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Post by northny on Apr 20, 2009 4:56:00 GMT -5
Anyone had any luck with brassicas other than Biologics Maximum? I need a back up choice if I can't get Maximum again this year. Has anyone ever ordered Biologic products on line? Here is the background
I and two buddies are in the sixth year of putting in food plots and doing habitat improvement on the property we own. We have had great luck with clover and chickory (all from Biologic, and the deer prefer premium perennial for clover plots, really like pure chickory plots in summer) We have five acres ( one acre plots or less) in clover and chicory for spring. We also have four one acre plots in brassica, for fall and winter. I am quite happy with the products from Biologic.
But where I had great results with Biologic's brassica mix (Maximum is product name). last year seed just never was available locally. (and I would not order it on line, as the bags Biologic uses are plastic tissue paper- can't understand why the plastic used for $10 bag lime and fertilizert mix is 10 times as thick and strong as bag for $150 worth of seed, but there you are. Even in years when I could find it, many times the bags were broken, which may be why they do not want to carry it) So last year we tried brassica mix from local farm co-op. Although it grew ok, it looked and smelled different, and the deer liked it about 50% less. (No, I did not do exit poll interview with deer, but they do vote with their feet.) Usually they start hitting the brassica hard about September, but last year they did not get into it until much later when everything else was gone. So although farm co-op may have been good feed for dairy cows, the "paletability" to deer appeared much less. It was a last choice instead of a preferred choice. So I am looking for something else to try.
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Post by broomebuck on Apr 20, 2009 6:38:52 GMT -5
northny last year in a small plot i went to the local agway and made a mix of brassica sorgrum and rape seed out of the bins and it came up just as good as anything else and it cost me about 1/3 of the big name stuff
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Post by mshm99 on Apr 21, 2009 9:06:12 GMT -5
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Post by dougedwards on May 1, 2009 5:29:01 GMT -5
How could I discover what kind of fertilizer to use to plant food plots? I am planting something called Tikka matte or something like that. It is similar to a soybean.
Doug
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Post by broomebuck on May 1, 2009 6:29:32 GMT -5
dougedwards, depending on your soil conditions if the ph is to high it will burn your fertilizer up like trowing it away if its not to bad i would start out with 10-10-10 and after the beans get up if you decide to feed them more i would go with 5-10-5 good luck
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Post by younghunter86 on May 1, 2009 16:47:48 GMT -5
If you are going to get serious about food plots you need to start with a soil sample. They are very easy to do and the cost is relatively cheap. Your local co-op should have information and the tools to do it. If you don't have access to a co-op, send me a pm and I can explain it very easily over the phone and get you set up.
Things you should get from you sample, pH, lime recommendation, P and K. From there you will know whether or not you will need to fertilize and what type of a blend you should use.
Quick note- I don't know what tikka matte is, but if it is a legume like soybeans you don't need any N.
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Post by dougedwards on May 2, 2009 20:54:47 GMT -5
PM sent
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Post by edge on May 4, 2009 15:21:55 GMT -5
If you plant legumes they should be inoculated so that they fix nitrogen from the air.
Saves a lot on fertilizer.
edge.
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Post by northny on May 5, 2009 10:26:53 GMT -5
If you have not done, do not have time to do, or just don't want to do a soil test, I had luck the first year with using a product called pHertilizer. It combines fast acting lime and fertilizer in a bag that allows the soil to make best use of fertilizer. I am traveling and dont have my notes with me, but I just used the standard recommendations of amount per acre. The product is made by biologic and I bought mine at local gander mountain. Spreads easy unlike powder lime, but faster acting than pellet lime to raise ph.
I believe innoculation of seed is to increase the germination rate, things like clover will fix nitrogen with our without innocualtion. But innocualtion does increase number of seeds that sprout. Innoculated seed does have a shelf live, so check dates on bag. Seed will still be good after date, but benefit of innoculation will be gone, so less seed will germinate.
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Post by edge on May 5, 2009 12:18:15 GMT -5
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Post by younghunter86 on May 5, 2009 22:23:29 GMT -5
A soil test is quick, easy to do and very cheap. Without knowing the pH and fertility levels adding anything can be like adding gas to your truck and it running over because it's already full... or it could be like adding gas to your tank but you have a small hole and it's leaking. Either situation is not great, better to check the status of the tank before adding anything.
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Post by northny on May 6, 2009 10:26:59 GMT -5
Soil test is the best thing to do. But we don't always do the best thing. Sure I have better result in fields that have been tested and limed and fertilized accordingly. I also have better results with my buddy prepares the field with his 2 year old new holland tractor and his tiller. But don't let this stop you from starting a planting program. We did ok with an ATV, a "toy" disc and a sprayer and some seed. No soil test, no fertilizer. Just planting an abandoned weed infested hay field. Sprayed it to kill it off, ran disc over it, and layed down the seed with a hand whirl a gig seeder. We saw (and killed) a lot more deer in that field than anywhere else on our property. It was the sucess from that that encourgaged us to improve our technique, invest in equipment, and increased our plantings to 7 one acre plots and a few smaller ones. So do a soil test if you can, especially if you are going to put any serious $$ into fertilizer, but if not try planting anyway!
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Post by younghunter86 on May 6, 2009 20:32:33 GMT -5
northny-
Totally agree with your last post. The last sentence pretty much sums everything up. You don't need to soil, sample to get results, but if you plan on spending a bunch of money, that is where you should start.
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Post by mshm99 on May 11, 2009 23:09:57 GMT -5
If you want a pretty good rule of thumb , on ground that has not been cultivated recently,three ton quarry ag lime per acre. Three ton can be had at the local quarry loaded on my tandem axle flat bed trailer for $15.00. Here in the Midwest if the ground is growing blackberries and/or golden rod , it's pretty high acid. Lime needs to be Incorporated 6" into the soil,and depending on rain can take a few months to work it's magic. If you're in a hurry ,use the powdered stuff.
First mow the ground .Wait till new tender growth starts again , then spray with 2-4-D. It's cheap and you can buy it a K-Mart generic weed be gone. This will knock down the broad leaf weeds,but won't kill grass. It will take a few weeks to kill the weeds. You need to wait 3 weeks after you spray 2-4-D before you can plant clovers or beans ,turnips etc.
After you first weed kill,spread lime and work the ground. I'm saying plow and disc. every time you disturb soil you will bring up weed seed. Let it sprout. Spray with round up and broadcast seed the next day and culti pac ,roll or drag a piece if chain link fence.
Seed needs good soil contact and should not be planted deeper than 3 times it's diameter.
For the first year plant turnips.($2.50 a pound) They are acid tolerant and that will give you lime a chance to work. Turnips like a lot of nitrogen. 100 lbs per acre.
Here's the good part. If the weeds get away from you (and they will), Around August 15 mow down to 6" and top dress with another 100 lbs nitrogen. Your patch will look like you know what your doing.
It will take a few years to get a righteous food plot. I see the PH and weed the biggest problem.
Just my opinion
mshm
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Post by Buckrub on May 12, 2009 19:57:17 GMT -5
In the South's piney woods.....if you are putting down fertilizer WITHOUT lime (I'm guilty some myself), you are wasting your time. This is a quote from our game biologist. Pine trees by the bazillions just change the Ph badly! I just can't get enough lime to the field to do any good. It'd take a million tons to just do our tiny food plots. All we're doing is seeding the shooting lanes. I'd have to admit we're not really 'feeding' deer, we're just trying to get them to stop and eat a bite until we can get the crosshairs to settle in.
We lease the land......not own it. We don't get to make TOO many modifications.
But whatever we do, it works better than nothing. 85% of our deer are killed in lanes that we cleared and then planted.
We stopped buying seed 'mixtures'. We just buy half wheat and half oats and mix 'em up and throw it out there after discing.
Rain washes us out some years, like last year. But they eat it........or they do when the acorns are eaten up. Till then, they eat acorns. If the acorns are plentiful, they don't move, we see fewer deer. If the acorns (mast) crop is down, and our food plots come up ok, then we see a lot of deer and they eat our plots.
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Post by chuck41 on May 16, 2009 23:21:40 GMT -5
Good reference info. Thanks guys.
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Post by mike3132 on May 17, 2009 22:00:29 GMT -5
Evolved Habitat makes Shot Plot which is turnip and rape seeds. Ive been planting it for the last 4-5 years here in Indiana. The plants stay green up to mid - late January. If it snows the deer dig up the turnips. My soil is almost neutral 6.0-6.5, so 300 lbs to the acre of triple 12 fertilizer is enough. I planted another of their products this year called Exceed. Its corn, soybeans and Lab-Lab. I also planted Rack Force which is alfalfa and clover mix. Ive had very good luck with their products. Mike
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