T.P.'s 8th annual food plot prep picher thread

[Triple C]

Looking good Canuck, you’re feeding a lot of deer there!

X2! Getting it done Canuck. Son hunted our largest field Sunday afternoon. 17 deer - 7 pigs. This is the time of year when the deer start piling in to the green fields. I've got a small honey-hole plot behind my house. First year planted in grains, PPT's and radish. Haven't touched a leaf on the PTT's. Wearing the tops of the radishes out. Grains always get munched on. Odd that it takes deer a year or two to take to PPTs. At the farm, they browse early n often. New plot and first time planting...can't find a single top that has been browsed.

 

[fireman32]

Coming along.

 

[GeorgeShu]

Nice salad bar!!

 

[fireman32]

Nice salad bar!!

The wheat, rye and oats are being eating regularly. The clovers are growing, hoping to have a good stand of it this spring. A few wild turnips and a little nut sedge is mixed in, plan to try to care of them sometime soon.

 

[Gut_Pile]

Looking good fireman

 

[Canuck5]

Sadly, the fall of 2021 might be the cheapest we see prices for a lot of things. Glyphosate, fertilizer and seed might be a real shocker by the fall of 2022. Everything is going up. I got a truck load of lime quoted at $60/ton now.

If you have a good clover crop ..... treat it well this spring!

 

[GeorgeShu]

Canuck, my fertilizer cost last year doubled from the previous year. May have to pass this coming year and see if the soil bank can handle things. Soils are in good shape thankfully. May cut seeding rate a bit also. I am hoping the no till system I have been using will help as well.

 

[Canuck5]

Yes! ... I ordered fertilizer early, last year and didn't get a big surprise, but I was told that my bill would've been higher, if I hadn't. I tried to make sure my P&K were up to snuff and the clover will fill in for the N.

I am sure yours will do fine!

 

[ventilator]

My farm is in Cherokee Co SC . 66 acres i bought last year. Didnt soil test a year ago, but i used 1000lbs pellet lime on 1/2 acre newly cleared plot. Planted Durana in early sept with winter rye. Used 100lbs of rye and 5lbs durana. Rye came up nice and green initially and eventually pretty much died off. Durana clover came up 1/2" in half of the plot. Did a soil test in December. PH 5.5 and required 200lbs of P and 250lbs of K, approximately. 1000lbs of lime. Spread 500lbs of pellet lime end of December. Last weekend i went down and spread the P&K and frost seeded 5lbs of Crimson Clover and 3lbs of Durana. Had a rear tractor tire break the bead and couldnt cultipack it like i wanted. Its been below freezing 4 days since, so hopefully the frost seed takes. Had deer on my place all summer last year but they dwindled away mid october. Few more started showing back up end of December. Surrounded by 800-900 acres of woods, lots of acorns last fall. Only killed one 3YO 9pt this year with a bow. Never fired a gun on the place. Seems to be going pretty good for first year. Ive designated 20-25acres on the creek for a bedding sanctuary. Also used Forestry Mulcher 2 weeks ago to clear some lanes and a 1/3 acre new plot. All of you that posted pics have some nice plots!

 

[fireman32]

Checked my plots the other day. My place is more of a walk through and eat what you can area for the deer.
Do y’all notice certain areas of your plots being eaten and other areas of the same plot not touched. It’s obvious that the deer eat the oats and clover right around the trails here, but they don’t seem to graze out from the trails. The plot is plenty hid, just seems odd that deer wouldn’t wonder around in the plot.

 

[CarolinaDawg]

Checked my plots the other day. My place is more of a walk through and eat what you can area for the deer.
Do y’all notice certain areas of your plots being eaten and other areas of the same plot not touched. It’s obvious that the deer eat the oats and clover right around the trails here, but they don’t seem to graze out from the trails. The plot is plenty hid, just seems odd that deer wouldn’t wonder around in the plot.

Deer will graze plots hardest on the edges where they’re closest to cover. They’re selective feeders, so there are other areas of plots that are browsed harder than others, it can be related to uneven fertilization.

 

[Canuck5]

Got some firewood cut and 1400 pounds of salt spread.

Checked on the food plots and they are lip high right now.


A few tokens of appreciation were recently left.

 

[davidhelmly]

Got some firewood cut and 1400 pounds of salt spread.

Checked on the food plots and they are lip high right now.
View attachment 1135414View attachment 1135415

A few tokens of appreciation were recently left.

View attachment 1135416

That’s a good day Canuck!!

 

[Canuck5]

It was a beautiful weekend on top of it too!

 

[Canuck5]

Turkey's were tight lipped this weekend, but I did run a couple of gobblers out of a food plot at mid day. 3 clovers and oats are looking good. Can't wait to get back down and check on them after another month of growth.

 

[Canuck5]

No turkeys were taken, so we had to make due with what we had ......

 

[fireman32]

Haven’t snapped a pic lately, but my crimson clover is blooming. The ladino hasn’t bloomed yet. Got some tracks going into the plot, but grazing pressure seems to be minimal. At least it’s growing well.

 

[Canuck5]

You might get surprised. An exclusion cage helps assess usage

 

[fireman32]

Checked my plot again today. The crimson clover and wild turnips are doing well. Saw some fresh tracks since the rain Wednesday. Did finally see some grazing evidence. Enjoyed seeing the many bumble bees working the clover blooms.
Checked a spot or two in the woods where I opened up the canopy a good bit. Got some greenery growing there now. Couple of large sweet gums I girdled are looking sick.

 

[Canuck5]

I helped (a little) with 20+ plots in Alabama last fall and got them converted over to a 3 clover blend, oats and radish. They are really producing right now.