Fertilizing Deer Plots

[rasimmo]

We use rye grass for plots as well. It is usually pretty easy to get to grow. I top sead a 4 acre patch for my horses every year. I just sling the seed, no disk, no drag, nothing. It comes up fine. I know it would do better if I did more, but I'm lazy.:laughing:

You may want to get a soil sample of just the dead spots and see what comes from that.

 

[Dickey]

Put chicken liter on it, that will make a stump grow.

 

[mroldstyle]

That's funny we use it around here all the time in food plots, mixed 50/50 with Wrens Abruzzi Rye especially in wet areas, my point was to get something growing there, rye grass will come up fairly easily, so I'm not sure what all you are confused about.

Like I sad before go to the QDMA forum, the one entire section on just food plots, mention ryegrass or do a search. One of the main reasons is it will take over a plot out competing other desirable plants.
check this out, http://www.caws.org.au/awc/2010/awc201011531.pdf

 

[vabiker23518]

I have very poor clay soil in central Virginia. I had a couple yards of chicken litter delivered last spring, and was AMAZED at the effect it had...clover just exploded so that I had to top them with the bush hog...had iron clay peas that grew green and lush to nearly 3' tall....we had good rain this past summer and that helped....but I'm convinced chicken litter is the way to go!

 

[Boeing]

These are some great ideas. About the dirt (too poor to call soil) The crest of this ridge is where I am trying to get something growing. About one acre was planted in RYE and it was/is growing fairly well. Deer don't seem to like it though. The other 2 acres WAS a pine stand and I had it bulldozed for view and future building. That land is mainly clay, pebbles and extremely dry dirt. I've removed TONS of softball size rocks from it. It won't HOLD water, gets continuous sun etc. It DIDstart growing some excellent weeds all by itself; vine runner things and tall thistle thorny things. I bush hogged, then disked, then limed, then disked again and spread seeds....and went home. About 80% is growing albeit very slowly, the other 20% is still smooth (not tilled) hard packed pebbly clay.
I spread the LIME while waiting for the results of the soil test...
All the products that I buy are from the local CO-OP, I'll see if I can find some chicken poop and disk it in next spring. BTW, do you sling chicken thru your spreader......or just dump and push it around with the front end loader?
AND....one more question that I may as well ask....since the deer don't seem to like the rye (in front of the tractor) should I spray killer on it and start the digging, disking, liming, fertilizing, seeding etc. on that parcel too? Maybe I should just leave this hilltop in anything that grows and put small plots in and around the woods???????
Thanks for all the help.

 

[Oldstuff]

Boeing- I get my seed and fert from Coop also. Clover needs NO nitrogen because it actually produces nitrogen for itself. At Coop I get 0-46-0 and 0-0-62 and mix them together and spread at arate of 300 pound per acre. As was noted above you need to cover the seed some, actually 1/4 inch- look it up if you are doubtful. I have been doing food plots since 2004 and have had very good luck. A section of chain link fencing was noted for a drag- this is what I use and it works great. I have did it on a 4-wheeler and from a tractor, I drive forward and have another person sit behind me facing rearward with a hand held seed spreader and pull a 6 foot wide by 8 foot long piece of fencing with a 8 foot long chain with NO weight on it because of the 1/4 inch desired depth. My most recent plot I did as above and then pulled a 300 pound roller over it afterward to get a better seed contact with the dirt and I think it improved my germination rate. I do a soil test every year and have found that about every other year I have to add a couple of hundred pounds of lime, your Ph reading really is important. Good Luck.

Oldstuff

 

[EddieWalker]

There are two types of rye. Rye grass that is used in lawns, and rye grain that is farmed and used in food that we eat. I've found that quite a few of the premixed game feed sacks load up on rye grass seed. Some as much as 80%.

I've been trying different things and haven't found what they go crazy for yet. Some have said it just takes years for them to get used to it and to develop a taste for it. Other say that they have too many other things to chose from and it doesn't matter what you plant. And then there is the groupt that I'm falling into, that I just need to find the right plant for my conditions that the deer will go crazy for. Purple top turnips seem to be the best so far, but only after a freeze. They love hard packed, high acid red clay!!!!! Crimson clover grows good too, but it's not pulling in anything. I'm gonna try some different types of peas and beans over the summer.

Fortunately, its not an expensive hobby and I do enjoy seeing what happens.

Eddie

 

[rasimmo]

Eddie,
In your experimenting try buck forage oats. We have used ot for a few years with good success.

 

[Western]

Eddie,
In your experimenting try buck forage oats. We have used ot for a few years with good success.

Cant beat Oats! All though I have planted Buck forage Oats in 1 plot and regular "feed" oats in another side by side and the deer showed no preference to the oats. The only "preference" I did notice is the deer browse them less when the plant gets taller/tougher. The Buck Forage Oats seemed to stay somewhat softer when bigger , but not for the cost difference for me.

I have used allot of drags, from pipe to fence panels and the best I have found is 6-8 old car tires wired in a "pyramid" then a wire that loops over my draw bar.

 

[tpulley]

If your soil is as poor as you state then the soil analysis should indicate the amount of organic material in it. You can improve this with mulch. You simply dump loads of it (you can find free mulch in a lot of places) and using a tiller you work it into the soil. This will help improve the ability for it to hold/keep water in the soil.

You mentioned your ph was 7.5 This is really too high. adding lime makes it go even higher. What happens when the ph is too high or too low with many plants they simply cannot get any nutrients from the soil. Think of it as shutting down the pores of the plants. Your N-P-P may be spot on but if the ph isn't right your not going to realize it. You should look at getting some sulphur to bring the ph down to 6.5-7. This will only help you.

As for adding chicken manure, if you add this directly it is so high in nitrogen it will usually burn the plants. You really need to compost it first. Ideally put it into a pile and turn it over every week or two. You will see the heat rising from the pile. The nitrogen is actually the fuel it uses to cook it to a compost. For better results consider adding some mulch, leaves or hay to this compost pile. You will end up with a much better compost. Even horse or cow manure as good as it is needs composting for best results.

Once you get teh soil right Having a mix of plants will help attract critters (deer and turkey). Clover adds nitrogen and helps to maintin moisture into the ground. The rye, wheeat or oats love this extra nitrogen. Anything in moderation is ok. Too much of anything is bad. Adding too many seeds per acre is bad too.

Good luck on your food plots.