Diversity Soil Builder Plot?

[Mennoniteman]

I have a large field with poor soil/ bare dirt (early corn planting 60% failure due to multiple different reasons) and wanted something more growing in it for OM until it's time for some Lickcreek type fall plots and couldn't decide what to do with it. I got several soil builder/wildlife mixes from King's Agriseeds; "Rays Summer Mix" "Summer Solar Mix" and Summer Feast Mixture" and added 100lb feedmill oats@$14 to cheapen the cost. I ended up with 16# Oats, 10# Ironclay Cowpeas, 8# Pearl Millet, 2.25# Sunflowers, 1.25# T-Raptor Rape Brassica, 1.25# Sorghum-Sudan, 1# SunnHemp, 1# Buckwheat, 1/2# Daikon Radish, and inoculant for the peas, for a total of 42 lbs/acre @$47.50 per acre. I blended the whole mix in the large seed box and drilled at 1" deep right on the 40% corn on June 1st. Of course I'm curious what this concoction will look like, was this a dumb idea, what would you have done differently?

 

[cutman]

I would have done less oats and more buckwheat but otherwise looks pretty good.

 

[Mennoniteman]

I would have done less oats and more buckwheat but otherwise looks pretty good.

Buckwheat seed is expensive in this area and oats are cheap. What are you guys paying for buckwheat seed and where are you getting it?

 

[Rickey]

I paid $35 for my 50lb bag from my local feed and seed. Things cost a little more there then downtown but they are a local mom and pop and great people.

 

[Tap]

That might be a little deep to plant the rape. I may have gone back after planting the larger seeds and broadcast the small seeds on the surface, then cultipack.
What's your deer density there? The sunflowers and cowpea may get browsed to death before they can get established.
Sometimes I think it may be better to choose varieties that AREN'T deer food if the goal is soil protection and soil building.

 

[Mennoniteman]

That might be a little deep to plant the rape. I may have gone back after planting the larger seeds and broadcast the small seeds on the surface, then cultipack.
What's your deer density there? The sunflowers and cowpea may get browsed to death before they can get established.
Sometimes I think it may be better to choose varieties that AREN'T deer food if the goal is soil protection and soil building.

You're right about the rape, but it was sold as part of a mix with the peas and sunflowers so I didn't have any choice in planting methods. Deer density is about medium, but my acreage is large enough that the deer shouldn't be able to keep up, esp. with oats in the mix.

 

[Bowman]

How did that plot work out?

 

[Mennoniteman]

How did that plot work out?

A huge success, it was an absolute jungle! I thought I was planting in poor dirt according to my soil tests, but everything grew, the pearl millet got close to ten feet high, with brassica mixed throughout, the oats actually kind of disappeared and all the other stuff took over. It is definitely a good soil builder mix, not the greatest deer forage though, my deer preferred the clover field alongside, the mix was actually that thick the deer only crossed this field on a few trails, rather than randomly walking through it. Pearl millet would make an excellent screen or thick winter cover/ bedding area. To summarize, I had a total of ten different species growing if you count the existing cornfield I was reseeding. For soil building I'd skip the oats and go heavier on the buckwheat and sun hemp, it was pretty sparse. For more deer feed I'd do less millet and sorghum, and add some clover. The cowpeas grew well but mysteriously my deer didn't eat them much. See my thread on Iron Clay Cowpeas...

FYI; I mowed this 10' high jungle down in early spring, the dead stubble/ fodder thatch is that thick I'm not sure if my notill drill is going to work to run through it. It would possibly have been a better throw and mow situation than using a notill drill.

 

[Tap]

A huge success, it was an absolute jungle! I thought I was planting in poor dirt according to my soil tests, but everything grew, the pearl millet got close to ten feet high, with brassica mixed throughout, the oats actually kind of disappeared and all the other stuff took over. It is definitely a good soil builder mix, not the greatest deer forage though, my deer preferred the clover field alongside, the mix was actually that thick the deer only crossed this field on a few trails, rather than randomly walking through it. Pearl millet would make an excellent screen or thick winter cover/ bedding area. To summarize, I had a total of ten different species growing if you count the existing cornfield I was reseeding. For soil building I'd skip the oats and go heavier on the buckwheat and sun hemp, it was pretty sparse. For more deer feed I'd do less millet and sorghum, and add some clover. The cowpeas grew well but mysteriously my deer didn't eat them much. See my thread on Iron Clay Cowpeas...

FYI; I mowed this 10' high jungle down in early spring, the dead stubble/ fodder thatch is that thick I'm not sure if my notill drill is going to work to run through it. It would possibly have been a better throw and mow situation than using a notill drill.

Did the sunn hemp get much browsing?

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[Mennoniteman]

The sunn hemp got very little browsing that I could see. However, the sunn hemp seed quantity was so low compared to the rest of the mix that this would not have been a fair trial, there was one sunn hemp plant every ten feet or so, and you had to look for them in the midst of this jungle. I planted in June, the buckwheat ripened, matured and disappeared after a month and a half. The sunnhemp, millet, brassica, and cowpeas lasted until they froze in late fall.

 

[Bowman]

A huge success, it was an absolute jungle! I thought I was planting in poor dirt according to my soil tests, but everything grew, the pearl millet got close to ten feet high, with brassica mixed throughout, the oats actually kind of disappeared and all the other stuff took over. It is definitely a good soil builder mix, not the greatest deer forage though, my deer preferred the clover field alongside, the mix was actually that thick the deer only crossed this field on a few trails, rather than randomly walking through it. Pearl millet would make an excellent screen or thick winter cover/ bedding area. To summarize, I had a total of ten different species growing if you count the existing cornfield I was reseeding. For soil building I'd skip the oats and go heavier on the buckwheat and sun hemp, it was pretty sparse. For more deer feed I'd do less millet and sorghum, and add some clover. The cowpeas grew well but mysteriously my deer didn't eat them much. See my thread on Iron Clay Cowpeas...

FYI; I mowed this 10' high jungle down in early spring, the dead stubble/ fodder thatch is that thick I'm not sure if my notill drill is going to work to run through it. It would possibly have been a better throw and mow situation than using a notill drill.

Glad to hear it. I am planning on doing a cocktail mix in a new area that I could not get into last year and have a post on cocktail mixes. I do not have a drill. My concern is the different seed sizes and am wondering if I should buy separate seeds so that I can plant small seeds last. Did read the Cowpea thread, mine get hit. Would you suggest broadcasting, then mowing to follow up after the cocktail mix?

 

[Mennoniteman]

Yes, I'd do a spray with gly, then throw and mow if you have something there to mow. If you don't have much to mow you really need to disc or turn up a little dirt somehow to help the broadcast seed get established, then roll or cultipack after seeding. An alternative would be to broadcast the seed first then run the disc over lightly to replicate a drill. Notill drilling seed is hard to beat for fast and easy with great results.

 

[Tap]

Yes, I'd do a spray with gly, then throw and mow if you have something there to mow. If you don't have much to mow you really need to disc or turn up a little dirt somehow to help the broadcast seed get established, then roll or cultipack after seeding. An alternative would be to broadcast the seed first then run the disc over lightly to replicate a drill. Notill drilling seed is hard to beat for fast and easy with great results.

That post might be a little deceiving. I wouldn't advise discing, and then broadcasting small seeds, then cultipacking. That's a good sequence for large seeds, but, on disced ground, cultipack BEFORE broadcasting the tiny seeds, then follow up with a final cultipack.

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[shawn cox]

I just planted a plot trying to make my own mix similar to the whitetail institute Power plant. I created my own version for south Georgia.
I tilled up my plot with my new 6' tiller, man I love that thing. This is my first year with a tractor of my own. I used a lot of throw-n-mow in the past so this is my first season of tillage but I am working on creating a lot more food plots for the deer. I tilled it first, then I broadcast sunn hemp and iron and clay peas, I then broadcast LabLab and then I broadcast black oil sunflowers. I hooked up the cultipacker and added my drag harrow to the back to help cover the seeds from the birds. I did the whole plot like this and then took the harrow off and went back over with just the cultipacker. Supposed to get a couple days of rain Sunday and Monday so hopefully it will work out ok. If there are any thin spots in it once it comes up, I will throw some alyce clover in it.

 

[Mennoniteman]

That post might be a little deceiving. I wouldn't advise discing, and then broadcasting small seeds, then cultipacking. That's a good sequence for large seeds, but, on disced ground, cultipack BEFORE broadcasting the tiny seeds, then follow up with a final cultipack.

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You are correct, you don't want to bury small seeds. However with the cocktail mix Bowman is talking about, since he's probably not doing clover, and has some bigger seeds included I'd disc and seed then pack to get better germination on those bigger seeds. Brassica seeds are small, but germinate very well if they are slightly buried. I drill theses cocktail mixes all the time with my notill drill and everything comes up. Clover, alfalfa, and grasses won't come up if buried.