Drought and Foodplots

[dogghr]

After last years drought lasting until end of January my plots were overbrowsed and the plantings appearing not much more than dirt. But years of working to improve soils allowed that community of organisms to continue their work allowing plots to revitalize. Planting variety of seeds w little or no soil disturbance and chemical controls kept minimal allow such to happen. Many methods but this be mine. A few pics from this past wk in the harshest of months for plant and animal. A good time to evaluate.
Comment or post pics pro or con. You won’t hurt my feelings. Thought some might want to see.

WR ,brassica, WC, RC broadcast late Oct last year. Grasses yes. I don’t care much. But grains and clovers ready to explode in the warmer weather of March. Water retention or perculation is something you plan for before it’s needed. Listen. The soil will tell you it’s needs. Pay attention to the thatch in every pic.

WW and clovers overseeded into brassica late Oct. Brassica planted middle of dry summer July. By May this will be a weed free plot of clovers and the wheat will self terminate late June. Then rebroadcast brassica or jst keep prime clover. Past the tractor is some of my poorest soil. What to do ? Let nature plant brommsedge and other soil building seed and give it time. Why force what it doesn’t want?

Buffalo Plot. You know...my self planting plot. Clover yes. Deer poop yes. Usage you bet.

Dry ridge top. South facing hot plots. Survive the drought. Yep. Clover beside tractor. Brassica /wheat / clover in distance.

Dead alfalfa field? Sure looked it last year. Nothing done but bite my lip w patience. Hard to do. But the 7yo alfalfa plot lives. With her clover and chicory and WR. Once a field of prime fescue. No easy task. Rotate rotate rotate. Then plant .
Better have your exclusion cage or you will deem plot a failure.

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[lakngolf]

Was not my best year for food plots. Slow start due to drought and late plant. Warm temps mid December helped recovery. I guess I failed to listen. Sometimes I think I talk too harshly at the brassica. But if they fail I dont eat turnips!

 

[weekender21]

It doesn't look like I'll be able to get to NC and check things out until May....gobble gobble. Hopefully 2020 will offer more opportunities on our place, we're trimming over 4,000 miles off the commute! Virginia here I come!

 

[SwampCat]

I quit fighting it. Other than millet for ducks - I dont plant anything between June and October. Most of my plots are durana clover and I plant wheat into them with a light disking in early to mid october that leaves half the dirt undisturbed. By that time of year, cooler nights and dew will germinate some of the wheat. July - Sept plantings beg for drought and army worms, here.

 

[dogghr]

Was not my best year for food plots. Slow start due to drought and late plant. Warm temps mid December helped recovery. I guess I failed to listen. Sometimes I think I talk too harshly at the brassica. But if they fail I dont eat turnips!

That’s funny. Maybe I should talk more. Or less to the plots. Or boycott as you do.


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[dogghr]

It doesn't look like I'll be able to get to NC and check things out until May....gobble gobble. Hopefully 2020 will offer more opportunities on our place, we're trimming over 4,000 miles off the commute! Virginia here I come!

Good news on your relocation. That’s a long commute. Are you returning to civilian life or jst new base? Thanks for your service regardless.
How we survived no forest fires here or your area is amazing.


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[dogghr]

I quit fighting it. Other than millet for ducks - I dont plant anything between June and October. Most of my plots are durana clover and I plant wheat into them with a light disking in early to mid october that leaves half the dirt undisturbed. By that time of year, cooler nights and dew will germinate some of the wheat. July - Sept plantings beg for drought and army worms, here.

I’ve grown some great brassica w July planting w softball tubers to last till now. I still can get the growth but in dry years the deer browse too heavy early since green is less available to deer w drought. Acorns are a trump card unless they fail. Affects deer populations for couple fawning seasons w drought and acorn failure. Dead deer on highway much more prevalent dry times. Not much ag here but corn and alfalfa.


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[weekender21]

Good news on your relocation. That’s a long commute. Are you returning to civilian life or jst new base? Thanks for your service regardless.
How we survived no forest fires here or your area is amazing.


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New base, on Uncle Sams time for at least three more years.

 

[SwampCat]

I have grown some great food plots here with Aug and Sept planting, too. But just as often - drought or army worms comes out on top. Deer dont care much for brassicas at my place. Hogs dont even eat the tubers. With durana and wheat - in the bad hot years the durana dries up in late Aug and Sept and the wheat doesnt show until mid Oct. In the good years, I have food year round. I have no ag in my area. I have also been killing my NWSG to provide a more diverse stand with a much greater percentage of forbs that the deer find to their liking. I plant about 35 acres a year and had to come up with a simple, time effective, cost effective, hog proof, army worm proof, and somewhat drought oblivious way to do it. And the durana/wheat combo was the answer for me.

 

[THE LLC]

DROUGHT SUCKS. Just sayin'.

 

[Patrick]

DROUGHT SUCKS. Just sayin'.

Droughts suck for sure

 

[dogghr]

Weather extremes are and always will be a fact of life. Planning ahead for either reduces our mental stress and the physical stress of plant and soil and the resulting affect on deer. I just finished reading an account of one of the first explorers of the western mountains of VA and what is now WV as well as areas of NC and TN. His accounts are interesting as he was a physician with a keen love of the unknown and reported more accurately in his journals ,some times with more truth than those explorers paid by barons to access more lands.
He talks of crossing rivers so dry that his ankles didn't get wet, yet the debris in the stream side trees was 20-30 ft high from previous floods. Drought and monsoon will always come and go regardless of our desire to assess a blame to it. In the meantime, water management and improved soil retention and/or its percolation can and does prevent many of the more permanent results of either weather. One can't expect to sow only shallow rooted plants and expect success in drought as is sowing only plants that can't handle heat, or excessive moisture when those stressed arise.
Combination plantings at various times of the year help prevent complete failure in hard times. Like your investment fund, you can't put all your monies in one unit or only contribute at certain times of the year or your win/loss ratio will be compromised. And likewise, if the soil is managed to improve its inherent community then it will promote growth when the plant is ready for its recovery.

 

[coolbrze0]

New base, on Uncle Sams time for at least three more years.

Where you going to be stationed?

Getting ready to do some frost seeding of both Durana & Patriot clovers this weekend.

 

[weekender21]

Where you going to be stationed?

Getting ready to do some frost seeding of both Durana & Patriot clovers this weekend.

On the Virginia Coast. I'm not quite to my mountain hideaway but one step closer!

 

[coolbrze0]

On the Virginia Coast. I'm not quite to my mountain hideaway but one step closer!

You got that right & thank you for your service! Lived in VA my whole life, it's a love/hate relationship in Northern VA haha! I'm guessing you'll be in the Norfolk / Newport News/ Hampton area, nice country down there once you get out of the 'burbs!

 

[mississippi]

After last years drought lasting until end of January my plots were overbrowsed and the plantings appearing not much more than dirt. But years of working to improve soils allowed that community of organisms to continue their work allowing plots to revitalize. Planting variety of seeds w little or no soil disturbance and chemical controls kept minimal allow such to happen. Many methods but this be mine. A few pics from this past wk in the harshest of months for plant and animal. A good time to evaluate.
Comment or post pics pro or con. You won’t hurt my feelings. Thought some might want to see.

WR ,brassica, WC, RC broadcast late Oct last year. Grasses yes. I don’t care much. But grains and clovers ready to explode in the warmer weather of March. Water retention or perculation is something you plan for before it’s needed. Listen. The soil will tell you it’s needs. Pay attention to the thatch in every pic.

WW and clovers overseeded into brassica late Oct. Brassica planted middle of dry summer July. By May this will be a weed free plot of clovers and the wheat will self terminate late June. Then rebroadcast brassica or jst keep prime clover. Past the tractor is some of my poorest soil. What to do ? Let nature plant brommsedge and other soil building seed and give it time. Why force what it doesn’t want?

Buffalo Plot. You know...my self planting plot. Clover yes. Deer poop yes. Usage you bet.

Dry ridge top. South facing hot plots. Survive the drought. Yep. Clover beside tractor. Brassica /wheat / clover in distance.

Dead alfalfa field? Sure looked it last year. Nothing done but bite my lip w patience. Hard to do. But the 7yo alfalfa plot lives. With her clover and chicory and WR. Once a field of prime fescue. No easy task. Rotate rotate rotate. Then plant .
Better have your exclusion cage or you will deem plot a failure.

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It is dry real bad here in Ms. My 17 sawtooth oaks never made a single acorn. This has never happened in 15 years since i planted them.
We been trying to kill wild hogs on the place and they wont even come to the corn., no deer in sight this fall at all.
Oh well i can practice shooting and fishing, if i can find some water. suppose to get a little rain today ????