Winter wheat plots now

[Cedar Ridge]

What do you guys do with your winter wheat fields once they’ve matured? I’ve only planted in the Fall previously and I’m trying to decide what to do.

Thanks.

 

[Brinktown]

Usually plant red clover with the wheat or rye so in the spring the clover can take over until everything is tilled under next fall. One planting in the fall (and mowing in late spring or summer) takes care of the entire year. I don’t have a lot of experience with spring planted options. Tried spring planting berseem clover once and didn’t have great results. If you’re really ambitious for a spring plot, I’d give soybeans a try if your field is large enough to withstand browse pressure.


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[SwampCat]

I do as above -plant the cheapest generic ladino clover with my wheat to keep a food source all the way into August when the clover burns up due to drought and heat. I do leave one wheat stand pure for doves to feed in all summer.

 

[THE LLC]

I let mine go to seed then the deer eat the seed heads. As a matter of fact, I checked yesterday, and they've already eaten most all of them.

 

[Native Hunter]

My deer eat the seed heads too. I will only mow a plot if I'm trying to keep some weed from going to seed.

 

[catscratch]

I've gone to awnless wheat just because of how much the deer like the heads. As others have said, a clover planted with with it in the fall works well.

 

[cutman]

I’m going to burn mine when dove season approaches...

 

[Cedar Ridge]

Thanks for the input guys. I’ve hardly had any deer in my wheat since it started forming a head but I’ve also had a dozer working at my farm off and on for 4 weeks putting in a ton of roads and 5 new greenfields. I wasn’t sure if the traffic was keeping them away or if they just wouldn’t eat the heads. Assumed they would but wanted confirmation. Appreciate you guys sharing your thoughts.

 

[buckdeer1]

I spray mine when about 8 inches tall and then will drill corn or soybeans,milo into the cover crop.i usually wait till turkey season is about over but this year our wheat is really headed out already

 

[Mennoniteman]

Early fall seeded or frost seeded clover does so much for spring grain plots. Soil building, nitrogen fixing, erosion control, deer and turkey food to name some of them. With this combination your options for later on are unlimited, but I'm not big on terminating the grain early, why waste time, diesel fuel and spray money when you have a good crop growing that provides some allopathic weed control, that will terminate itself and release the clover without you doing a thing, and provide seed heads to boot. Ripe standing straw is a great asset for a late summer throw and mow or notill planting. Straw is also an important component of weed suppression, soil conservation and soil building efforts and helps to conserve moisture in a dry spell. These reasons are why small grain is always an important component of crop rotation in organic farming. So I try to rotate late summer brassica into soybeans the next spring, interseed rye and winter wheat into the beans in the fall, frostseed clover into the grain in early spring, clover for a year or two then back into beans or brassica.

 

[j-bird]

I mow/spray or till mine under in prep for planting my summer annuals of either corn or soybeans typically. I will be doing some of that with some luck this coming weekend......