My experience exactly. The conventional wisdom is that deer only eat about 5% of their diet from plots. That % varies but the belief is that plots are a minor part of a deer diet. Not my experience at all especially with blends like that. Deer are very comfortable living in this plots day and night. I see them occasionally driving by in the tractor which is the only way there is a chance of spotting them in the jungle. I see beds in there all the time where they are in there all night too. Wouldn't surprise me if plots like this make up 50% or more of a deers summer diet.
Pearl Millet
- Thread starter Creek chub
- Start date
Hoosierhunting
Well-Known Member
Thanks Rusty, I really enjoy the videos you’ve been doing. I’m sure they take some effort it I hope you keep making them.
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Creek chub
Active Member
Do you inoculate your sunn hemp?
shawn cox
Well-Known Member
I inoculated mine but I think and I may be wrong that once you inoculate it and have it growing that if you plant it in the future the bacteria will already be there from previous planting and don't have to do it. Anyone know? it is cheap enough so I have always done it as insurance.
Creek chub
Active Member
Can you store inoculated seed temporarily? I have the inoculant but will have to plant the seeds on different weekends
Yes sunn hemp needs to be inoculated. while it is true that if you planted inoculated legumes in a field in the previous year or two the bacteria is still there the inoculant is a very cheap way to insure better production.I inoculate every legume every time I plant.
Inoculated seed can be stored but best to keep it cool. I store the actual inoculant in the refrigerator. As for pre treated seed shouldn't be a problem.
Inoculated seed can be stored but best to keep it cool. I store the actual inoculant in the refrigerator. As for pre treated seed shouldn't be a problem.
So 49 lb per acre. What do you set your drill at? 45 lb/acre cowpea/medium seed size? 40 lb/acre buckwheat? Do you even look at the seed guide or just calibrate it yourself?
I'll get the settings we are using but it is definitely trial and ERROR. I calculate the total amount of seed of each variety I want in a particular field, mix all the different seeds together pour them in the drill , usually all in the big box together, then stay in the field till all is gone. We swag the settings then modify based on highly scientific eyeball review and adjust accordingly.
I'm doing my dove mix tomorrow in crimped rye thatch and concerned that I'll have big seeds like sunflower and small seeds like brown top millet trying to get to the proper depth in the thick thatch. Always an experiment.
I'm doing my dove mix tomorrow in crimped rye thatch and concerned that I'll have big seeds like sunflower and small seeds like brown top millet trying to get to the proper depth in the thick thatch. Always an experiment.
swat1018
Well-Known Member
Baker, I want to plant that exact mix, and have everything but cowpeas. Not sure if I can get them in MO?? Can I get the drill settings?
swat1018
Well-Known Member
Do you plant the small seed in the small box in that situation
Crimson850
Member
I am in Bedford and planting a 15 acre field of pearl Millet next week.
Creek chub
Active Member
Bedford is pretty country. Good luck on your crop. I’m planting 2 acres this Saturday. Leaning on adding lab lab, buckwheat or sunn hemp to the mix
I'm surprised you cant get iron clay cowpeas as they are very common. Some similar options are red ripper peas or crowder peas, even purple hull peas though they don't climb. I like things that climb which also includes forage soybeans . The issue I have with forage soybeans is considering their cost their big advantage is they go to a frost to get full value otherwise they don't really add anything over regular soybeans or peas. Since I double crop I terminate my summer legume fields well before frost diminishing value.
I am mixing everything in the big box. Not sure thats best way and wouldn't be afraid of putting small seed in small seed box.
Settings for 8' great planes no till are:
drive rate 3
cup selection 3
seed rate handle 20
seems to be working out about right.
Planting dove mix this morning
cowpeas 10 lbs/acre
sunn hemp 2 "
sunflower 10" These two to add a little nitrogen for everything else
grain sorghum 2 lbs/acre
brown top millet 9 "
pearl millet 4.5 "
buck wheat 9 "
I made this mix up. Will it be any good? Time will tell. Certainly will continue to improve field performance.
TX-Aggie
Active Member
I did a similar mix to your dove mix a couple weeks ago, so i hope it is good for you - thus defacto good for me. Though, I haven't used sunn hemp yet.
Last year our mix had : cowpeas, browntop millet, oats, berseem clover, and red clover.
This year, my cousin gave my father a mix that has some soybeans, cowpeas, and lab lab in it; we decided "sure, throw it in" with a similar mix to last year's. Our current mix is: cowpeas, soybeans, lab lab, spring field peas, oats, browntop millet, dove porso millet, and grain sorghum. We did light tilling like was mentioned in the old forum "thirt" thread to make sure the larger seeds had good soil contact. I spread the millets over the top with a hand crank spreader.
My main goal with this mix is to give us biomass for throw and mow in the fall. If it feeds any wildlife along the way, great! Last year, the deer were bedding in our plots, and eating everything except the millet. My father and uncle were getting extra excited about does bedding their fawns in the plots.
Last year our mix had : cowpeas, browntop millet, oats, berseem clover, and red clover.
This year, my cousin gave my father a mix that has some soybeans, cowpeas, and lab lab in it; we decided "sure, throw it in" with a similar mix to last year's. Our current mix is: cowpeas, soybeans, lab lab, spring field peas, oats, browntop millet, dove porso millet, and grain sorghum. We did light tilling like was mentioned in the old forum "thirt" thread to make sure the larger seeds had good soil contact. I spread the millets over the top with a hand crank spreader.
My main goal with this mix is to give us biomass for throw and mow in the fall. If it feeds any wildlife along the way, great! Last year, the deer were bedding in our plots, and eating everything except the millet. My father and uncle were getting extra excited about does bedding their fawns in the plots.
