Newbie needs help with a Dove Plot

[Canuck5]

All help and suggestions are appreciated!! Our plans are to put in a 2 acre Dove Plot next year and I'm looking for some guidance and what to plant, when to plant, fertilizer, etc.. The plot will be in Talbot county and it's surrounded by tree's, with good soil and a ph of 7. There is a 1 1/2 acre lake about 200 yards away and small creeks closer and I can also, if needed put in a small pond.

So, when should I plant, what should I plant, when should I bush hog or should I harrow and when? Any guidance is appreciated!!! This is what it looked like in 2017, with oats.

 

[casey0802]

If I were planting that field I would put sunflowers and corn. I have been looking for a some of property to do the same. the deer will eat a lot of the sunflowers as they come up, but the doves love them.

 

[sasmojoe]

If it was mine I would go ahead and plant wheat now. Then in the spring plant sunflowers. I would leave a strip of wheat around the field when planting in spring .

 

[Canuck5]

Thanks!!!

 

[BirdmanZ]

I have been planting a field for about 5 years and have had very good results with a wheat / brown top combo. I would plant wheat in strips asap. Come spring I would begin plowing strips for the millet. Plant millet first week of June. I would then plow along the sides of the wheat and burn the wheat when it heads out. Burn a little at a time and the early birds will come in. Keep a little red soil around by harrowing from time to time. Two weeks prior to opening day I would plow fire breaks along side the millet and begin burning the millet in patches. You might need to spray the millet to get a clean burn. I usually keep a few strips of millet standing for second season and burn just prior. This has worked for me. Good luck and have fun.

 

[Canuck5]

Thank you!!!!!!!! Sounds like a good plan!

 

[Stonewall 2]

If you have a healthy deer population you will never get any sunflowers to make it to seed on two acres the deer will mow them down. Been there done that. I would go with brown top millet and some rows of sorghum

 

[Canuck5]

Yes, my deer love sunflowers, so unfortunately, I'll be leaving those out!

 

[brunofishing]

I'm in Talbot and have a two acer dove field...LIME LIME LIME and put some more LIME! There is a guy by the name Mark Burk that will do it for you because you will probably need a lot. I would think it need to be done ASAP for next year.

 

[BirdmanZ]

Thank you!!!!!!!! Sounds like a good plan!

It's fairly inexpensive and browntop will grow on concrete. Just watch out for army worms

 

[Canuck5]

Thanks Bruno! I've got my ph up to 7, over the last 4 years, so I should be good!

BirdmanZ, yeah, I am always fearful of army worms and I'll keep an eye out for them in August!

 

[Gut_Pile]

Adding some strips of corn wouldn't hurt if you want to try and shoot birds later on in the season.

 

[Dirtroad Johnson]

If you have a healthy deer population you will never get any sunflowers to make it to seed on two acres the deer will mow them down. Been there done that. I would go with brown top millet and some rows of sorghum

This has been my experience, I've planted 4-5 acres & 6-8 acres at a time & the deer demolished the sunflowers. Good luck & let us know how it turns out.

 

[Canuck5]

Yeah, I'm trying to get some ideas going here, for this small acreage! I appreciate all the suggestions!

 

[sasmojoe]

Brown top is good for early season, but it gets gone pretty fast.
It’s easy to grow

 

[fastball_24]

I would say WGF sorghum pretty easy to grow and works pretty good. I like wheat idea might mix either millett or sorghum or both and see which you like better.

 

[nrh0011]

wheat (hit it with N in the spring), pearl millet, and corn.

 

[Water Swat]

I really like sorghum and millet the best for dove fields. Seems easier to get a good crop with less maintenance than sunflowers and corn. With lots of grain.

 

[fireman1501]

We planted dove proso this year and had few birds . Would not recommend this. Lol. We thinking about just what next year.

 

[Souhternhunter17]

I prefer variety (BT millet, Proso Millet, Sorghum, Wheat, etc.) and staggering planting dates to provide food throughout the season when planting dove fields but I am just too busy to not just plant it all in a day and be done these days. Ive had some awesome hunts over sunflowers and corn but these are two options I personally don't choose to plant because getting a quality stand of corn and sunflowers is just alot more expensive-- (fertilizer, herbicides, fences to keep deer out, fuel, your time, etc).

In my opinion you cannot beat browntop millet for the first season. Its cheap, establishes and grows quickly (60 day maturity), and is very low maintenance. Plant it in late May-June. Plow the ground and spread it over the top at about 20-25 lbs per acre and lightly plow it in (just enough to cover the seed). When it begins to brown out harrow around the edge of whole field and harrow strips every 40-50 yards apart down the middle of the field. These will be your fire breaks, they also provide the ESSENTIAL open ground doves love. Bushog a strip or so every other week as low as possible in August to attract birds. Burn the field off about a 5-7 days before opening day depending on weather. Burning the field makes all the difference in the world in my opinion! Make sure you bring plenty of shells.