I tried it and it failed!

[Canuck5]

Perennial Peanuts were hyped at one time https://forum.gon.com/threads/peanuts.917435/#post-11164506 and I was just wondering what we have all tried and failed at?

Me, was iron and clay cowpeas. The first year, I grew them on 1 5/8 acres and they grew knee high, till they flowered, then the deer came in and wiped them out, which was fine. I would fool them next year!!! I grew 5 acres, increased the seeding rate and all I got was stems sticking out of the ground. I know they are great deer candy, but I just can't grow enough.

I haven't heard too much about Sunn Hemp. Anyone still planting that? I know it was good deer food, if the deer kept it short?

I don't see too many more questions about rye grass, thank goodness.

What will you not plant any more and for what reason? Doesn't mean it wasn't good deer food .... just the circumstances.

 

[Ihunt]

I’m not a fan of Crimson Clover. Too many better options IMO and while I don’t use exclusion cages like I should, I just don’t see the browsing pressure that I would like. Many of my plots are small and if the deer are eating it I should be able to tell.

 

[UFG8RMIKE]

Same boat here with iron/clay, lablab, and soybean mix. Without fencing theres no chance. Total failure last year. Expensive mistake. Thinking of trying again with some electric fencing tho.

 

[Lilly001]

I planted oats this year on about 7 acres combined.
I ran down the middle of each plot with I/C peas fairly heavy as a teaser. The peas are usually gone by early/mid October but they bring the deer to the plots, and then they stay for the oats the rest of the year.
I’ve tried other stuff but this has worked best for me.

 

[ghadarits]

Gents its hard to grow anything that deer like in small quantities theres just not enough there to keep them from eating it all once its been discovered. I've never had iron clay peas do worth a flip unless I planted at least 10 acres of them. I think the highest I've ever gotten them was maybe six inches out of the ground before they were wiped out in a small plot.

 

[SakoL61R]

I still like sunn hemp. Have been planting it for 10 or 11 years off and on now.
Yes, the deer will tear it up when it's just out of the ground. My mistake in the 3rd or 4th year was planting sunn hemp all by itself. The deer destroyed it.
I'm having quite a bit of luck now though by using a heavy mix of buckwheat with the sunn hemp. I'll add in sun flowers and iron-clays as well. From experience, the buckwheat grows a might bit faster after germination and "hides" the sunn hemp.
That and I'll hit it heavy with milorganite just before germination if able.
This year's sunn hemp is going strong still, but is only knee high as they're keeping it browsed down.

For the absolute fail-several pear varieties (out of 22) planted over the years. Came from a mix of suppliers that supposedly were fire blight / disease resistant. They were not. Having put trees in the ground since 2009, it was a good learning experience on what and what not to plant as well as where to buy from. And where not to......

Not really a fail, but I've added blue lupine to my fall mixes a couple of years in the past. Definitely an ice cream plant as the deer never let it get more than a couple inches high.
Wanted to plant it this year again, but can't find any seed. Got an idea about how to keep them off if and wanted to try it out.

 

[Bullochcountyhunter]

Actually had durana clover fail last year....we'll sort of. Half the plot took off and has done excellent. The other half not so much. I dunno what happened, other than what did sprout didn't survive and grass and weeds took over. Got fert, lime and seeds waiting on go again this year. I'm not giving up on it, plot is too small for anything else to last past sprouting lol.

 

[Jim Boyd]

Any bean or pea.

Corn if it is planted too early.


I might be the worst deer farmer on the planet.

 

[Buckstop]

Sunn hemp, I & C Peas and Buckwheat this year was a fail on the longer stretch. Good start with all, but as the buckwheat played out, rest got over-browsed to almost nothing. Same mix four years ago did great all summer. Herd is up I guess.

 

[doomtrpr_z71]

Hemp was my failure, who knew sharpen could persist long enough to defoliate hemp the next year.

 

[Ihunt]

Hemp was my failure, who knew sharpen could persist long enough to defoliate hemp the next year.

Guess we all do now. Thanks for a teaching by example moment???

 

[Triple C]

Two I won't try again:
1 - Summer plots. Plenty of native browse and perennial clover without the need to fight weeds n such with summer plots. Not to mention the costs.
2 - Any type of soft-mast bearing tree other than native persimmons.

Got beautiful kieffer and orient pears planted in 2011 and 2012. 80% of the years late frosts wipe out the fruit. Last year was a bumper crop but most all were off the tree by the end of September.

On the other hand, the good ole native persimmons produce in abundance every single year with little to no maintenance. Deer dodge arrows to get to them and they last into early december.

Give me perennial clover and native persimmons as my base to work from and I'm a happy camper.

 

[Elkbane]

I've given up on summer plots period in favor of fall plantings that have red clover in the mix to extend grazing period. If I do have to plant in spring/summer, it's minimum till and alyceclover.

Planting 8 acres of peas and watching it germinate, grow to 3" high 2 leaf stage, then get wiped out in a night taught me that lesson, and when I did plow in spring/summer, I got tried of fighting coffee weed explosion.
ELkbane

 

[doomtrpr_z71]

Guess we all do now. Thanks for a teaching by example moment???

I do what I can ???

 

[EastCape]

I got tried of fighting coffee weed explosion.

I am still fighting this fight. Coffee Weed is the worst

 

[Gaswamp]

Planted chufa once upon a time.....ended up some expensive hog feed

 

[glynr329]

My fail this year was sorghum and sunflower. I wouldn't waste diesel in my tractor planting iron clay peas. My best luck is oats, abuzzi, clover and turnips

 

[Smithvillefeller]

if you have the equipment the best summer food plot with our high deer density are peanuts. They’re expensive and you have to spray with herbicide but if you put in the $ and time and pray for rain you will bring in deer from all neighboring properties.

 

[WishboneW]

Chufa. Every time I have planted it, on 3 different properties, it was consumed before September

 

[Smithvillefeller]

Chufa. Every time I have planted it, on 3 different properties, it was consumed before September

Yeah hogs love chufa more than turkeys