The Massey

[KSQ2]

I dropped by the plot sprayed a few weeks ago and the cleth/gly combo is doing its work. You can really see the fescue in the background browning down well.

Here’s a closer look at the older/rougher part of the plot. In a few more weeks I’ll be throwing and mowing barley and rye, and possibly some oats as well. I’m hoping clover will begin out competing the deer a little better as other browse begins to green up more. There isn’t much depth to the clover to mow over the top of the seed right now.



Sent from my iPhone using Deer Hunter Forum

 

[KSQ2]

So far I can only tell that the headed out rye came through strong in the t&m into established clover at the Massey. I’m assuming the awnless wheat is a little behind.

The new cereal grain from last fall is looking good; the cereals look way too thick to allow anything underneath.

A closer look reveals clover coming on underneath.

Is this chicory? I assumed it was, but it’s new to me.

Bees are all over the turnip blooms. I’ll be mowing those down soon.



Sent from my iPhone using Deer Hunter Forum

 

[catscratch]

Yes, that is chicory. Wheat will be shorter and less "blue" than the rye. The clover underneath will be fine! Looks great!

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

 

[KSQ2]

Headed over to the Massey the other evening for the first deer watching of the year. As expected, I didn’t see much, just one doe. With nothing to draw them from the cover, which is loaded with browse, I wasn’t planning on seeing much. It was very nice to be out though. The farmer’s wheat is coming along, it doesn’t look like the cold night a few weeks back did much damage. The winter rye in the plot for sure didn’t seem bothered. It’s the light green in the distance of the second picture.



I also headed behind the house a couple evenings ago to assess the frost damage. It looks like the apples and pears are going to be fine. This will be the first year for apples off these trees, planted the spring of ‘16. The pear I allowed to produce last year.





And the pear...

 

[KSQ2]

I ran out to the Massey a couple days ago to check the sawtooth acorn planting progress, and take a look at the back foodplot.
Here’s some pics from the tubes. Of the 60 or so acorns placed, we have 12 above ground. As you can see from one I dug up, I believe there are some more that just haven’t made it topside yet.




The back plot is looking pretty good and the deer are definitely hitting it. This clover is 2 years old now and I t&m’d cereals into it last fall. I don’t plan to do anything to it until late summer, when I might might hit it with clethodim and gly, prep it for another fall t&m.




I’m hoping to have some pics to share soon of a some late spring planting (waiting on rye, barley, and buckwheat seed to come in at coop), as well as my first persimmon top-working.

 

[MarkDarvin]

Headed over to the Massey the other evening for the first deer watching of the year. As expected, I didn’t see much, just one doe. With nothing to draw them from the cover, which is loaded with browse, I wasn’t planning on seeing much. It was very nice to be out though. The farmer’s wheat is coming along, it doesn’t look like the cold night a few weeks back did much damage. The winter rye in the plot for sure didn’t seem bothered. It’s the light green in the distance of the second picture.
View attachment 21721
View attachment 21722

I also headed behind the house a couple evenings ago to assess the frost damage. It looks like the apples and pears are going to be fine. This will be the first year for apples off these trees, planted the spring of ‘16. The pear I allowed to produce last year.
View attachment 21723
View attachment 21724
View attachment 21725
View attachment 21726

And the pear...
View attachment 21727

That clover/wheat/rye looks fantastic. You can't have too much rye and wheat in clover if you ask me.

 

[catscratch]

Looks great KSQ2! How has the last 2 weeks been for your plots? My clover has been in overdrive and had gotten about knee deep in short order. Chicory is hidden in there but doing well. We've had a huge lack of rain though, starting to worry about summer.

My bucks are showing antlers. Already easy to tell what their bases are going to look like.

 

[KSQ2]

Looks great KSQ2! How has the last 2 weeks been for your plots? My clover has been in overdrive and had gotten about knee deep in short order. Chicory is hidden in there but doing well. We've had a huge lack of rain though, starting to worry about summer.

My bucks are showing antlers. Already easy to tell what their bases are going to look like.

Thanks for the kind words you two! Cat, our clover is getting up there in the places the deer aren't nailing it. I agree that the rainfall or lack thereof, is a little worrisome. I'm sure the wheat is liking the somewhat drier weather pattern we've had as compared to recent years, but if we don't keep that subsoil moisture up, it could be a rough summer. If that happens, it will be interesting to see how the acres of last fall's t&m, scattered over several properties do.

 

[KSQ2]

Still awaiting seed for late spring planting, our coop is having a hard time tracking some down. Seed supplier said it’s the wrong time of year for barley and buckwheat??? Oh well, I have a backup plan that might require driving a little farther, if they can’t get some found tomorrow.
Meanwhile I tackled the persimmon project behind the house. Here’s the results...




Also, is the infamous Russian olive you guys are always talking about?

 

[KSQ2]

I learned from the name that plant portion of the forum that the above shrub is actually a plum! Hallelujah! I’ve been trying to get the silly things established for a couple years now, not knowing we already had some. Lol!

 

[Native Hunter]

I learned from the name that plant portion of the forum that the above shrub is actually a plum! Hallelujah! I’ve been trying to get the silly things established for a couple years now, not knowing we already had some. Lol!

That's called a blessing in disguise.......

 

[KSQ2]

Had to drive about 80 miles one way to pick up seed today. 3 bags of barley, 1 rye, and 75 lbs of buckwheat. Just need a few days of sunshine now.

 

[KSQ2]

Took care of my first ever late spring t&m today. I wish it had been a little drier, but gotta take what the weather will give you. We have another chance for some big rain Monday. This is the place we hunt by our old residence. It’s a unique situation in that the landowner lets me put a big plot in a poor area of his hay meadow. After years of plotting, the soil is much better now. He will usually hay through the plot at least once each summer and sometimes twice. I’m hopeful that will not mess everything up when it comes to the barley and rye. I’m hoping we get good germination and when he mows it for hay in a month or so, it will continue to grow.
Here’s some pics from the afternoon...
First of all it felt like early April, which might not have the Memorial Day weekend lake crowd happy, but I love it!


Here’s some looks at the plot...

Frost seeding the chicory with some more clover worked very well! It’s taking the deer a little bit to get used to the chicory, but they’re warming up to it.



The clover is pretty thick, I’m hoping the cereals can crowd in. I mowed it low enough that most of the clover is just stems, hoping to get some sun to the new seed. I’m not worried about the clover going dormant as cool and wet as we are right now.


Here’s a look at the tools for the day...


There’s a lot of browsing taking place on the cover edges too...
Multi-floral rose


Not sure what this is...


All done...

 

[MarkDarvin]

Your mystery plant looks like it might be milkweed. That's a guess. Not married to that.

 

[Mennoniteman]

Your mystery plant looks like it might be milkweed. That's a guess. Not married to that.

or it might be a kind of goldenrod...

 

[Native Hunter]

My guess would be Solidago speciosa (Showy Goldenrod). Compare to second pic in this link: Solidago speciosa (Showy Goldenrod): Minnesota Wildflowers

 

[catscratch]

I would guess with the others that it's a goldenrod.
We needed the rain we got this weekend. Are you underwater over there?

 

[buckdeer1]

Looks great,the plum looks like a chickisaw plum and they spread fast and make great cover for all wildlife.

 

[KSQ2]

Yeah, rain still coming down, still not going to complain though.

 

[KSQ2]

Finally have a chance for rain in the forecast, so I headed over to the Massey to get that buckwheat t&m’d.
Here’s what it looks like after the gly 3 weeks ago.

Here it is after I mowed. I dropped the mower as low as possible.


I decided to mow the rest of the plot area, I mowed it real high to just knock the rye and wheat down.
It looks like I got carried away with the cereals in last fall’s conventional plot. Its next to the tractor in this pic and the clover and chicory are pretty sparse except the edges. There is clover evenly spread throughout though, so I’m hoping we’ll get some rain and it will come on now.

The rest of the established clover I t&m’d into last fall looks fantastic. I’m hoping this straw will turn into the carbon you all are always talking about.

I had to clean off the rye seed and chaff before leaving, I doubt the area farmers would like it blowing onto their crop fields.

Now we need that rain! It’s been 3 and half weeks since our last. There is still some subsoil moisture, but the surface is bone dry.