next spring food plot

[Nova]

Has anyone ever tried planting sunflowers in a food plot. I have lots of turkeys I want to keep winter feed for along with the deer. I think these would do well, but will they stay standing in the winter? The deer and turkeys really like them around the bird feeders at the cabin in the late season and it's a good carb source. Any advise and/or opinions would be great, thanks

[BLACKJACK]

I've planted sunflowers along with my grain sohrgum plots and they look nice, its kind of nice seeing all those yellow heads, but they don't last long, by Oct 1 the song birds had them all picked out. Maybe if you planted a bigger plot?? I know out in SoDak the pheasants love them.

Interesting tidbit, we noticed pheasants that we shot by sunflowers were fatter than ones that we shot by corn or soybeans, must be more oil in the sunflowers.

[Mark Christianson]

I did sunflowers one year. I agree with Blackjack. They were demolished very early.

But with any food plot, if you dont plant enough, you wont have anything going into winter regardless of what you plant.

I want to do sunflower again, but its gonna take an acre or so if I do it again.

I actually got sunflower seed from the Wright County SWCD for free a couple years ago. They were giving away corn and sunflower seed for food plots, free of charge.

Cant beat free any day of the week.

Blackjack,

Do you think broadcasting and dragging sunflower would work, or does that seed need to be deeper? We had a farmer plant it with his corn/bean planter, but he is not able to do it any longer for us.

[Steve Foss]

Sunflower is great feed for all manner of wild birds and animals. Out where I hunted in N.D., the deer would loaf in the black oil sunflower fields all day, munching, then come out into the CRP and shelterbelts toward dark.

The will stay up just fine all winter long. As mentioned, they're so attractive for food that you'd have to plant a LOT of them.

[Nova]

I think I am going to try one plot( about 3/4 acre) in suflower. There is plenty of summer and fall feed in the area, but I need something else for winter and into spring. Thanks for the help guys, and keep the good stuff coming.

[BLACKJACK]

Mark, I think that broadcasting and dragging would work very well for sunflowers, just do it with a more aggressive setting. Also I've read that when you broadcast, use more seed than if you're planting it. I've planted ornamental sunflowers in my garden, and I plant them about 1/2 to 1 inch deep, and they come up great, dragging would do about the same. You might have to hire your kid to keep the blackbirds and gophers out of the field for a couple of weeks though!

When I planted, I just took a few bushels of sunflower seed that I use for birdfeeding, but I'm sure a farm seed place could tell you the rates for planting.

By the way, how did that 3 point drag work out for you? What was the brand name again?

This whole discussion has me thinking, I have a three acre field that I like to plant in grain sorghum for pheasants, but have been contemplating wheat for the doves or geese and deer after I chop it down, but maybe sunflowers would be good??! I know the pheasants in SoDak love them!! The downside to grain sorghum is that the first big wet snow really beats it down; I wonder how sunflowers would hold up?

[Mark Christianson]

I didnt get a 3 pt attached drag. I got a pull type.

And that thing is awesome. Its a chain harrow from Kovar Harrows in Anoka.

They do make 3 pt mounted ones too.

You might be thinking about the fact that I was looking for a 3 pt attached 2 row corn/bean planter???

Have not found that yet.

Oh man, I am really giddy about plots just talking about it.

I sure hope we get a small planter by spring time for beans, corn and sunflower. We are also hoping to find a small grain drill for winter rye plots.

[ikes71]

For your soybeans you don't need a planter. There are some broadcast varieties on the market that work well. What we do at our deer camp, which has a 6 acre field, is alternate crops. The year before we planted winter wheat, then early summer we broadcast beans in the wheat and roll it. The beans grow right up through the straw. Then in the fall we broadcast more wheat in for some green to go into winter with. We have been doing this for almost 10 years. With proper spraying and a plowing every three or four years to start over with, it has worked out well. I have a friend who also does it with oats and clover on his place. Seems to be the easiest way to have a four season food plot with little work.

[BLACKJACK]

Mark, you talked about getting a 3 point planter. Another option, if you have a tractor, is to buy a used planter at an auction. Most of the farmers have upgraded to bigger planters, 12-24 row and there are alot of 4 row planters around. I bought a 4 row JD planter that was stored in a shed for $150 - it worked great. I actually have a corn food plot that looks like a real corn field!! The key was putting down the fertilizer and the Roundup Ready corn. Most of them will require a cylinder. I found it by putting a 'wanted to buy' ad in the local shopper (The Peach). I had about 10 calls, any where from $2000 air planters down to junk, the point is that there are lots of good, used planters sitting around.

[BLACKJACK]

One more thing about food plots, I've had a lot better success since I started putting down fertilizer, lots of it. When I first started, I'd scratch the ground, throw down some seed, and call it a food plot but it really turned into a weed plot. Also consider a soil test, for $15 they'll tell you how much of what you need for your soil. I asked him about lime, since all the food plot articles always preach lime, lime, lime. He said thats overblown and not necessary in the upper midwest, its other parts of the country that have that problem - but the only way to find out for sure is get a soil test done. It will save you money in the long run, and help you do a better food plot.

[Mark Christianson]

We have Gramps on the prowl looking for a 2 or 4 row planter.

We want a good working one. Not a heap that needs work.

he'll bust us up.