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| Food Plot Specie Confusion | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Sep 5 2012, 09:04 PM (1,704 Views) | |
Chago
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Sep 5 2012, 09:04 PM Post #1 |
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Ok so I used the rack stacker product. I believe its called Super Buck, sells in a pail for about $150 I believe. Its a mixture of clovers, kale, rape, brassicas and turnips. Well I planted in spring and obviously we all shared that brutal dry summer. Well my crop did ok, its nice lush and green but slightly stunted. It seems I have about 90% clovers. Will the brassicas even come through or the turnips? sorry this is my first plot so excuse my newbiness. From my understanding turnips and brassicas sprout in the fall and not all summer. So here are my thoughts and tell me if I'm right or wrong? My plan is to leave it alone this year, its too late to make any changes now I imagine??? tell me if I can still do something without destroying the hunting season. Then in the spring tear up the entire plot, plant the further half away from my stand with the same rack stacker mixture in early spring so that the deer have a food source all spring and summer. Then leave half of it as dirt and plant it late summer with pure brassicas for hunting season. Is this what the pros do? Thanks |
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Xpedition archery Xring 7 - 70lb 30" draw | |
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coptordoctor
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Sep 6 2012, 06:49 AM Post #2 |
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I am in no way an expert but we planted a plot a few years ago that we planted with clover early and then in late July we planted turnip and Brassica it was simply amazing. I am not sure about the rach stacker stuff I planted it last year and barely had a sprout. Maybe just the year. I planted a new plot this year with 1/4 Winter Wheat 1/4 of a mixture of Turnips and double cut clover 1/4 of a special mixture made by a local feed store the Old Coop. It had everything in it Soy beans brassica turnip clover Kale among a few other things and the last 1/4 with a thing called all season Buffet both mixes are doing extremly well giving the late planting only a couple weeks now here are a few pictures I will try and get more online later after this rain I am hoping it really takes off the warm weather is sure helping.. ![]() ![]() This is the all season Buffet ![]() This is the old coop mix ![]() the winter Wheat is all around the middle ![]() And this is the mix of Turnips and clover ![]() Good luck with your plot I would think if the brassica is not up by now it won't be Clover must have choked it out. Next year I am planting a large area earlier with Whitetail institute Winter greens it was simply amazing the way this grew and the amount of deer it also drew in. |
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| Friggs | Sep 6 2012, 12:12 PM Post #3 |
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In late April 2010 I planted Super-uck from Rackstacker on a 1/4 acre kill plot in the woods. It grew quite nice with the spring rains and the bag of urea (200 lbs/ac) I added at 4 weeks after planting. It all ripened in about 90 days and was about 3-4 feet high and started to decompose in the early fall. Some deer, bear and other wildlife fed on the various brassica but the deer weren't to fond of it. I know this can happen in certain areas and others they mow it down. The following spring I frost seeded Amplified also from Rackstacker which is a mix of various clovers, alfalfa and trefoil. That also grew nice and I kept it mowed and fertilized. This late August I decided to disc in the clover and build my soil in this plot with rye/oats/peas/clover and next summer plant buckwheat. I'm hoping to do this for several years to build my organic matter. I think Super-uck should be planted in mid summer and/or 60-90 days before first frost so you have something for hunting season. Plus brassica is more appealing to deer after a couple of good frosts. Here is a young buck from the trail cam in the kill plot and didn't eat much. ![]() Here is my Super-uck at 60 days and my lab enjoying the view. Notice some of the volunteer rye grain in the upper left corner. ![]() Here is the Amplified from Rackstacker after a growing season and mowing in Sept. 2011. ![]() Friggs |
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bigr
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Sep 7 2012, 08:44 AM Post #4 |
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This year is an exception depending on where you live. Hot dry conditions with no rain as well as some soil conditions will cause little to no germination no mater what "brands" you plant, there all just seeds that need the right conditions. That being said , some "brands" list whats in them and have all the right words and some of the wrong words, trefoil being one as well as millet. Worthless to deer plots IMOP but the amounts of these seeds are in larger quantities which are also considered "filler" as well as dirt cheep. Some seeds require less or more moisture content in the soil as well as heat. eg, Corn. Corn can handle LOTS of heat will less rain then clovers. So depending on what "exactly" is in your mix and in what quantities are in there as well as weather conditions and soil will play a big part in the out come and what will germinate. I believe RS brand uses the Brassica for shading the clovers ect, but I suspect they didn't want you to plant this product in the spring ? If they do , That is a mistake IMOP as mentioned before , to get the bang for the buck out of the brassica , you don't want to plant it that early. Mid Augest in most areas. Now I suspect your brassicas flowered nice yellow flowers this summer ? If so you will be getting issues in your plot as shown by Friggs ( Nice plots by the way ) with volunteer plants. Seeds that went to the ground and plants are now growing because of these seeds. This is not what u want with brassica, yes with clover but not with brassica because deer eat the stuff after a few frosts or prefer it then. Now I suspect you will get this issue in a big way next year. If this is the case your options are , Next year mow it like crazy to help kill off the young brassicas as they come up or , do what I did . Redo the whole plot. I made a mistake planting radish to early and I should have known better but........ Fixed now and it will be better in the future Your plot I would mow now , let stand till the spring and kill it late spring to reseed with either clovers and buckwheat as a cover early or straight brassicas no sooner then mid Augest. Hope this helps. |
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| Friggs | Sep 7 2012, 08:01 PM Post #5 |
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I agree with Bigr in regards to volunteer growth such as Rape. By growing brassicas in early spring their is going to be volunteer growth from rape the following year, like I experienced. Because I mowed the clover the following year it killed most broad leaf weeds and volunteer growth. Except for rye which can't be killed unless you mow it when it is in the heading stage. After the second mowing most volunteer growth was gone, except for the odd grasses. Rape can be very invasive and take over a plot. Next year I will introduce brassica into my fall rye/oats/peas/clover mix as others do and wait until my herd starts eating it, for now they don't care for it. Friggs |
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