dbltree,
is it best to just make one pass with a cultipacker, or should i be "crisscrossing" the plot with it, running over the same sections several times. I noticed that most plants are coming up in the "depressions" or grooves created by the cultipacker, and I wonder if I'd have had even better germination if I had been making more than one pass?
Thanks.
Steve
is it best to just make one pass with a cultipacker, or should i be "crisscrossing" the plot with it, running over the same sections several times. I noticed that most plants are coming up in the "depressions" or grooves created by the cultipacker, and I wonder if I'd have had even better germination if I had been making more than one pass?
Thanks.
Steve
dbltree
Super Moderator
No, there is just more moisture in the groove portion so no matter how many times you pack...seed will still be closest to moisture in the grooves.
dbltree
Super Moderator
August 1st, 2013
Jess has about 35 of 70 acres of brassicas planted, July 30th we received a whopping 4" of rain and the least we have heard of was 2.5" so while "to wet to plant" is rare in July...such is the case this year.
Regardless if you plant by hand and use a cultipacker or have a drill with packer wheels make sure soil is not sticking to packer wheels when planting...this is borderline and many fields need another day to dry out.
Previous to that soils were dry and having tilled in fertilizer and cultipacker followed tiller...Jess went to work drilling 10#'s per acre of PTT, DER and FT using the small seed box set on 45/50
The forage radish is slightly bigger and in our mix is planted at 5# per acre
Dwarf Essex Rape at 2.5#
and Purple Top Turnips at 2.5#
Brassica seed like clover seed should be planted 1/8-1/4" deep so it's imperative to pack first, broadcast or drill seed then re-pack. In our case the small seed box drops seeds right in front of packer wheels, well behind the disc openers where large seeds are dropped and the packer wheels lightly cover/press seeds into top 1/4" of soil.
If you have a conventional drill without a small seed box, tiny seeds may get buried to deep in which case broadcast seeds rather then drill.
10# per acre is upper limit and appropriate for heavy grazing IF accompanied by high nutrient levels, especially nitrogen so use common sense in regards to seeding rates if you have poor, dry soils, low/poor nutrient levels and/or few deer
Jess has about 35 of 70 acres of brassicas planted, July 30th we received a whopping 4" of rain and the least we have heard of was 2.5" so while "to wet to plant" is rare in July...such is the case this year.
Regardless if you plant by hand and use a cultipacker or have a drill with packer wheels make sure soil is not sticking to packer wheels when planting...this is borderline and many fields need another day to dry out.
Previous to that soils were dry and having tilled in fertilizer and cultipacker followed tiller...Jess went to work drilling 10#'s per acre of PTT, DER and FT using the small seed box set on 45/50
The forage radish is slightly bigger and in our mix is planted at 5# per acre
Dwarf Essex Rape at 2.5#
and Purple Top Turnips at 2.5#
Brassica seed like clover seed should be planted 1/8-1/4" deep so it's imperative to pack first, broadcast or drill seed then re-pack. In our case the small seed box drops seeds right in front of packer wheels, well behind the disc openers where large seeds are dropped and the packer wheels lightly cover/press seeds into top 1/4" of soil.
If you have a conventional drill without a small seed box, tiny seeds may get buried to deep in which case broadcast seeds rather then drill.
10# per acre is upper limit and appropriate for heavy grazing IF accompanied by high nutrient levels, especially nitrogen so use common sense in regards to seeding rates if you have poor, dry soils, low/poor nutrient levels and/or few deer
dbltree
Super Moderator
Scott sent in pics of his rig...hard to beat this combo for planting plots...
He tilled under the rye straw and red clover to plant his brassicas and notes the quality of both clover and soil and how in coming years the soil will keep improving from rock hard heavy clay to beautiful loamy soils. Rye was mowed/shredded earlier, note how easily it tills under...and his beautiful Egyptian Wheat screen
The oats and annual clovers will be turned under for the rye mix the end of August, notice Scott has clipped the oats off leaving the annual clovers behind, so this too...will till under easily!
Brassicas and the rye/clover mix...outstanding , easy to grow crops that work in perfect unison to hold whitetails year around and build high organic matter soils at the same time... :way:
He tilled under the rye straw and red clover to plant his brassicas and notes the quality of both clover and soil and how in coming years the soil will keep improving from rock hard heavy clay to beautiful loamy soils. Rye was mowed/shredded earlier, note how easily it tills under...and his beautiful Egyptian Wheat screen
The oats and annual clovers will be turned under for the rye mix the end of August, notice Scott has clipped the oats off leaving the annual clovers behind, so this too...will till under easily!
Brassicas and the rye/clover mix...outstanding , easy to grow crops that work in perfect unison to hold whitetails year around and build high organic matter soils at the same time... :way:
rackhunter
Member
Paul, I had Beerseem clover and beans planted in the spring into an existing bean field. I mowed it the early part of July and planted it to your brassica mi x around the 20th lof July. I now noticed I habe a bu nch of oats sprouting. Will this be a problem?
rackhunter
Member
I meant beerseem clover and oats plantd in the spring. SORRY
dbltree
Super Moderator
Yes...oats or rye in the brassicas at this stage will compete with the growing brassicas for both water and nutrients. Not the end of the world but brassica yields could be significantly reduced.
If possible, spray with clethodim when oats are 3-4" high...if not, live and learn...clip oats off BEFORE they set seed!
AIRASSAULT
PMA Member
Beautiful plot!
AIRASSAULT
PMA Member
The backyard foodplot is coming along nicely.. I'm pretty sure I've got at least double the rate of the brassica seed mix in the ground that dbltree suggests. I made the mistake of mixing the GHFR, PTT, and DER seeds as I only have a bag type broadcast spreader. I had to open the door on it far enough to let the bigger GHFR seeds out which was way too far for the tiny rape and turnip seeds (It's amazing the size that the turnips can get from those little seeds). I fertilized pretty well so hopefully that helps with the competition between individual plants. The soil is very sandy so I try to water every other day or two. In late Aug or early Sept, Ill be putting the left side into dbltree's cereal grain mixture. I've got a lot of volunteer Oats coming up through the brassicas which I will need to spray with clethodium soon. Sure wish I had a bigger area to plant a plot, especially since my house is only about 30 yards to the right of the corn strip. This 1/4 acre or so gets it done though. The Does keep coming back to it regardless of how often I spook them from it. The bucks will be here in late Sept/Oct. I can't wait!
Un-related to the food plot, you'll also notice the unfortunate occurrence spread-out through the background. I believe Oak Wilt has taken over.
Un-related to the food plot, you'll also notice the unfortunate occurrence spread-out through the background. I believe Oak Wilt has taken over.
dbltree
Super Moderator
Great looking plots fellas! :way:
August 5th, 2013
4' of rain after planting will get em up and growing fast!! These were planted July 30th and hours later it poured!
Nothing sweeter then to see the soil springing forth with new life!
Once brassicas get a week or two of growth, they are pretty drought tolerant
and when planted into rye/clover which holds water like a sponge, the brassicas can do very well even with little or no rain. Note rye straw on soil surface...
People have learned the value of brassicas are often unwilling to plant anything else, certain that deer will not forage on anything else, however nothing could be farther from the truth. Failure to rotate crops will eventually cause significant yield losses as well as slowly destroy soil organic matter. Whitetails are opportunist feeders and will take advantage of any and all food sources close to their cover, given multiple food options they may choose one over another, but...lesson the options and they'll eat whatever is there.
No reason then to not have brassicas in the same field, year after year...simply divide the field and plant 1/2 to brassicas and 1/2 to rye mix and rotate yearly. That combination will provide more total forage and provide it year around as well as prevent deer from destroying small hidden plots. Some folks are hard to convince and fear rather then facts prevents them from trying something new...our livelihoods depend on successfully feeding huge numbers of deer on very limited acres and the facts are that we successfully do so year after year after year.
What YOU do...is none of my affair but the pictures though out this thread provide the facts that in turn...squelch the fear...
August 5th, 2013
4' of rain after planting will get em up and growing fast!! These were planted July 30th and hours later it poured!
Nothing sweeter then to see the soil springing forth with new life!
Once brassicas get a week or two of growth, they are pretty drought tolerant
and when planted into rye/clover which holds water like a sponge, the brassicas can do very well even with little or no rain. Note rye straw on soil surface...
People have learned the value of brassicas are often unwilling to plant anything else, certain that deer will not forage on anything else, however nothing could be farther from the truth. Failure to rotate crops will eventually cause significant yield losses as well as slowly destroy soil organic matter. Whitetails are opportunist feeders and will take advantage of any and all food sources close to their cover, given multiple food options they may choose one over another, but...lesson the options and they'll eat whatever is there.
No reason then to not have brassicas in the same field, year after year...simply divide the field and plant 1/2 to brassicas and 1/2 to rye mix and rotate yearly. That combination will provide more total forage and provide it year around as well as prevent deer from destroying small hidden plots. Some folks are hard to convince and fear rather then facts prevents them from trying something new...our livelihoods depend on successfully feeding huge numbers of deer on very limited acres and the facts are that we successfully do so year after year after year.
What YOU do...is none of my affair but the pictures though out this thread provide the facts that in turn...squelch the fear...
dbltree
Super Moderator
Weed control in brassicas
Because we use the rye/red clover rotation we never have to deal with weeds in brassicas and because we kill the rye with herbicide before it sets seed, we don't have to spray volunteer rye, but...here are some herbicide options should you find you need them.
For grasses or volunteer rye or oats use:
If using concentrated crop oil you may only need 8 ounces so be sure and read labels
Source for clethodim but check locally and compare prices
Rural King Clethodim
Crop oil is available at most ag crop service type places but here is online source: (note it is used at 1/2 rate!)
Crop Oil
Broadleaf control is limited but Stinger will control some broadleaf weeds in brassicas:
Generic Stinger
Weed control is limited to the following:
Stinger Label
List of both pre and post emergence options here but note not all are safe for turnips and rape
Weed control in brassicas
Good planning, crop rotation and timely termination of cereal grains will eliminate the need for herbicides in brassicas, but...it's nice to have options if needed....
Because we use the rye/red clover rotation we never have to deal with weeds in brassicas and because we kill the rye with herbicide before it sets seed, we don't have to spray volunteer rye, but...here are some herbicide options should you find you need them.
For grasses or volunteer rye or oats use:
If using concentrated crop oil you may only need 8 ounces so be sure and read labels
Source for clethodim but check locally and compare prices
Rural King Clethodim
Crop oil is available at most ag crop service type places but here is online source: (note it is used at 1/2 rate!)
Crop Oil
Broadleaf control is limited but Stinger will control some broadleaf weeds in brassicas:
Generic Stinger
Weed control is limited to the following:
Stinger Label
List of both pre and post emergence options here but note not all are safe for turnips and rape
Weed control in brassicas
Good planning, crop rotation and timely termination of cereal grains will eliminate the need for herbicides in brassicas, but...it's nice to have options if needed....
medicsnoke
Member
Just got home from vacation today and took a look at my plots. It appears the beg seeder was only broadcasting out of one side of the spreader. I have a lot of bare spots and am pretty disappointed. I spot re-seeded today ,by hand, over the bare spots with purple top and rape seed. Hope it takes and fills in but not sure if the seed to soil contact will be good enough. All in all they don't look terrible but I sure was hoping for better plots this year.
Plot 1 called Hidden Meadow is a bottom/low field approx 3/4 acre. I put 200 46-0-0 and 100# 6-28-28. This plot looks good but has some bare spots and a lot of fine grass. I did some spot re-seeding today but not sure if it will take. Should do pretty good though.
Plot 2 called the gas well plot is just under 1/2 acre. Same soil prep. It got #100 of 46-0-0 and 50# 6-28-28 and 25# triple 12
Plot 3- Called North plot is just at 1/2 acre. Got the same soil prep and fertilizer as plot 2. This plot looks the best with bare spots but still good even coverage. It did get spot seeded today as well.
Plot 1 called Hidden Meadow is a bottom/low field approx 3/4 acre. I put 200 46-0-0 and 100# 6-28-28. This plot looks good but has some bare spots and a lot of fine grass. I did some spot re-seeding today but not sure if it will take. Should do pretty good though.
Plot 2 called the gas well plot is just under 1/2 acre. Same soil prep. It got #100 of 46-0-0 and 50# 6-28-28 and 25# triple 12
Plot 3- Called North plot is just at 1/2 acre. Got the same soil prep and fertilizer as plot 2. This plot looks the best with bare spots but still good even coverage. It did get spot seeded today as well.
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medicsnoke
Member
Seeded 7/28/13. As for soil prep.....I two bottom plowed and disked about a week before that, Then on 7/28/13 I added lime and fertilizer....disked it again, rolled it with a roller, seeded and rolled it a second time.
NWBuck
PMA Member
I think your plots will be fine, and will likely fill in over time to where you will have a tough time recognizing where the bare spots were.
Regarding the bag seeder, this year I bought a Solo hand seeder to use instead of the traditional bag seeder, and it's great. Here it was loaded up to broadcast some RR soybeans into a new plot earlier this spring.
The seeder has some neat features, one of which is to allow you to control the direction it throws the seed. I normally leave it set to throw 180 degrees, but you can close it off so it only seeds 90 degrees...for example if you wanted to walk the edge of a plot and only seed to the inside. I also like the fact that most of the weight of the seeder and seed is on your waist line as opposed to your shoulder via the strap. It really makes broadcast seeding much more precise, as well as comfortable. I bought mine on Amazon, and I think it was around $60 including shipping.
BTW...here's the result of the RR soybean seeding. Got lucky and caught a couple of very timely rains as well :way:
NWBuck
Regarding the bag seeder, this year I bought a Solo hand seeder to use instead of the traditional bag seeder, and it's great. Here it was loaded up to broadcast some RR soybeans into a new plot earlier this spring.
The seeder has some neat features, one of which is to allow you to control the direction it throws the seed. I normally leave it set to throw 180 degrees, but you can close it off so it only seeds 90 degrees...for example if you wanted to walk the edge of a plot and only seed to the inside. I also like the fact that most of the weight of the seeder and seed is on your waist line as opposed to your shoulder via the strap. It really makes broadcast seeding much more precise, as well as comfortable. I bought mine on Amazon, and I think it was around $60 including shipping.
BTW...here's the result of the RR soybean seeding. Got lucky and caught a couple of very timely rains as well :way:
NWBuck
medicsnoke
Member
Looks great NWBuck, I was thinking i would get a new seeder before next year. Does that seeder handle fine seed like clover?