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Ideas on Spring Plots

JOSHBRNDT

JOSHBRNDT

Active Member
I planted 5 acres of beans last year, which I didn't fence off first year owning the farm and lesson learned, and the deer demolished them. Went back in and put in Horny Buck Seed, 3 different varieties, they were coming in awesome then we had 16 inches of rain in august and september and it really hurt the growth of these plots. This year I am planning on planting beans and corn on about 6 acres of new food plots, these are currently clover fields. My question is this. What do you recommend for the 5 acres that have already been tilled (last year) for a spring plot. I plan on putting these back into brassica's in the fall. I may just make the 5 acres into beans and corn as well for a total of about 11 acres. These plots are 100% surrounded by timber.

The 6 acres that will be going to corn and beans is currently in clover and you could putt your golf ball over it they have it so mowed down to the ground. I want to leave some clover but I want to have a variety of food, everyone loves buffets.

What are your thoughts, looking for something to plant early in the 5 acres until I'm ready to plant brassica's?
 
JOSHBRNDT said:
So you're saying all of it in Corn and beans. Nothing for the spring until we can put the corn and beans in.
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Thats what I would do. I dont see much sense in "spring plots" as there is a TON of other food this time of year as the woods green up.
If something happens to the corn or beans, you can always still do fall plots in august or september in order to fill the void.
I would highly recommend fencing at least the soybeans. On smaller acreage, beans are like taking care of a seedling tree. If you protect and do it right the first time, you wont be replanting a fall plot at the end of the summer.
With that being said, nothing at all wrong with top dressing brassicas/wheat/rye into your standing soybeans to add some diversity all in the same plot. i've even seen people do it into their corn with some success.
 
Plant annual clover ahead of brassicas. Controls weeds and is a cheaper form of nitrogen than buying fertilizer. For example, crimson clover can fix up to 125#/a nitrogen.
 
All the comments above are right on what I plan for my new farm as well.

We have 3 acres in one plot that will be beans and fenced...like mentioned above, worst case we have to do a fall plot or at minimum broadcast fall plot mix into these beans

Then we have 2 separate plots in clover. 1 is somewhat established clover and is .5 acre. Due to browsing pressure it will remain clover always. The other plot was an old cedar, locust, hedge knob that we cleared this past summer upon buying the farm. We tossed down a mix of oats / rye / clover late last summer but didn't have much luck. Hopefully the clover will come around this spring and we will also be frost seeding more clover here. Both of these clover plots also need a heavy dose of pell lime if I am thinking correctly.

Good luck! The projects are my favorite part
 
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