Milo ?

[Drycreek]

I’m thinking about planting some milo strips in a wide open plot on one place I hunt. It has rye on it now, and I get lots of doe traffic, but not much buck traffic. I’m thinking a strip on each edge and one down the middle. Maybe it would give the bucks a little more sense of security. What’s your take on it ? Keep in mind that I have hogs out the wazoo !

 

[yoderjac]

I can't speak to the hogs as we are fortunate so far. In general, I really think having vertical cover in a field increases shooting hour use for both does and bucks. Years ago, when we were planting Eagle soybeans for summer nutrition, I would add a light mix of corn at a 7:1 ratio by weight. The corn was not planted for food, but it did produce good cobs. There was no added N and the beans from the previous years produced enough N to support the beans. The beans were indeterminate and stayed green and attractive through our archery season. The corn was to add vertical cover.

A number of years later, we quit planting soybeans. Instead, we planted a mix of sunn hemp and buckwheat for summer. The sunn hemp grew 6 to 8 feet tall. I then took a bushhog and mowed wide strips through it for the fall plant. I left enough for good vertical cover in the field and strategically placed the strips so we could see down them from a blind. The fall plant was brassica, WR, and CC. I got better daytime use with this verses a flat field with the same mix.

As for milo. I've used it, but it produces nothing for deer for the summer. That may not be one of your objectives. I like to mix it with a legume. In my location Crimson Clover is a good annual clover companion. Depending on location you may want a different annual clover. In my area CC acts acts as a reseeding annual and gives me good coverage the following spring until I put in my spring plant.

In general, it is a good idea to provide vertical cover in the plot. I'm not sure what technique will work best for your situation.

 

[buckdeer1]

Unless you plant alot most will be eaten while in doughy stage which is the stage that the deer really like.Once ripe birds and coons eat

 

[Drycreek]

Does anyone think it might be better to just mix some milo seed in with whatever else I plant so there is some random stalks throughout the plot. If so, what would you think the seeding rate should be per acre ?

 

[yoderjac]

I personally prefer mixing seed rather than strip planting. If we are smart with our seed choices, the plants complement each other. I only use strip planting when there is a strategic advantage in a particular situation for hunting. I can only say that when I planted soybeans with a light mix of corn the ratio was 7 times more beans than corn by weight. Since the seed rates will vary with whatever you plant you may need to play with it. The more of the vertical cover plants, the harder it is to get a clear shot and that varies with the weapon choice. The less vertical cover, the less use during daylight hours.

I can't remember your location, but that may be a factor when it comes to rates. For early season hunting, every stalk becomes vertical cover. As deer begin the hit the seed heads, they can break stalks and the stalks can be knocked down by heavy snow. It took me a few years to find that a 7:1 ratio worked well for me with beans and corn.

I'm guessing my germination rate was about the same for beans and corn since I drilled them. So, that 7:1 might be a good initial target for relative plant density. You might be able to find how many seeds per pound you will have for each low growing seed type in your mix as well as for the milo. You can then adjust the rates so you have roughly that 7:1 ratio in plants between tall and short.

 

[Drycreek]

I’m in East Texas Jack. I can grow about anything if I get my amendments right. I think I’m gonna try what you suggested even though I don’t have a drill. I have my broadcasting down pretty well, I mix seeds with good results.

 

[THE LLC]

I planted milo in Kansas this past spring thinking the deer wouldn’t bother it with as much as there was around me and it’d make cover for them and food for pheasants. Wrong. Deer DESTROYED it in the dough phase.

 

[cutman]

I planted a small plot of it this year and the deer ate it once they figured out it was tasty. I also jumped a nice buck that was bedded in it.

 

[yoderjac]

I’m in East Texas Jack. I can grow about anything if I get my amendments right. I think I’m gonna try what you suggested even though I don’t have a drill. I have my broadcasting down pretty well, I mix seeds with good results.

I use lime to get the pH right, but I stopped using fertilizer over 6 years ago with great results. The trick is to pick good deer food mixes that have low fertility needs and mix them correctly. I stopped the beans and corn for summer and went to a mix of sunn hemp and buckwheat. Both are good deer food and have lower fertility requirements. They complement each other. The sunn hemp fixes enough N to support my fall mix which is generally WR/PTT/GHR/CC. My brassica component in the mix is kept under 2 lbs/ac.

While I do have a small no-till Kasco versa drill, I only use it for the large seed like beans and corn. I surface broadcast the sunn hemp and buckwheat and cultipack and do the same for the fall mix. It is much faster for me and I get good enough results.

I've changed my approach over the years from trying to get the most planted food per acre with few weeds to an approach that is much lower intensity over more acres with most weeds being a welcome addition to the plot. My costs have dropped significantly with no fertilizer and reduced herbicide cost. I spray once to burn down before planting rotating gly and liberty compared to multiple spraying per year of gly with RR beans and corn. Deer seem to use my plots as much or more than they used to.

I'm in zone 7a so much but not all of what I'm doing should work pretty well for you. Different folks have different approaches.