Chufa question

[Ugahunter2013]

When is the ideal time to plant a Chufa plot for turkeys? I assume now would not work? I had an area I was planning on using for something else, change, and I thought about planting it for turkeys if possible.

 

[WishboneW]

You can plant as late as July.

I would try for mid May

I have tried several different times but each time the plots were consumed before the end of august. Plots 1 acre in size.
I would not try anything less.

 

[Canuck5]

And if you have hogs, it might not be a good idea to plant it either.

 

[Ihunt]

And if you plant it do not do anything after it has matured to help them find it. If you do, they’ll eat it all before the season.

If by some miracle they do not find it on their own, harrow one strip through it late February or early March.

 

[Ugahunter2013]

Is there anything I could plant now that would be good for turkeys?

 

[WishboneW]

They love cracked corn

 

[tr21]

We've been doing chufa plots for over 10yrs. Usually 4 to 6 half acre plots. We tried something new last year that I had found on the NWTF website. Disc existing fields in mid May, June and July. And were we surprised at how good it came back. It almost hurt to disc it the 3rd time because it was so thick. It came back but not as good due to no rain. This year we are planning on doing 2 discings unless we see a rain coming in July. We were skeptical of doing deep discing but wow it helped even the plots with just a little sparse chufa came back thicker each time.

 

[WaltL1]

Thats a pretty plot!

 

[Evergreen]

Yall know how many old and gone farmers are rolling over in their graves about people willingly planting yellow sedge?

 

[NCHillbilly]

Yall know how many old and gone farmers are rolling over in their graves about people willingly planting yellow sedge?

That's what I was thinking reading down through this. After spending most of my life battling nutsedge, ain't no way I'm planting it.

 

[WishboneW]

Planting it is one thing. Getting it to grow and last till turkey season is quite another

 

[antharper]

I’ve planted it for years . April-June , fairly easy to grow if you have the right type of ground . It will for sure draw some turkeys and hold them . I’ve got a pretty good population and never had them wipe it out . Got some that’s not been replanted in a couple years . Was really skippy this past year . Planning on replanting this year . In my opinion anything to help our declining turkey population I’m all for it .

 

[Gut_Pile]

Here in the low country of SC, we have started planting in August. You still have plenty of warm days ahead for it to develop and you get WAYYYYYYY less grass competition.

 

[Ugahunter2013]

We've been doing chufa plots for over 10yrs. Usually 4 to 6 half acre plots. We tried something new last year that I had found on the NWTF website. Disc existing fields in mid May, June and July. And were we surprised at how good it came back. It almost hurt to disc it the 3rd time because it was so thick. It came back but not as good due to no rain. This year we are planning on doing 2 discings unless we see a rain coming in July. We were skeptical of doing deep discing but wow it helped even the plots with just a little sparse chufa came back thicker each time.
View attachment 1279172View attachment 1279171

Here in the low country of SC, we have started planting in August. You still have plenty of warm days ahead for it to develop and you get WAYYYYYYY less grass competition.

Are y'all broadcasting it and dragging in or using a drill? when planting

 

[buckpasser]

Since our turkey numbers have gotten so high, they start on it in Dec now and it’s long gone by spring. I plant in early July to early Aug with great results. I spray 24DB and Poast for weed control. I’ll keep doing it, but not sure I would if it wasn’t for the plantation.

 

[Crakajak]

You could plant winter wheat .If the soil temps aren,t to low.It usually seeds out in 90-+00 days.

 

[tr21]

Are y'all broadcasting it and dragging in or using a drill? when planting

we broadcast and drag it .

 

[tr21]

here's the part from the NWTF about discing existing plots !

Managing a Pre-existing Chufa Plot​

“You can use the same chufa plot year after year,” said Travis Sumner, NWTF hunting heritage and habitat manager. Perennial chufa plots can emerge for up to five consecutive years if managed properly. Chufa benefits from repeated discing, so start with a deep discing in May to reinvigorate pre-existing chufa plots. After some rain, chufa will begin to emerge. Disc the plot again in mid-June and one last time in late July. Apply fertilizer before discing a final time in July to incorporate fertilizer into the soil; however, according to Greg and Deborah Yarrow’s Managing Wildlife, if the soil is particularly sandy, it may be more beneficial to apply fertilizer after discing, preventing fertilizer from flushing through the soil before plant intake.
Harrowing a chufa plot continually suppresses existing weeds, allowing chufa to thrive. While it is usually not necessary, you can add 10 to 15 pounds of chufa to thicken up a previous year’s plot. If continual discing does not stop weed growth, apply Treflan at the same rates mentioned above before a final discing.

 

[doomtrpr_z71]

It's nutsedge, discing it cuts the tubers causing it to spread more, you're not going to kill it with tillage.

 

[fishfryer]

Yall know how many old and gone farmers are rolling over in their graves about people willingly planting yellow sedge?

One old gardener right here is not too happy