Help with my first plot

[dogghr]

You’ve gotten some great advice. I would say get your ph up to par and stay simple with your first plantings. You can tweak those as you progress. Feather edge your plots and they will be more attractive to deer regardless what you plant.
My advice....plant in fall with a grain of WR or WW w red clover and oats. Another plot could be done in brassica. Rotation the next year. Provides nutrient and soil building in a cheap easy fix. Read and read again Lickcreeks/LCs thread and commit to memory and your foodplotting will be less stressful. Good luck.

 

[Eshoremd]

Okay so what if I plant the Alyce clover now how do I go about transitioning to something else in late summer?

Would I just mow then spray glyph, dag the harrow and reseed?

 

[dogghr]

Okay so what if I plant the Alyce clover now how do I go about transitioning to something else in late summer?

Would I just mow then spray glyph, dag the harrow and reseed?

Couple things. If you are going to mow, spray first then mow few days later. If growth is tall, mow, wait couple wks for new growth, spray. You can then run harrow seed and roll over with atv to pack hopefully before rain.
Another way is spray, spread seed , mow to provide thatch cover..
I think planting the alyce now has very little benefits. At least buckwheat or a grain would help w weed control for your fall planting. And it provides soil building short term and great thatch for fall planting. I personally would still do no planting till Aug. So much simpler for weed control and success of a new plot. Good luck.

 

[Eshoremd]

Couple things. If you are going to mow, spray first then mow few days later. If growth is tall, mow, wait couple wks for new growth, spray. You can then run harrow seed and roll over with atv to pack hopefully before rain.
Another way is spray, spread seed , mow to provide thatch cover..
I think planting the alyce now has very little benefits. At least buckwheat or a grain would help w weed control for your fall planting. And it provides soil building short term and great thatch for fall planting. I personally would still do no planting till Aug. So much simpler for weed control and success of a new plot. Good luck.

Thanks dogghr. So many options, I think I'm going to need another plot lol

 

[Eshoremd]

So this brings me to another question, can I store seed and if so what are the best conditions?

 

[dogghr]

Yep I’ve kept seed for several years. Keep dry I use coffee containers for clover and larger plastics for grains. You can do a germ test by placing seeds in wet paper towel in baggy and counting % that germs in a few days.

 

[Tap]

What was the area before? Crops? Pasture? Hayfield? Brush?
The answer to that question could have a bearing on what you should be doing this summer.
Areas that are being converted from brush takes a little more effort to turn it into a plot. Brushy, woody growth is more stubborn to eradicate and may require a few repeated attempts to kill it. If you plant a summer plot, you may get frustrated dealing with weeds and other unwanted growth while at the same time trying to establish the forage that you planted.
Sometimes we get overanxious and start planting stuff before we get the prep work done properly, and we end up chasing our tail.

Can you identify weeds and naturalized plants? Certain weeds are quite troublesome and add no value to a wildlife plot (ie Canada Thistle). Those types of weeds should be dealt with, as best as you can, before you plant stuff. Certain weeds require a plan of attack that limit what you can plant until those weeds are under control.

Then there are the "good" weeds that are highly desirable, free forages from Mother Nature. For my deer, ragweed is a wonderful weed. They prefer the stuff even more than some of the deer candies. Having ragweed in my plots is a good thing. Hairy Galinsoga is another desirable weed to my deer. It doesn't seem like they will eat HG when it's young, but when it starts to mature, the deer hammer it.

The point is that not all weeds are bad and some are a nightmare. You no doubt have a weed seed bank in your soil and you'll release weeds when you disturb soil or alter the amount of sunlight.
Learn to identify what you already have before you jump into planting stuff, especially before planting perennials. Unwanted weeds in annuals is less of a problem but they may still need a timely approach to fight them. Dealing with a particular weed is best done when the time is right for that weed. Too early, or too late won't accomplish much and if you have unwanted weeds at the same time your crop is establishing, then fighting them will be complicated.

So depending on what your new plot used to be, will effect your decision on what, when and how to plant it. My rule of thumb with new plots...spend the spring and summer doing prep work and monitoring what nature has growing, and then plant an easy, and inexpensive rye/red clover mix in September.

 

[Eshoremd]

When I hit upload a file I browse to my desired pic, click, It fills the box and the little line things dance like its thinking but it doesn't upload. The pick is jpg and 6mb. Anyone know what I'm doing wrong?

 

[Eshoremd]

The 1/4 acre is in the middle of a field that grows every year and the owner bush hogs in November. I know some weed types, mostly ones deer prefer. Ragweed, pokeweed, beggars lice are often found here along with various grasses I cannot identify.

 

[Tap]

When I hit upload a file I browse to my desired pic, click, It fills the box and the little line things dance like its thinking but it doesn't upload. The pick is jpg and 6mb. Anyone know what I'm doing wrong?

I think the file may be too large.
A lot of us post pics via Tapatalk because it auto resizes. Very easy to post pics with Tapatalk.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

 

[Drycreek]

When I hit upload a file I browse to my desired pic, click, It fills the box and the little line things dance like its thinking but it doesn't upload. The pick is jpg and 6mb. Anyone know what I'm doing wrong?

Try resizing a little at a time until it posts. I almost always have to do this.

Good luck on your plot. You got some good advice, but you've started a journey that has no end...........

 

[Chainsaw]

Eshoremd, I had the same problem loading pics using google; per help on the forum switched to google chrome and it worked. As mentioned though try resizing first; it usually works but in my case it didn't. The switch to a different browser even though the old one used to work did the trick.

 

[Eshoremd]

Thx for the photo posting advice. Tapatalk was easy.

Here is a pic of the plot location. This is before any work.

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[Eshoremd]

Here are a few updated photos. I went over Friday and sprayed some additional glyph and broadcast Alyce clover after putting out 400lbs of lime. I stopped at Southern States and got the lime but forgot the soil sample bags. SMH

We got about 3 inches of rain Saturday. 2" more than forecast.

I'm worried it may have washed my seed out PLUS I'm worried I didn't broadcast evenly. I used a hand seeder and had to play catch-up when I realized what I was doing.

I ordered more seed and got some IC cowpea seed too.

Should I go down again this weekend and broadcast more Alyce clover seed? What's your opinions on adding in some of the pea seed?

Thanks for the help gentlemen!

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[Creek chub]

Following. I’m sort of in the same predicament. Seeding Saturday and got heavy rains Saturday evening and Sunday, I looked at the plots Monday and there is already Sunn Hemp germination, I suspect I lost some seed to run off but I’m going to wait a week or two and oversees thin spots.

I like your modified drag. I put cinder blocks on mine but the logs look more efficient

 

[Eshoremd]

Following. I’m sort of in the same predicament. Seeding Saturday and got heavy rains Saturday evening and Sunday, I looked at the plots Monday and there is already Sunn Hemp germination, I suspect I lost some seed to run off but I’m going to wait a week or two and oversees thin spots.

I like your modified drag. I put cinder blocks on mine but the logs look more efficient

Thanks. I tried blocks too and then thought about the logs. Give it a try.

 

[Creek chub]

Thanks. I tried blocks too and then thought about the logs. Give it a try.

I have one more small plot to prep and some gum trees already cut and on the ground. I hate splitting them so they will be my new plot tools

 

[Drycreek]

Here are a few updated photos. I went over Friday and sprayed some additional glyph and broadcast Alyce clover after putting out 400lbs of lime. I stopped at Southern States and got the lime but forgot the soil sample bags. SMH

We got about 3 inches of rain Saturday. 2" more than forecast.

I'm worried it may have washed my seed out PLUS I'm worried I didn't broadcast evenly. I used a hand seeder and had to play catch-up when I realized what I was doing.

I ordered more seed and got some IC cowpea seed too.

Should I go down again this weekend and broadcast more Alyce clover seed? What's your opinions on adding in some of the pea seed?

Thanks for the help gentlemen!

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

The problem with adding IC peas to a plot already seeded with clover is that pea seed need to be covered an inch or more and clover seed need to be virtually on the surface in order to germinate.

 

[Eshoremd]

I have one more small plot to prep and some gum trees already cut and on the ground. I hate splitting them so they will be my new plot tools

I cut a bunch of sweet gum to open up the canopy and to hopefully get stump sprouts but haven't noticed any yet.

 

[Eshoremd]

Got a little something going on.

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