food plot seed???????

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michiganman
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Joined: Tue Nov 25, 2008 7:56 pm

food plot seed???????

Post by michiganman »

looking to put a few small food plots out this year,here in western michigan.any recomendations on a good seed to use,JIM
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pdislow
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Post by pdislow »

clover seed from the local seed store has worked as good for me as any of the name brand stuff. it may not grow antlers as much as the others but it grows good and the deer and rabbits are eating it bigtime.
thanks philip
Grizzly Adam
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Post by Grizzly Adam »

I agree ... clover is easy to get started, grows like crazy, is easy to maintain, and is loved by all sorts of critters.

My yard is 75% clover (volunteer), and there are 20-30 deer in it every night.
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agingcrossbower
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Post by agingcrossbower »

Not trying to plug another site. I feel their are brothers. So at Crossbownation. com they have in the Misc. section a forum devoted solely to food plots and feeders. This should help. There is also a website called Sweetplots.com which is interesting. Anyway, GOOD LUCK!!!! Mike
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B-Logger
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Post by B-Logger »

Jim. Much depends upon what kind of ground you have. Is it sand? Clay? Loam? Is this a new spot or has it been into crops before? Have you done any soil tests?

Let me add that you very well could have the same type of ground we have here, which is sandy ground that had never been farmed.

The best thing we did was first to add some lime and then plant buckwheat. Some years we have gone with rye rather than buckwheat but here is basically what we have done to build up the ground.

From now through the end of June you can plant buckwheat. This is a fast growing crop but is extremely touchy when it comes to frost. That is why we wait until June to plant.

In mid-August it is time to till that buckwheat in. Wait 2 weeks and till again before planting a 50/50 mix of rye and Buck Forage Oats. The deer absolutely love this mixture. True, this will not give you a lot when December rolls around but October and November the deer hit it a lot.

The following spring the rye will come back but we till that in before Memorial Day (yes, it is a green manure crop just like the buckwheat). Wait 2 weeks and then plant buckwheat....and the cycle goes on.

The reason for planting buckwheat is that this is one of the very best ways to build up your soil. The reason for rye is simply the green manure crop. The reason for BFO is simply that the deer love it. And yes, we have compared the BFO to regular field oats and there is no comparison to how the deer go to it.

As for the buckwheat, if you would like to see what can happen I'll email you a picture from last summer. Would you believe 26 bucks in one little teeny weenie food plot? True! It is like a magnet.
Keep smiling!
Dennis
Grizzly Adam
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Post by Grizzly Adam »

bstout wrote:In my opinion, nothing beats corn. The second corn is two inches out of the ground the deer are out standing in it. They will stick around corn until every last morsel is gone. This translates to from June Until March of the following year. All winter long in the deep snow you'll have deer standing in your corn.
Yes, indeed ... the guy who leases this farm from us plants 65 acres of the golden stuff every other year. 8)

Ours is picked by August, though. And they mow or burn the stubble and double-crop soybeans on top of it, so no lasting effects for us. Good while it lasts, though. :D
Grizz
mikej
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Post by mikej »

Grizzly Adam wrote:

Ours is picked by August, though. And they mow or burn the stubble and double-crop soybeans on top of it, so no lasting effects for us. Good while it lasts, though. :D
that's a good idea
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mikej
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Post by mikej »

double :oops:
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