I took a vacation day from work and did some maintenance on the food plot. It was doing really well until last week when it just got heavily burned from the crazy weather. So, I got out the tractor, tilled it under and replanted. This time, clover, turnip and radish from the local farm store. Should be just right for hunting season. If not, it's still a lot of fun and it keeps the invasives in check, at least in this tiny patch. I got about 4 small loads of stones out of the field too. Each time I go up there I try to get some stones for the wife.
Clover should do okay but might be a bit late for turnip and radish. But, it won't do any harm either. This late I'd think strongly about oats or rye and maybe even some wheat. I do plan on planting some wheat but probably wait until Labor Day for that. However, much depends on weather. I normally plant clover earlier in August but did plant some today. I'll plant more next spring into the wheat that we plant this fall.
The stuff I planted earlier this year was supposed to be a mix of rye, clover and brasicas. Only the rye ever really sprouted. It was doing very well but really browned out last week.
Wife and I have been tossing around the idea of making this area into ~2 acre pasture for sheep and/or goats to graze. It was badly "high-graded" about 5 yr's ago by the previous owner so there's almost no canopy at all. With all that sun, it's been overtaken by brambles and invasives that are choking everything else out for now. We figured trying to get this area into some sort of productive pasture would be better.
My brassica plot is doing ok-I planted it 13 days ago and have decent germination, with the exception of a couple of bare spots that have me baffled. If nothing comes in, I may throw down some rye grass in those spots. I'm going to plant an acre next weekend in oats, radishes and turnips. A little late for the radish and turnip, should just about right for the oats.
Mike how did you cover the first batch of seeds under? Could of been too deep. There's some rule like only 3x the seed diameter deep or 1/3?? (Been years since wildlife and soils classes) There is a three in there somewhere, ha!. Clover can get too deep fast and your germination will suffer or may never come up.
Truth^ Quarter inch max depth on clover. Broadcast and pack basically. If it was disced in, its probably to deep. Plus it's normally slow to establish if it's a white variety. Whites run a 2 year plan. Grow roots first year. Grow forage the 2nd. Also, clover really benefits from a fall planting with less weed competition.
I scratched the soil with the tooth bar on my FEL, broadcast the seeds, then hand raked to cover. Some of it could have been and inch or two deep. I might throw a little more seed on top and let it sit on it's own?
Throw seed on it and drive over ot with tires if you have turf tires. Ag tires Don pack as well. Or use a ATV or pickup to drive o er it and pack.
That's what I'd do. You wont see much clover this year, but next spring it'll be there and have a head start on spring weeds.
If you can clean up the whole area you might consider waiting until next year, (Memorial Day is a good time) and plant some buckwheat. That can really help out in choking out a lot of weeds and will also help a good deal in building up the ground. Just make sure you plant after all threat of frost as it just will not take frost. We usually plant here about a week into June but I have planted on Memorial weekend and gotten away with it. Not too much to worry about with timing as it grows and matures fast. However, if you have deer, they absolutely love it too so you may have to do some fencing if you want it to grow.
Will C I would highly advise against rye grass. Funny that our DNR used to always advise growing that but it is not that good of stuff. I did try a small plot one year and decided to not do that again. But if you plant rye, it is hard to go wrong. The old saying is that even the poorest farmer can grow rye on the poorest of soils is pretty true.
Are you talking rye grass like the stuff people plant in yards or rye the grain? The latter is not as bad.
For the most part I'll agree with this but it is rather a rule of thumb. Most definitely 1/4" on clover is plenty. The hard part is to get enough moisture to it because that top 1/4" can dry out super fast. That is why you really have to pay attention to the weather when planting it. Also, August usually is the best month to plant clovers but we've had excellent results frost seeding (in the spring) it into winter wheat that was planted the fall before. Wheat and oats can be planted deeper than that rule of 3 especially in lighter ground as can other seeds. But it is hard to go wrong with the rule of 3 usually. I'd still pay closer attention to when the seed is planted more than how deep it is planted. For example, as an experiment we one time planted oats and wheat 4" deep and it done just fine. Actually, most seeds we've always planted deeper than the rule of 3. Most see that will make hay though, beware! Same with radish and carrots etc.
I am referring to a blend that has some brassica as well as rye grass. I bought some last year before I knew better. I was just thinking about the occasional bare spots-something better than bare dirt. I don't want to get in there and till the ground up, because I have good growth in around 75% of the area.
