Spring planted food plot-Wisconsin

[Rempump870]

I have a food plot that was in sunflowers, forage peas and millet last year. The plot is pretty low and up until this week has been pretty soggy. I have dragged the plot to help break up the thatch and hopefully get any volunteer seeds growing. I don't want bare dirt until late July when I would plant a fall plot.
I was thinking about broadcasting oats, forage peas, brassicas and some clover this coming weekend after I spray it with gly. Is this a good idea? Will this plot make it until December with the brassicas and clovers?

The other option was just to broadcast some forage peas and oats this weekend, let them grow and hopefully seed out and die by the end of July. Then I would drag the plot or just spread new seeds and roll. If the weeds got out of control, I would also spray gly.

 

[Jason Broom]

Depending on where you're located in WI, I would consider broadcasting 50#/acre of buckwheat around 6/15 and then what is known as the Lick Creek winter rye fall mix around 8/15. It is composed of rye (grain), oats, peas, radish, red clover and a white clover. In your case, with wet ground, I would look at alsike clover and aeschynomene (both are OK with wet feet). You would leave the buckwheat standing, broadcast the other mix into it, and then mow the buckwheat down on top of those seeds. You don't want bare dirt and you also don't want to "break up the thatch"...you want to build it up! This is especially true if your in a part of WI with sandy soils, but applies universally.

 

[Rempump870]

This part of the farm has sandy loam soil, fairly black and rich. I like your idea on the buckwheat and I am considering it. The buckwheat is a little harder to find and when I did find it, it was 50$ a bag. I can get the recleaned oats for 14 a bag. Thanks for the suggestions on the clovers, I will see if I can find some of those separate and not in the mixes. I am using the lick creek mix on my sandier plots and so far it is working pretty well.

 

[Jason Broom]

Alsike clover is good on sandy, lower pH soils. The aeschynomene (deer vetch) is good on wet ground and useful for stabilizing soils.