Rates on new mix

[buckhunter10]

Hey all- I want to mix my own winter mix this year but I'm not sure how to adjust the seeding rates per acre.

I'll be broadcasting.

1. Austrian winter peas
2. Oats
3. Winter rye
4. Turnips
5. Radish (diakon)

Can you help with lb per acre? Thanks all!0

 

[Jason Broom]

1. 20# (Doesn't matter, since deer will probably wipe out whatever you plant.)
2. 30-40#
3. 30-40#
4. 2-3#
5. 5#

This is only a slight variation on the LC rye+4 mix and should work well.

 

[dogdoc]

My experience is that during late winter that the tubers of your brassicas and rye will be the only forage left. Like stated the peas are usually nipped from the ground as soon as they emerge. I plant a very similar mix as you've stated but I plant my rye at 75# per acre and oats at 25# per acre. Depending on your location the oats will die after a couple of hard freezes so I plant my rye or wheat heavier.

 

[dogghr]

AWP are overpriced, and browsed quickly and I plant them every year. I just love their unique leaf and great flower come spring. I do 50# rye or wheat which seems to give correct thickness in plot. Daikon are overpriced, browsed before tuber sets in my area and will never plant again. I use DER which deer love and performs well at less price. Oats I go 50# and usuallly get residual seeing following spring. I think your mix will do well.

 

[Tap]

Check out the Smartmix calculator on the Green Cover Seed website.
It'll calculate mix ratios based on 3 different goals you plug-in your zip code, planting method.

 

[Jason Broom]

I just checked out the Smart Mix calculator. It's an interesting concept, but the recommendations appear directed toward farmers and were not at all in line with the objectives I listed. Maybe I need to use it for a while to understand how it works and how to input the data.

 

[Tap]

I just checked out the Smart Mix calculator. It's an interesting concept, but the recommendations appear directed toward farmers and were not at all in line with the objectives I listed. Maybe I need to use it for a while to understand how it works and how to input the data.

It's really directed toward soil health but IMHO I think a lot of it transcends into food plotting, or more specifically, habitat management.
The Smartmix calculator isn't a 100% answer but I think it's pretty helpful. I will say that you may have to fool around with it a little bit and compare how the mix ratios and projected results change as you plug in different goals or seed varieties.
I also like that it shows whether a seed is recommended or not, based on zip code/planting dates, goals, and planting method.
Hey, success in a lot of what we do varies from plot to plot, and person to person.
Smartmix calculator is just a reference tool not a hard fast rule.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[Jason Broom]

Seeing as how I've never seen anything even attempt to give you the kind of results that Smartmix calculator is trying to spit out, I think I'll give it a few more tries before I really decide if it's helpful or not. I'm just having a hard time wrapping my head around what it does or how it does it....everybody's situation is so different, really.

 

[horntagger]

Not sure if correct but you are planting 5 items - So if one items calls for 20 lbs per acre then divide that by 5. - So that items will end up at 4 lbs per acre. Then do the rest the same way.

 

[H80Hunter]

I wouldn't divide the rates.

Last fall I planted (small plots) at the heavy side of the LC mix and got great results.

 

[horntagger]

This comes from another forum

Ryan Basinger, a certified wildlife biologist and the Wildlife Consulting Manager for Westervelt Wildlife Services. This was his answer:

"Unfortunately there isn't an exact formula that would apply to all situations, and is really based more on the desired composition and structure of the food plot. For example, you may prefer more clover in the plot compared to other species, or maybe you would prefer cereal grains to dominate the plot and only have some clover. However, a good rule of thumb is to divide the recommended seeding rate for an individual species by the number of species you are planting. For example, if you are planting wheat (120 lbs./acre individual rate), crimson clover (25 lbs./acre individual rate), and winter peas (50 lbs./acre individual rate), then divide each of the single-species rates by 3, which is the number of species included in the mixture. Thus, your new rates for the mixture would be wheat at 40 lbs./acre, crimson at 8 lbs./acre, and winter peas at 17 lbs./acre. Again, this is a good place to start and not intended for every situation but the rates can be tweaked from here according to your objectives for the plot."

 

[X-farmerdan]

I guess it just depends on what you want the stand ti look like. I know, another question. To get right down to it, we gotta' figure out how many plants of each type per acre. How many seeds in a pound? Germination rate? I know, now it's getting too complicated. Consider this:

Austrian Winter Peas 1,800 seeds per pound Straight Seeding rate / acre 75 - 150 lbs
Seed Oats: 15,000 per pound Straight Seeding rate / acre 32 - 64 lbs
Rye (grain) 19,000 per pound Straight Seeding rate / acre 56 - 112 lbs
Turnip Seed 10,000 per OUNCE! Straight Seeding rate / acre 1.5 - 2.5 lb
Daikon Radish 30,000 per pound Straight Seeding rate / acre 10 lb

I'm not sure I'm a big fan of the mix,but since I'm not paying for it here's what I'd do:
Peas: 50 lbs per acres or none at all. i'm going to assume the peas germinate and three weeks later they are gone resulting in many happy deer and not so much competition for the other plants in the mix.
Seed Oats: 32 lbs per acre. It's a full rate, but, if you get it to germinate and have any deer population at all, the oats will get mowed down as the peas are eaten. Then, the oats freeze over winter.
Rye: 25 - 50 lbs per acres. I'd want the rye as a filler for everything else. It's tough. It'll germinate early. Given the oats and peas and radishes, I don't want too much rye in competition. But, you could think just the opposite. Pour on the rye and lighten the other seeds.
Turnip: It's just me, but i plant turnips lightly. A little seed goes a long way and the tops consume a lot of space and make too much surrounding shade. I'd go with 2 or 3 ounces.
Radish: I like radishes! I'm planting 5 pounds!

OK. Given all of that, how many plants per acre?
Peas; 50 lb x 1,800 seeds per acre = 90,000
Oats 32 lb x 15,000 = 480,000
Rye 25 lb x 19,000 = 475,000
Turnips 3 oz x 10,000 = 30,000
Radish 5 lb x 30,000 = 150,000

I've gone on too long. There are enough plants there to fill about an acre-and-a-quarter assuming a 100% germination rate. I'm happy with it.
If you skip the peas, add an ounce of turnips, and 25 lbs of rye.

 

[Chainsaw]

I do not mix seeds together that have such different optimum planting dates. I would have two mixes out of that. Here is my take on it. Oats here do best planted late August early September; They are not a winter mix--they die here in the winter. If planted in July they get too large and not so desirable by fall.

Rye can be planted early like late July for winter food but the fall attraction won't be there. Planted at the same time as the oats gives more fall attraction.

Turnips planted in late August do not mature for winter food. They may produce something but other than leaves--not much here. Plant that turnip July 15 here and have 6 to 8 lb. turnips by fall which will carry thru winter. The radishes planted with the turnips do well.

The peas are not a winter food but rather just a cocktail to bring the deer to the food plot. Planted in conjunction with the rye and oats it works well.

The nitrogen fertilizer needs of the brassicas are so much more than the rye, oats and peas that it doesn't make sense to me to mix them all together.So there are two mixes there versus one in my mind and mixing rye with each might be a consideration for me as one would produce a great winter food and the other a great fall food and OK winter food. I don't know what the heavy nitrogen fertilizer would do to the rye mixed with the brassica. Maybe someone here has done that and can report on the results.

 

[swat1018]

I do not mix seeds together that have such different optimum planting dates. I would have two mixes out of that. Here is my take on it. Oats here do best planted late August early September; They are not a winter mix--they die here in the winter. If planted in July they get too large and not so desirable by fall.

Rye can be planted early like late July for winter food but the fall attraction won't be there. Planted at the same time as the oats gives more fall attraction.

Turnips planted in late August do not mature for winter food. They may produce something but other than leaves--not much here. Plant that turnip July 15 here and have 6 to 8 lb. turnips by fall which will carry thru winter. The radishes planted with the turnips do well.

The peas are not a winter food but rather just a cocktail to bring the deer to the food plot. Planted in conjunction with the rye and oats it works well.

The nitrogen fertilizer needs of the brassicas are so much more than the rye, oats and peas that it doesn't make sense to me to mix them all together.So there are two mixes there versus one in my mind and mixing rye with each might be a consideration for me as one would produce a great winter food and the other a great fall food and OK winter food. I don't know what the heavy nitrogen fertilizer would do to the rye mixed with the brassica. Maybe someone here has done that and can report on the results.

Very true. I throw GHR in both mixes, though.

 

[dogghr]

If you have the time I always just plant the brassica mix much like LC recommended. Then somewhere early Nov broadcast WR or WW into the brassica that is getting browsed. By early Dec that is growing as the brassicas leafs disappear with browse so you have a field of brassica tubers and grain that feeds into Feb with the grains greening up in March. This along with perennial clover and a rotational grain/clover mix, and plenty food nearly year round. And then the rotation can be switched following year/fall. I've never planted grain along with brassica at same time, but some do. Good luck, let us know what you decide You'll be a married man then and you may not be plantin nuttin!!