New Food Plot - 20 Days without rain

Just to update this - planting before the big rain ended up being the best thing despite the following 45 day drought. I have a decent food plot, except not as much clover as I wanted. However, two other smaller plots that I did a few days later (after the big rain) are basically bare ground. Things are trying to come up now, but its so late the growth is inhibited. We are already in the 30s at night and had a mild frost. Interesting experiment, and learning experience.
 
We finally got some rain this past weekend (.25") with a 90% chance tomorrow for another 1/2". If there is any seed left on the soil I might actually get something growing in my plots.

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Mine are trying to come up, but not looking good. I'm relying on things I didn't plant to key in on for food sources this year. There's a loaded pear tree in my neighbor's yard the deer are travelling to from my property. Also, the persimmons I found are dropping slowly. I took a doe yesterday coming to those. Looks like a pretty good acorn crop this year as well.
 
After planting twice and three times I finally have plots that I think will be ok. I’m still not sure that army worms didn’t get two of them. Never had that happen before but next year I’ll be watching those two plots and be ready to spray at the slightest hint of worms. If they were there once they might be back if I understand the life cycle correctly. Anyone who knows is welcome to enlighten me ! :)
 
The southeast is filling up tonight, great rain accumulation in our part of western NC. Probably an inch or more. More coming this week too, certainly was needed.


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Yep second soaker in a wk. Good for my plots to recover but most important with no rain since July it was a tinderbox just waiting for a match in the wrong place.


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Yep second soaker in a wk. Good for my plots to recover but most important with no rain since July it was a tinderbox just waiting for a match in the wrong place.


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That too! I was to the point of not wanting a Campfire just because of how dry it was, afraid that a single spark could burn down the entire woods.
 
Sounds like you guys over that way have been having what we had been dealing with here in Oklahoma since about 2011...every year was the same. Rain up till about end of March and then no rain until October for 8 or 9 years in a row. The worst part of that cycle is we lost most of our red oak trees to oak wilt...this year we finally got back on a normal rain cycle...
 
95BCB8A9-D521-47C8-A98B-2BB405C10A70.jpeg This is one of the last plots I planted. Fifty pounds of triticale and 25 pounds of wheat, then MRC broadcast on top. It almost looks like the wheat was the only thing that germinated. I’m not sure if it was lack of moisture, bad seed, or the nights have been too cool. We’ve had a good bit of rain on this plot, but just lately, like in the last two weeks. It was planted about three weeks ago. I’m kinda stumped. The deer are nipping the heck out of it too.
 
View attachment 17274 This is one of the last plots I planted. Fifty pounds of triticale and 25 pounds of wheat, then MRC broadcast on top. It almost looks like the wheat was the only thing that germinated. I’m not sure if it was lack of moisture, bad seed, or the nights have been too cool. We’ve had a good bit of rain on this plot, but just lately, like in the last two weeks. It was planted about three weeks ago. I’m kinda stumped. The deer are nipping the heck out of it too.
I feel your pain. We finally got rain in Pennsylvania but our plots are not what they usually are in late October due to the dry fall. Hopefully you get some late season growth going in that field. P.S. My son's in port Arthur doing volunteer flood relief work for a month, it'll probably rain every day
 
TnM’d this on Sept 8th and we just got some good rain Friday and Saturday(Oct 25/26). Went out there this morning to put new batteries in the trail cam and snapped these pics. The turnips and radish probably won’t produce tubers or produce small ones before the cold gets them, but hopefully they should put a little green tonnage out. WW, WR, WO, AWP, RC, PTT and I walked in daikon radish in a small area.
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Tapatalk wouldn’t let me post the brassica pic without coloring my finger in. It said it was an adult picture....

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We got good rain again last night in western NC. I need to start adding up the time I spend staring at radar images while sitting 4600 miles away. Good rain in the forecast again this week. It will be interesting to see how the plots look in November. I'll be hunting November 22-26 which is peak rut for our area, should be fun regardless of the food plot success.
 
My plots are finally springing to life. The rye and wheat should be ok but doubt they get too thick since my trail cam pics show turkeys eating what seed they could. The clover is coming up but it’s small and frosts should be coming soon here is SW VA.
 
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