field prep question

[fowl player]

so I know this question has been asked before but im just curious how yall do it. I have millet and sunflowers planted should be matured and drying out by first of august to mid august. with the expected opener to be on the first, how and when do yall go about readying the field for the birds? I don't think ill be able to burn it but it may be an option just doubtful because the field is surrounded by young planted pines that I don't know if I want to risk going up in blazes. I do have a sprayer bush hog and harrow to do the prep work. ive left a strip harrowed in the middle all summer as well. thanks in advance.

 

[baddave]

I like to harrow some strips kinda lightly especially if the soil is kinda sandy

 

[fowl player]

bushhog then harrow id assume or just harrow? starting about two weeks out of just one week?

 

[baddave]

yes - bushhog first . i'm sorry....the timing of when, depends on a few things ..from my experiences , doves find it VERY fast , but your situation could vary.. fronts, rain, when your seed is ready ,, neighbors noticing doves and making plans , how many doves you're seeing..how far away it is. just play it by ear ..i would in most all cases , save some space for harrowing the day before you're going to shoot ..understand i've always just done small fields so much easier to manage and it's right here where i live

 

[fowl player]

thanks yes mine is five acre field so nothing to big and right by the house so I can get the tractor over there quick. looks like ill have to live and learn a little but some dove are already using it regularly with no manipulation besides the one harrowed strip I kept through the summer.

 

[Gut_Pile]

I would keep that harrowed strip full of food from now until you start cutting.

 

[baddave]

Gut_Pile
Senior Member
I would keep that harrowed strip full of food from now until you start cutting.


roger that -- i'll tell ya another little trick , if ya can , rake it and make it smooth as an infield

 

[fowl player]

thanks guys. I have seen where some ppl have just lightly turned mature millet without bush hoggin is there any advantage to that?

 

[across the river]

thanks guys. I have seen where some ppl have just lightly turned mature millet without bush hoggin is there any advantage to that?

It depends on the millet stand and when you planted. Doves like a clean field. If the stalks are short, small heads, the field isn't weedy, etc... then you can lightly harrow it to keep a pretty clean field and maximum what seeds you put on the ground. If the stuff is tall and super thick, you're better of bush hogging it first,because you have to harrow it fairly deep to turn over a thick or weedy field, and that would likely leave the field pretty rough and cover a lot of your seed up. Baddave mentioned a baseball infield. Whatever you can do (legally) to get the field as clean a possible with as much seed on the ground as possible is what you want to do, and that will depend a lot on the field. People burn them because they can get a super clean field without loosing any of the seed. You want it to look like that baseball infield that you have walked across with a seed spreader and pumped seed all over the ground. You can't legally get there, but you want to do whatever you can to get as close to that as you can being legal.

 

[DJPineHillFarms]

be careful with burning, harrowing or bushhoggin....some wardens can be difficult with what they consider "routine" farming practice. if you do disc strips into the field, be sure they are super smooth and sometimes it helps if they need to be "sprayed" with a boom sprayer, but you accidentally have your boom too low and drag it across the tops of your sunflowers.... it tends to knock some seed down for the birds

 

[fowl player]

thanks guys yea I may till verse harrow with the need for smooth ground ill bush hog first. my millet is tall and thick rain this year has it way up there. we will see how it goes. my flowers instead of boom spraying I may spot spray with my atv harrow it can shoot on out a good ways to limit hitting as many flowers as possible with the boom. like I said first time on the flowers for me I thought I did pretty good on weed control pre planting but they have a decent amount of weeds in them now. a lot of seed and some falling out already idk if they can get to them or not. next year ill prob go to the Clearfield vs paradovik tobe able to spray post emergent.

 

[coastalredneck]

I would keep that harrowed strip full of food from now until you start cutting.

yep

 

[Gut_Pile]

Are your flowers done making heads and drying out?