late season food plot

[Nova]

I've been so busy with fishing tournaments that I haven't gotten my food plot in yet. Can anyone tell me what I can plant this time of year that would still be ready before the snow flies? I know soy beans are done early, can you still plant them? I messed way up this year, hopefully I can still get something in . Thanks for any help.

[Mark Christianson]

I have my clover, Buck Forage Oats, and King Annual Rye ready for the ground around Sept 1.

Tasty little treats when the snows begin to fall.

[Nova]

I knew I could count on you Biglake. I was think of rye, if it's to late for beans. Thanks for the help.

[Nova]

One more thing, where can I get rye? Would a feed store have it or fleet farm, or do I need to go to an elevator.

[Mark Christianson]

I am actually going to buy some King Annual Rye from RJ Hunt up in Wadena.

I would think if you contact an elevator, you'll get a guy that knows enough to get you in the right direction.

I am no expert on the types of seed that work best.

Where is that Beeber guy or Perchjerker when you need them??

[Nova]

Great, thanks for the info, I'll check at an elevator and go from there.

[Cooter]

Must be a couple annual clovers available?

[PerchJerker]

If you're going to plant at this time of the year, brassicas like turnips, kale or rape would be a good choice. They'll have time to put on plenty of growth until the deer turn onto them, after there's been a few hard frosts. But the deer can clean them out pretty quick unless you have a lot of area to plant.

If you go with the cereal grains like oats, wheat, rye, or triticale, wait until fall to plant them. They grow fast, the deer hit them right away, and they grow back quickly after being browsed. You don't want them to get mature, so that's why you need to wait until fall to plant them. I would think you could probably plant soybeans then too - from what I know about beans they come up fast and the deer pound them right away. Just make sure your beans aren't so thick they shade out the cereal grains -- the grains will last longer for you.

I don't have much experience with annual clovers but I would think you could plant one now and hope you get enough moisture the rest of the summer (hasn't been a problem yet).

fyi to biglakeba$$ -- some of us are working between 12:00 and 3:00 most afternoons, unfortunately I'm one of them

[Mark Christianson]

Oh cry me a river, Mr Long Emails with details about how the boat you own is having issues, so now its time for a Ranger.

[PerchJerker]

I thought that was one of my shorter emails

[Mark Christianson]

I stand corrected.

My bad.

[BLACKJACK]

I would second the rye, I planted some last year in August and the deer loved it. Go into the yellow pages and look under Seed or Grain elevators for a local seed dealer. Another option is the Albert Lea seed house - alseed dot com.

biglake, how has that Buck Forage Oats working for you? I tried it one year and wasn't impressed. Have you ever planted it alongside regualar oats? Is it any better?

[BLACKJACK]

One more thing, you can plant the perrenial clovers in the late summer/fall. Its like starting a lawn, they always say fall is a good time, you get the fall rains. Just do it between Aug 15 and Sept 15, if its too early it could be too dry, too late and it doesn't have time to develop roots to survive the winter. The plus is, if you use a perrenial clover, it will come back for several years.

[Mark Christianson]

I have not planted them before.

I got a really good deal through Perchjerker on it, so I thought i would give it a try.

I actually have not dabbled in any of the grains. Yet.

[BLACKJACK]

It seems like the guy that I ordered the Buck Forage oats from was up in the Ottertail area... If you have enough room, try some plain oats alongside, to see if the Buck Forage is really better. I've been planting alot of the clovers, I need to work harder on planting the annual plots like the oats and brassicas.

[Mark Christianson]

Ooo. I wish I had some pics from last weekend of my turnip plot..... <drool>

Perchjerker

Post some of them pics of your brassicas.

[PerchJerker]

Here's a few photos from last October - brassicas / clover / chicory together in some photos, just brassicas in the others. I don't have this year's photos saved out to Image Shack yet.

Hmmm - looking at these photos kind of makes me want to go sit in a bow stand ......

[jlm]

Nice pics PJ! Nova, I assume that you will still need to work up your plots and prepare a good seed bed. If this is the case, I would begin working it now and come Fall, plant rye. It is dirt cheap and it grows very well with little or no rain (dew gets it going really well). Also, rye is less sensitive to variations in seed depth so you will get better germination. A good seed bed is your first step and will make all the difference in the world as far as how productive your plot is. One thing you will find about Fall plots is that you will have very little weed competition which is great and saves a lot os work. Plant it and they will come! Have fun and enjoy!

[Nova]

Thanks for the help. I do have the plot tilled and have hit it once with round up. I am going to disc it a couple of times and hit it once more with round up about a week before I plant. I have decided to go with rye. I'll let you know how it turns out. Thanks again for the help guys.