reseed themselves? At that point you will have a mess of oats.....IMO. Best to terminate those oats with a shot of Gly.....and overseed with your brassica mix. find some kind of drag or a packer to pull over the oats if you want to knock em down a bit. You could mow some strips and compare which works better. I'd bet it wont matter much. My experience in mowing oats with a finish mower is not good. That stuff seems to wrap pretty fast. I remember having to sawzall rye and oats out of my tiller one year....vowed never again.
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Post by smsmith on Feb 21, 2023 10:21:32 GMT -6
Sitting on the porch drinking coffee in the sun and dreaming of bare ground at home. I've been helping the neighbor do about a one acre plot for a couple years now. Last year, we let it go fallow from spring green up until June, then I nuked it a couple times to get ready for brassica/crimson clover plot. The plot turned out "ok" but plenty of weed pressure still. A couple times now I've considered frost seeding/packing oats early in spring, then using 2-4D or some other broadleaf herbicide to get a handle on non-grassy weeds. We'd need to terminate the oats in July somehow in order to plant brassicas. I know we could mow them off with Billy Goat mowers (we each have one), but that sounds like an awful lot of work. Would a finish cut tow behind mower be able to deal with oats? I'm guessing not. I could terminate with glyphosate and seed into the stubble, then cultipack/drive over the oats I suppose. I don't think he'll be buying any new plotting equipment, nor will I. So we'll do this with what we've got. Anybody got any thoughts? Plant in early spring with oats, red clover, annual clover and throw in a handful or turnips. Once and done, except maybe a mowing or two? Succotash Neighbor prefers a pure brassica stand for fall/winter
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Post by smsmith on Feb 21, 2023 10:46:18 GMT -6
Plant in early spring with oats, red clover, annual clover and throw in a handful or turnips. Once and done, except maybe a mowing or two? Succotash If you dont terminate the oats....wont they reseed themselves? At that point you will have a mess of oats.....IMO. Best to terminate those oats with a shot of Gly.....and overseed with your brassica mix. find some kind of drag or a packer to pull over the oats if you want to knock em down a bit. You could mow some strips and compare which works better. I'd bet it wont matter much. My experience in mowing oats with a finish mower is not good. That stuff seems to wrap pretty fast. I remember having to sawzall rye and oats out of my tiller one year....vowed never again. The oats reseeding themselves wouldn't be my biggest concern, it'd be more that the brassicas would have too much competition and not amount to much. I've got a 50" cultipacker so that's covered. We did mow some thick grass last year with the finish mower and it went "ok". I think a decent stand of oats may be another story though. I'm kind of tempted to just nuke the oats with two separate shots of gly 7-10 days apart to make sure I get a good kill, broadcast the brassica seed and hope for rain. Maybe go for a ride over the plot with the Ranger to pack them. I have a feeling the oats would get wrapped up big time in my cultipacker too.
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Post by terrifictom on Feb 21, 2023 11:46:47 GMT -6
Could you just leave it barren. Spray multiple times so all weeds are killed and then broadcast your brassica seed in July. You could drag something behind 4 wheeler to break up the crust on top of soil before broadcasting and then run cultipacker over it.
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Post by smsmith on Feb 21, 2023 11:58:57 GMT -6
Could you just leave it barren. Spray multiple times so all weeds are killed and then broadcast your brassica seed in July. You could drag something behind 4 wheeler to break up the crust on top of soil before broadcasting and then run cultipacker over it. I could. That's what I did last year. The issue is that the weeds get established and dump shittons of seed that then compete with the brassicas later in the year. Mouse ear chickweed especially is a problem. If I could keep a few years worth of the stuff from setting seed, it may help with ongoing weed control.
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Post by benmnwi on Feb 21, 2023 12:30:27 GMT -6
If you dont terminate the oats....wont they reseed themselves? At that point you will have a mess of oats.....IMO. Best to terminate those oats with a shot of Gly.....and overseed with your brassica mix. find some kind of drag or a packer to pull over the oats if you want to knock em down a bit. You could mow some strips and compare which works better. I'd bet it wont matter much. My experience in mowing oats with a finish mower is not good. That stuff seems to wrap pretty fast. I remember having to sawzall rye and oats out of my tiller one year....vowed never again. The oats reseeding themselves wouldn't be my biggest concern, it'd be more that the brassicas would have too much competition and not amount to much. I've got a 50" cultipacker so that's covered. We did mow some thick grass last year with the finish mower and it went "ok". I think a decent stand of oats may be another story though. I'm kind of tempted to just nuke the oats with two separate shots of gly 7-10 days apart to make sure I get a good kill, broadcast the brassica seed and hope for rain. Maybe go for a ride over the plot with the Ranger to pack them. I have a feeling the oats would get wrapped up big time in my cultipacker too. Your plan will work well. I typically use oats as a cover crop before planting brassicas in July (I also sometimes add in field peas with the oats). I plant the oats in an attempt to add a little organic matter to my sandy soil. I've mowed them with my brush hog and also left them standing and it really didn't make much difference. You just want to make sure you get good herbicide coverage on the weeds that are hiding under the tall oats. Your plan to spray twice is a good one. Sometimes the standing oats can shield some of the weeds from the herbicide, but two sprayings would likely take care of that. I have a bunch of turkeys, so most of the viable standing oat seed is eaten before it can germinate. If you mow the oats you will likely have more volunteer oat seed germinating since some of that seed will be hidden under the mower clippings where wildlife will have a tougher time finding it. After spraying, I just broadcast my brassica seed right into the oats and walk away. The shade from the oats and the dead stuff on the ground seems to provide a pretty good growing environment for the brassica seed if you get any rain. The brassicas will grow right up through the dead standing oats and by fall it will be hard to tell the oats were even there. The brassicas tend to take off about the same time that the oats break down. You will get some volunteer oats growing, but in my experience it has not been enough to harm the brassicas.
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Post by terrifictom on Feb 21, 2023 12:34:11 GMT -6
Could you just leave it barren. Spray multiple times so all weeds are killed and then broadcast your brassica seed in July. You could drag something behind 4 wheeler to break up the crust on top of soil before broadcasting and then run cultipacker over it. I could. That's what I did last year. The issue is that the weeds get established and dump shittons of seed that then compete with the brassicas later in the year. Mouse ear chickweed especially is a problem. If I could keep a few years worth of the stuff from setting seed, it may help with ongoing weed control. What I described above was what I did my 1st year I owned my land. I think I sprayed Roundup 3 times, had pretty much bare dirt and nothing growing when I broadcasted my brassicas. Probably my best brassica plot ever. But I do under stand weed seed setting in soil in future years.
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Post by smsmith on Feb 22, 2023 7:57:10 GMT -6
I did a quick search on H-T and here but didn't find what I was looking for.
Somewhere there was a thread about planting winter rye in the spring. I'm wondering if that wouldn't be as good an option for what I'm considering as any? I'm not interested in getting any grain, all I'm looking for is something that can be frost seeded and that I can go over the top with broadleaf killer a couple times.
...edit, found the thread on H-T
Guy over there was pretty adamant about spring planted winter rye not getting over 12-14" tall. That would be about ideal for terminating with gly via atv sprayer.
I wonder if I can find any left over winter rye (certified, not bin run) when I get home...
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Post by Foggy on Feb 22, 2023 9:09:04 GMT -6
I did a quick search on H-T and here but didn't find what I was looking for. Somewhere there was a thread about planting winter rye in the spring. I'm wondering if that wouldn't be as good an option for what I'm considering as any? I'm not interested in getting any grain, all I'm looking for is something that can be frost seeded and that I can go over the top with broadleaf killer a couple times. ...edit, found the thread on H-T Guy over there was pretty adamant about spring planted winter rye not getting over 12-14" tall. That would be about ideal for terminating with gly via atv sprayer. I wonder if I can find any left over winter rye (certified, not bin run) when I get home... I bought 1200 lbs of winter rye from Welters about a week ago.....along with my other seeds for the year. I'm having it shipped here in mid may.
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Post by smsmith on Feb 22, 2023 9:14:19 GMT -6
I did a quick search on H-T and here but didn't find what I was looking for. Somewhere there was a thread about planting winter rye in the spring. I'm wondering if that wouldn't be as good an option for what I'm considering as any? I'm not interested in getting any grain, all I'm looking for is something that can be frost seeded and that I can go over the top with broadleaf killer a couple times. ...edit, found the thread on H-T Guy over there was pretty adamant about spring planted winter rye not getting over 12-14" tall. That would be about ideal for terminating with gly via atv sprayer. I wonder if I can find any left over winter rye (certified, not bin run) when I get home... I bought 1200 lbs of winter rye from Welters about a week ago.....along with my other seeds for the year. I'm having it shipped here in mid may. I'm a cheapskate. I don't want to pay shipping. I checked on two bags of winter rye from Albert Lea seeds. Shipping was more than the seed. If I can find a couple bags locally for 50% more than the AL seed price, I'd be money ahead.
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