The Farm - Madison County, GA

[THE LLC]

Update on the lightening strike issue. An electrician friend of mine checked things out yesterday and he says the damage isn't as bad as we thought. He's pretty sure all the wiring in the cabins is fine and the well pump is okay. The pressure switch at the well took the brunt of it it appears. We shall see.

 

[OkieKubota]

I thought it might be late to burn but your explanation helped...

You will show your partner! Where there is a will there is a way!

 

[Gator]

Good news on the well pump. Those can get pricey to replace.

 

[THE LLC]

Either 4 or 5 years ago a fella with Pennington Seed gave me a pound or so of ball clover seed to test to see how it would do. I planted it on a rocky, ridge top plot that I had been successful at eliminating most weeds from. I planted it that September and decided to not touch the plot again, except for maybe mowing or other means of weed control, to see how many years the ball clover would sustain itself. It was touted as a heavy re-seeder. I can tell you that is the truth. Here is a picture from yesterday, 5-12-17. Nothing has been done to this plot since it was planted except for spraying dog fennel last summer after the clover died back. It is one of the strongest scented clovers I have ever seen--you can smell it a LONG way. The deer love it and our honey bees wear out the blooms. The only drawback I see with it is the seed cost, but once you figure it'll last at least 4 years, even that gets more bearable. Got a little ryegrass in there I am going to have to deal with before it seeds out.

 

[THE LLC]

Another interesting thing I noted yesterday is I've never had deer use buckwheat much. I've always planted it as a soil builder. This year I planted a large plot of it for our honeybees. Well, as usual, this is the year deer decided they like it and they are hammering it.

 

[THE LLC]

I checked out my chinkapin trees at the farm Friday. I planted them as acorns here at home 5 years ago (2012) then transplanted them to the farm that fall and put tubes on them. I think I actually sent some of you guys some of those acorns over the years. I had pretty much gone away from chinkapin (or any other native oak) in favor of planting sawtooths so I could get acorns within 5 or 6 years from seed. These trees grew slowly the first two or three years but then last year and this have taken off. Well check this out. I checked all five of the ones up there and every one had the same thing---acorns five years from seed. May go back to producing seedlings this next year. Picture looks like Heaven is shining down on them as well.

 

[Triple C]

Tommy...Does Pennington brand the ball clover under a different name and is it a ladino or durana?

 

[THE LLC]

Tommy...Does Pennington brand the ball clover under a different name and is it a ladino or durana?

I don't think they ever took it to market because of the expense of it. I noticed Hancock Seed has it for sale. It is neither a ladino or durana. It is an annual re-seeder.

 

[Triple C]

Always had good luck with Pennington seed. Prolly just stick to Regal Graze ladino. Gotta replant clover this fall after losing most of it to logging and cleaning up afterwards.

 

[THE LLC]

Can't go wrong with a mix of durana and Regal Graze. Had that for years.

 

[THE LLC]

Took this picture today of one of my buckwheat plots that we planted for our honeybees. Deer never have eaten buckwheat over there before so we thought it would be a good choice. The deer changed their minds this year.

 

[THE LLC]

So, I planted a bigger field today just before it started raining. We'll see how this one fairs. Be fine if the deer hammer it. It's A LOT cheaper than soybeans, but lasts a lot longer.

 

[Charlieyca]

I planted a 1/2 acre of buckwheat my first spring planting plots. Wanted to get something in the ground instead of letting weeds grow. 2 weeks after sprouting it went from 2ft tall to nothing but stems. My deer absolutely destroyed it, but it was a 1/2 acre surrounded by dense cover and not alot of food around. Before your post I had not seen anyone else have the issue of deer browsing it to the point of stems being left.

 

[THE LLC]

First fawn today. After I found him (it is a little buck), my dog spooked him and he fell in a creek so I had to fish him out. My little dog was just wanting to play and they ended up playing together for about thirty minutes til he got tired and bedded back down. Once he found a good hide we left him alone. I LOVE being out in the woods. I've walked the woods for 45 years and had never seen a fawn. Found one this same weekend last year and now this year. All the TSI and control burns we have done has really produced excellent fawning habitat.

 

[THE LLC]

Amazing how tiny they are and how easily they can disappear. When I pulled him out of the creek I told him, "today I'm your savior, when we meet in 4 years, I'll be your judge". LOL

 

[THE LLC]

One week update on my buckwheat plot. Looks pretty good. Deer still HAMMERING my other one.

 

[Chainsaw]

Enjoyed your fawn adventure. He sure has a story to tell his Momma when she swings by.

 

[whiskeybent]

I think I had one in front of my barn last weekend. Had a big doe that wouldn't leave and figure she had one laid in the grass out there. I haven't seen one yet, though.

 

[THE LLC]

I tell you, control burns and getting lots of green on the forest floor really attracts the does this time of year. They were everywhere yesterday.

 

[Triple C]

Looking good Tommy! You wouldn't believe how much the bare roots and apple grafts have grown since you were down. Some of the bare roots are at the top of the 5 ft tubes. I'll be back down this Friday and take pics of the grafts.