food plot update pictures

[mrbb]

OK here are a few pictures of my spring food plots
here is two of them before I seeded, after just turning them over, and then some pic's of it as of today, after spraying the weeds down last week or so

looking pretty good, , one is a mix of corn and soybeans, and the other is about 95% soybeans with a few corn seeds mixed in


front field
just prepped

http://i1190.photobucket.com/albums/z457/mrbb1/frontfield_zps12904475.jpg (http://s1190.photobucket.com/user/mrbb1/media/frontfield_zps12904475.jpg.html)




and a view of it NOW

http://i1190.photobucket.com/albums/z457/mrbb1/254_zpseb049902.jpg (http://s1190.photobucket.com/user/mrbb1/media/254_zpseb049902.jpg.html)

and a view from the other end


http://i1190.photobucket.com/albums/z457/mrbb1/248_zps0bcd1792.jpg (http://s1190.photobucket.com/user/mrbb1/media/248_zps0bcd1792.jpg.html)


back field
http://i1190.photobucket.com/albums/z457/mrbb1/backfield2013spring_zps740fb19c.jpg (http://s1190.photobucket.com/user/mrbb1/media/backfield2013spring_zps740fb19c.jpg.html)


and then again now on this plot, wish I would have taken some pic's of it with all the weeds in it, as it was getting pretty weedy before I sprayed 10 days ago, cleaned up real good ,better than expected to be honest!

http://i1190.photobucket.com/albums/z457/mrbb1/247_zpsaaf6de17.jpg (http://s1190.photobucket.com/user/mrbb1/media/247_zpsaaf6de17.jpg.html)

small 21 rows by 60 yards of pure corn, had some extra seeds, the main farmer drilled in for me, I had to hit it with roundup after he drilled them, but looking good!

http://i1190.photobucket.com/albums/z457/mrbb1/251_zpsfd703a97.jpg (http://s1190.photobucket.com/user/mrbb1/media/251_zpsfd703a97.jpg.html)

[hortontoter]

The first plot looks huge. Your deer always seem to have plenty of food. But, your area being overbrowsed, they need it.

[mrbb]

Yea all in all I planted about 6 + acres this spring, and they will have kt all mowed down by mid to late dec of beans and corn, if it makes it that long.
Right now there mostly hitting the clover, was just mowed last week, and they love the fresh growth clover, leaving the beans alone for now!
but there is over 15 acres of food plots, and without them, hunting here would just plain suck Lol

[Maxxis31]

looks very nice there mrbb, six acres should hold them for a while, i myself planted about an acre of the real world wildlife soybean 2 weeks ago the stuff is doing awesome up here in the VT hills, have 2 cameras on it right now going to check them this weekend, also have an 1/2 acre of clover and chicory there as well and thats what they are feedig on right now, not big plots but they seem to last until the season ends.

[mrbb]

thanks
the size of the polt to me, is more based on your deer heard size
bigger isn't alway better either, leaves way too many places out of range for them to enter LOL
but I just have a ton of mouths to feed so I tend to have a lot of acres in plots anymore
also having 50 acres of corn this yr will help me too, as they like to live in the middle of the big corn field, eating a lot of that as it grows, and thenw hen ut gets some ears
But early summer clover and chicory work great!
even into fall,mowing or spraying can kepp it super fresh too, making deer flock to it too!
good luck

[Big_Holla]

Man those are looking great mrbb!! I have a couple of pictures to get uploaded too on my plot progress. Keep 'em coming!!

[Maxxis31]

mrbb what would you reccomend for spray for clover and chickory.

[mrbb]

Maxxix31, well theer are a LOT of options these days, so a lot depends on your budget I guess
the Whitetail Institute stuff works great, but its pricy and your paying alot for the name and marketing
I have been using Poast Plus, last few yrs
it works OK, results are in all honesty based on at what time of growth you spray at, if I can stay on top of weeds and time it right its a great tool
this is true with all chemicals
that and well, you have to mix it correctly, too much chemical, and it can kill, too little and it might not work at all
Poast plus is way cheaper than the White Tail Institute stuff, and about the same mix
, BUT Poast Plus isn;t cheap either, been going up every yr since I been using it(started back in I think 1999)
BUT< NOW< Over the past few yrs I have been wanting to try , "Arrow 2EC Herbicide"
or Butyrac 200 Herbicide,as I have been reading up many articles on it, and its way cheaper to use
you must use crop oil to get better results, and one is for grass, other is for broadleaf weeds in clover and chicory
BUT don't take my my word for it, look into it and decided if you want to try
NExt, simple mowing can be a great way to just keep weeds and grass out, have to time cuttings , just before they go to seed

ON Spraying, same deal, you want to spray when weeds just come out in spring, and if you miss that, you need to mow and then spray, pending how tall it all is, for best results

weeds in clover in most places it a hard thing to control, as so many weeds near by will seed up and the darn wind will blow them into a clover plot, or they sure do in mine!

here is 2 links to look at if you like have some good info, or I thought so!

http://iowawhitetail.com/forum/showthread.php?t=17861

http://www.keystonepestsolutions.com/food-plot-alfalfa-herbicides-10/?zenid=b95bfef72c8445e8f302d43d11709577

Plus this is the main chemical that is used in most clover weed control chemicals, some times , or should I say, I know folks that just buy this, and mix and spray

clethodim and crop oil
or

Cropsmart Clethodim

[Maxxis31]

Hey thanks a bunch mrbb, i will deffinetly look into this, i do have a smaller plot of just whitetail institute imperial clover, and the grasses have gone to seed unfortunaetly but i am going to mow this right down short and give the Arrest grass killer a try, see what happens from there, the clover is thriving very well but the grass is very tall right now so i think now would be a good time to knock it down and go from there, again thanks for your info.

[mrbb]

OK, you DO NOT< want to cut clover down below about 6 inches if you can help it, and after you cut it, you need to wait about 2-3 days or so before spraying, or you could kill it all
it needs time to heal up after mowing, before putting down chemicals
if you can just mow it as needed, you can do without spraying, and after every mow, it will get thicker clover to grass percentage
But chemicals sure help
Just because its Whitetail clover, doesn't mean you HAVE to use there chemicals
not saying NOT to use there's, just saying its not a must do deal, there clover is the same as every one else's more or less, as far as chemical resistants and such
you can buy a lot more of the chemicals to treat many times over, what the same $$ will get you in Whitetail arrest/slay
as long as you store it right it will last several yrs(if you don't use by then)
I go through about 5 gallons a yr, so it doesn't last me long, and at the amounts I use, I cannot swing the Arrest/Slay, when same stuff is had cheaper!
one last thing, try to spray when there is no rain expected for a full 24 hrs, most chemicals are rain fast in a few hrs , but the less moisture on the ground and air the better I feel!
But best of luck

[Maxxis31]

Hey mrbb, i mowed my clover last night but did cut this lower than six inches do you think it will be alright, shit i hope i didnt mess up by cutting this to short and loose my plot, i just thought if i knocked it down lower when i spray grass killer it would help kill the grass better, i may have totally messed up, sure hope not to much time invested and dollars, Damn.

[mrbb]

Maxxis31, HOW low did you cut it??
clover is pretty hard stuff, so I doubt you will have killed it ,
BUT cutting it shorter than 6 inches, stuns its growth, thus allowing the grass/weeds to then grow faster as they recover faster than clover does
so IT should be fine, but if you get HOT dry weather, it can burn down some of it
clover re seeds it self, so even if you loose some, odds are it will come back, as long as you get a grip on the weeds that compete with it
ever seen clover in someone's yard, most folks cut there yards pretty short and clover still manages to strive, but its like I said it stuns its growth
and weakens it some( your thinking to cut it shorter to give it a run over the weeds is backwards thinking, Sorry) does's just the oppisite, as weeds are hardier than clover, so grows back faster , clover wins the war by making shade with its leaves, )
thus you will NOT want to spray till it gets a few days of good growth after mowing it short, if you can!

and YES, food plots can be pricy
I had a local farmer come over to spray roundup one, and he accideltly sprayed a 3 month old 4 acre WHitetail clover food plot on me, so I know the costs all too well, and its not just the $$, its to me all the loss of good food to the herd, and all the time loss in the work, that pissed me off the most!
But hang in there should all be OK!
you can get a back of Urea, and broadcast it about, it will give clover a boost, if you feel the need! as a extra help! can go about 30 -40 lbs an acre no issues, other than it will also boost the weeds too LOL

[Maxxis31]

hello mrbb, oh i mowed this down to about 3 inches, and i have seen clover bounce back on my lawn just like you said, well it sure is good to know that i didnt totally screw it up, and i sure will wait a few days or so before i spray the grass killer to it, we have had alot of rain here as well so i would like a couple days without rain so the grass killer has a good affect on it, hey thanks for all you input, by the looks of your plots you sure have the knowledge on this topic, thanks again sir.

[mrbb]

yeah, if possibl;e wait till the clover in about 5-6 inches before spraying
as for rain, its been needed up here
as long as the grass is dry to the touch, you can spray,
its very small particles that land on it and absorb into it pretty fast, as long as its mostly dry, it gets sucked in from the tips into the roots, so even if the ground is wet, as long as grass is dry, you can spray and all will be just fine!

[Maxxis31]

sounds great, i will give it a dose of Arrest this weekend the weather here is suppose break finally, we have had almost 10 inches of rain here since the begining of June, unbelievable for around these parts, also checked cameras on my bean plot had 8 different buck on it in 2 weeks, i was very surprised not to have any fawn pics yet, plenty of baldies around to, dont quite understand that, again thanks for all your feedback mrbb.