Black oats are supposed to be more southern adapted than some of the other oat varieties. Could have better tolerance to what ever conditions have plagued your oats in the past. GreenCover seed offers a deer plot mix with black oat....double check that with them to be certain....this deer plot mix is something Darrin Williams in KS came up with on his farm....he used mixed covers in food plots before doing them in ag fields.
Southern 'LC' fall rotation
- Thread starter Baker
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I'm curious how much N people are using for the "southern" LC mix? I usually apply 20# at planting (250# 8-24-24 per acre) and then an additional 46# of supplemental N per acre (100# Urea) about 30 days after germination.
My soil test from Mississippi State only recommends 30# of nitrogen, but I also have friends telling me I need even more N than I'm providing for this type of mix.
My soil test from Mississippi State only recommends 30# of nitrogen, but I also have friends telling me I need even more N than I'm providing for this type of mix.
IF you have low fertility soil, getting P, K and Ca levels raised will help persistence of perennial and annual legumes so they can harvest the N for you. Air is 80% N and that N is free....learn to tap into it to defray N fertilizer purchase! Another point, is that fall and winter are slow growth periods, N already in soil will mineralize at a slow pace and accumulate....as long as you have something growing you will keep that N in the root zone...Nature prepares Her plants for the 'spring flush' each winter of each year!
Apply 30 lb N to something growing and don't worry....just make sure P,K and Ca are optimum! If you have high deer density and can't do anything about that, then more N may be needed than the 30 lbs or what legumes can fix from the air just to keep up with browsing pressure! N, S and P are required to stabilize soil OM and capture carbon....and not a lot of those of those are needed...but I've never been pleased when doing consulting work on pasture soils where 100 lbs N is applied twice per year...and N is about all the majority around here want to apply....the life is just gone in those soils and they are hard and many have low quality weed issues! Every soil has limitations on how much abuse they can handle.....healthy soil and excess N are divergent management steps....the type of forb or weed is an indicator of management blunder or management perfection!
Apply 30 lb N to something growing and don't worry....just make sure P,K and Ca are optimum! If you have high deer density and can't do anything about that, then more N may be needed than the 30 lbs or what legumes can fix from the air just to keep up with browsing pressure! N, S and P are required to stabilize soil OM and capture carbon....and not a lot of those of those are needed...but I've never been pleased when doing consulting work on pasture soils where 100 lbs N is applied twice per year...and N is about all the majority around here want to apply....the life is just gone in those soils and they are hard and many have low quality weed issues! Every soil has limitations on how much abuse they can handle.....healthy soil and excess N are divergent management steps....the type of forb or weed is an indicator of management blunder or management perfection!
Let me start out by saying that I’m fairly new to this and only planted my first plots 3 years ago. Last year I planted a mix of wheat and oats at 110#/acre plus 12# crimson clover and 4# arrowleaf. The plots did really well, although I never really saw any clover until the spring. This year I’m adding a little more diversity and planting something closer to Baker’s mix: 2# chicory, 3# daikon radishes, 1# rape, a little more crimson and arrowleaf clover plus wheat and oats. What has me stumped is how much grain I should plant. I’m 4-5 weeks away from planting, and the more I read the more confused I become about how much grain I should plant - recommendations seem to be all over the place on this issue, ranging from 90# - 150# per acre in just this one thread.
There’s an article on wheat in the latest edition of the bi-monthly magazine from a certain organization many of us use to belong to that recommends broadcasting 120-150# per acre for a pure stand, but then discusses a mix and states “be sure to reduce the planting rate of wheat to approximately 40 to 50 lbs./acre (broadcast) with this strategy to give the clover and chicory plenty of growing space as they develop” and an earlier article on oats said exactly the same thing. At another point in the wheat article they suggest a mix of 60# wheat, 15# crimson clover and 6# arrowleaf clover – which is very similar to a mix recommended by Mississippi Wildlife and Fisheries of 50-60# of wheat and oats, 10-12# crimson clover and 4-5# arrowleaf clover.
All of these planting rate recommendations are all well below the levels everyone here seems to be using. Is there a downside to overplanting? Has anyone experienced problems with their wheat/oats/rye crowding out other slower developing plants?
There’s an article on wheat in the latest edition of the bi-monthly magazine from a certain organization many of us use to belong to that recommends broadcasting 120-150# per acre for a pure stand, but then discusses a mix and states “be sure to reduce the planting rate of wheat to approximately 40 to 50 lbs./acre (broadcast) with this strategy to give the clover and chicory plenty of growing space as they develop” and an earlier article on oats said exactly the same thing. At another point in the wheat article they suggest a mix of 60# wheat, 15# crimson clover and 6# arrowleaf clover – which is very similar to a mix recommended by Mississippi Wildlife and Fisheries of 50-60# of wheat and oats, 10-12# crimson clover and 4-5# arrowleaf clover.
All of these planting rate recommendations are all well below the levels everyone here seems to be using. Is there a downside to overplanting? Has anyone experienced problems with their wheat/oats/rye crowding out other slower developing plants?
Each climatic area and farm and goals are all a bit different.....so not surprising to see disparity among reports. It will help if you establish goals for the plots and the soils, then pick the applicable seeding rates.
The old hat recommendation for planting small grains for winter livestock grazing is 100-120 lbs/ac. The goal there is to withstand normal grazing pressure from predetermined stocking rates and have adequate available forage for grazing during fall through spring.
Deer pressure (stocking rate) is another variable not mentioned....so it stands to reason to use the higher small grain seeding rates for high deer density. For weed suppression or highcarbon spring biomass, seeding rate should be on the high side as well. For companion perennial legumes/forages, then moderate seeding rate. For maximum diversity expression of a highly diverse mix (10+ species), then lower rates of small grains are used.
Again.....set your goals for the land first (what are your animal and soil resource concerns?), then choose the plant species and seeding rates to meet those goals. Adjust the seeding rates over the years based on your observations and anticipations etc. The point is to start somewhere, observe the results and adjust as needed!
The old hat recommendation for planting small grains for winter livestock grazing is 100-120 lbs/ac. The goal there is to withstand normal grazing pressure from predetermined stocking rates and have adequate available forage for grazing during fall through spring.
Deer pressure (stocking rate) is another variable not mentioned....so it stands to reason to use the higher small grain seeding rates for high deer density. For weed suppression or highcarbon spring biomass, seeding rate should be on the high side as well. For companion perennial legumes/forages, then moderate seeding rate. For maximum diversity expression of a highly diverse mix (10+ species), then lower rates of small grains are used.
Again.....set your goals for the land first (what are your animal and soil resource concerns?), then choose the plant species and seeding rates to meet those goals. Adjust the seeding rates over the years based on your observations and anticipations etc. The point is to start somewhere, observe the results and adjust as needed!
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