What is growing in my food plot?

[charlz]

BTW, I think the top one is 'Broom Corn' which is a low-sugar sorghum.

 

[Redbug]

Hi George,

I'm not sure if I ever sent this to you about food plots. Lots of good info which I think you will like...

P2111 Wildlife Food Planting Guide -- For The Southeast

A few good illustrations of a few of the millet types...

http://cahe.nmsu.edu/pubs/_a/A-414.pdf

 

[N80]

I have an older copy of the Planting Guide. Same text but also has lots of pictures, but the pics are old B&W ones and don't really show you much. I like the version you linked to better.

Thanks for the millet link. That is helpful and based on that picture I'm sure the tall stuff is dove proso millet.

 

[JRobyn]

Sorghum. We have a little "sorghum festival and old-timer's day" every fall when we mill the stalks and cook down the juice to make sorghum molasses.

- Jay

 

[N80]

That's cool. I guess its processed a lot like sugar cane.

 

[ihookem]

Sorgum yields 4 times more than corn from what I hear, takes less to plant, less weed control and ferterlizer, and you can use the stalks for sileage too. The best part is if you live far enough south you can cut it and it will grow back for another harvest. It grows almost anywhere too, even in dry areas of the west. I think if we keep ethonal this will be the plant. No doubt easier on the land and water runoff problems of corn. I wish it would take off if it takes the cost off of corn. I priced 24% protien chicken feed today and it came to 26.30 $ a hundred. Two years ago it 12 bucks a hundred.

 

[gcp]

George, this is George from northern Alabama, aka gcp. Do you think it's too late to plant sorghum now? My soil is sandy, dry, and difficult to grow things on, except for what's indigenous which has no problems whatsoever growing but I sure do like the sound of chocking the weeds out. And if the deer love the seed, well then, let them propagate a crop for next year

Disking is all I can do (have no tiller but I do use a plow now and then) so as a test I planted wheat last year and it did quite well. So, I'm hoping it'll reseed it self for this year as well but I'll probably add more to new plots August time frame....

What do you usually plant for you deer plots and when?

 

[schmism]

its not quite a sweet as surgar cane, but try some... same was as you would surgar cane, strip the woody outer shell off with a pocket knife and knaw on the inner stalk.

 

[N80]

I didn't think of that. I remember chewing sugar cane as a child. At what point in the growth cycle can you do this?

 

[N80]

George, this is George from northern Alabama, aka gcp. Do you think it's too late to plant sorghum now?

I think that puts us in about the same 'zone' as me and the sources that I have say you can plant sorghum through August.

I usually plant oats in late summer/early fall and sunflowers and cow peas in the spring. I may give up on the sunflowers though. They really attract the deer but they eat them to the ground and they're done. They do not grow back after browsing.

And since I've got two small fields of munched sunflowers I think I am going to disk them up and plant some more sorghum. If anything it is encouraging because it really grows fast and lush. It will also be good for turkey, quail and doves. Seems like a great plot plant to me.

But remember, the sorghum is apparently not a food source for the deer during the spring and early summer. They don't touch it. They start eating the seeds in the late summer, early fall. I don't know if they eat the stalk, but I'm guessing not. Seems like they would since it is sweet. We'll see I guess.

I like to plow before I disk. It really gives a good seed bed but more importantly it seems to help with weed control. I have no plans to get into spraying herbicides ($$$), which is what you need to do for best results, but I find that turning the turf over with the plow does a pretty good job. Compared to disking alone, it does a great job.