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| What to plant ? Atv trails ? | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Mar 8 2015, 07:37 PM (831 Views) | |
| bulldown | Mar 8 2015, 07:37 PM Post #1 |
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Hey guys looking for some advice. We are going to Plant some feed on all the atv trails on our property..they don't get used all too often, and when they are used during the summer everyone stays to one main trail..in saying that we want to harrow all the other trails and plant some food old Bambi likes.. Clover I assume is an obvious choice, but what kind of clover.?I was also thinking trefoil, winter wheat. I was even thinking plain old grass? We are in wmu 56 by norland to give you an idea of the landscape. Any help would be great..we do plan on doing a lime spread following our use of the drag harrows prior to seeding. |
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| Renegade | Mar 8 2015, 09:19 PM Post #2 |
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Atikokan, Ontario
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White clover and lime is my pick.
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Bocephus_86
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Mar 9 2015, 02:52 PM Post #3 |
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Double cut red clover is cheaper and it seems to attract deer just as well as white....to keep costs down, you may want to look at doing a mix of the two. We did similar at our hunt camp a few years ago after we had the timber logged off of it....we frost seeded almost all of the skid ways with clover...the deer loved it (as did we ) and the grouse too!
Edited by Bocephus_86, Mar 9 2015, 02:52 PM.
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| bulldown | Mar 9 2015, 04:02 PM Post #4 |
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When u say frost seeded...can u explain further...spring frost or winter frost? |
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Bocephus_86
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Mar 10 2015, 10:24 AM Post #5 |
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Spring...when the temps still get cold enough at night to stiffen up the ground but thaws enough during the day to make it muddy....the natural freeze/thaw process allows for great soil to seed contact. |
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| Friggs | Mar 10 2015, 12:17 PM Post #6 |
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Hey Bulldown, Welcome to the forum and I see your just east of my location. I'm in Carden Twp. near Lake Dalrymple and I drive through Norland quite often. Not certain if you have any experience or what type of equipment you have for food plots but you did mention drag harrows. You got some good advise already from Bocephus and Renegade regarding clovers which I agree are the best for your situation. Clovers will handle some traffic and shade and is also a perennial and will last for several years if looked after. It can be eaten down to almost nothing and it will bounce back in early spring. That all being said...don't rush and just throw down the seed, you won't be happy with that outcome. Start off this spring and through summer by preparing the seed bed and soil for a early fall planting. I always recommend doing a soil test first to see where you stand and how much lime and fertilizer you need and the cost. Then spray Round-up along the trail around late May early June and come back 2 weeks later spread your lime and disc/drag the soil and work in your lime. Come back again in 2-3 weeks if there are lots of small weeds/plants then spray again, if not just disc/drag again. Keep doing this about 3-4 times till mid-late August where you will plant a nurse crop such as winter rye grain (not rye grass) or winter wheat or a combination with oats at 50 lbs/ac. Slightly disc/drag the grain seeds and fertilizer (6-24-24) and roll after, then lightly broadcast your clover seeds on top and roll again. Try to plan your seeding just before a good rain and stay off the trail as much as possible till next spring. Come spring and once the nurse crop starts forming a seed head cut/mow the nurse crop just above the clover 6"-8" and that should kill the nurse crop. The deer will feed on the young nurse crop that fall and into winter and come spring the rye and clover will take off. Then all it needs is mowing 2-3 times and some fertilizer once or twice through the growing season. Keep an eye out for grasses which can take over your clover plot and might need some different attention like sprayng. I would plant a combination of clovers to see which ones works for you. Try Alice White, Ladino white, Double cut red and Alsike clover and maybe some chicory if you like all at equal amounts at 8-10 lbs/ac. Chicory needs lots of sun and might not do good on your shaded trails so keep that in mind. My deer love white clover and chicory and mowed down a 1/4 acre I had by gun season. I'm going to frost seed this same combination into a 1/2 acre I have of rye and red clover in 2-3 weeks. How many acres of trails are you planting ? I hope this helps....Friggs Bulldown, I just noticed that your not new to this forum sorry brain fart. Friggs Edited by Friggs, Mar 10 2015, 12:25 PM.
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| bulldown | Mar 11 2015, 04:02 PM Post #7 |
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Oh I would say we r doing about 1km of trails that route through the land.. Everything mentioned is a great help..if we plant some in the spring would it be ready for fall...most of the guys in my camp don't believe me that this will help, so they aren't to gunho about doing all the work.. If we disced and harrow the trails and throw some lime out..could we seed 3 weeks after that? Or throw the lime pellets and seed at the same time ? If I can show them it will grow and work maybe i can convince them to put in some More labor next year and do it properly.. |
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| Friggs | Mar 20 2015, 05:52 PM Post #8 |
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Bulldown, Depending on what kind of lime you use it could take 10-18 months to lower your PH. Without a soil test you won't know if your putting out enough lime or not, could be a waist of time and money if you don't do a test. I figured six foot wide trail at a kilometer long your almost half an acre. I'm not certain which way your trails run (N,S,E,W) try cutting some trees or girdle them along south edge of your trails to allow more sun on to your trail. I would start off doing a small piece of your trails, look for a good dry spot which has at least 4-6 hours of sun. This way it won't cost much and won't take much work. Make sure you place a trail camera on that site so you can show the guys at your camp and also make sure its under/near a tree stand. Do a soil test along that portion so you can see what you need in soil amendments. If you plant this fall with rye and clover you will get deer hitting the rye during deer hunting season and next spring the clover will take off and feed deer the next couple of years of deer hunting. Friggs |
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