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DeerNinja

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Hi all! Well short story long….I was speaking with a friend of mine’s Dad over a few beers and he owns some ground in Southern Boone County (20miles north of DSM) and doesn’t hunt but he is retired and really enjoys watching the deer come up in his yard. He always has a salt block out but said he wanted to try to put in a 1 acre food plot behind his house to see if that brought some more deer up closer to the house. He said that if I can plant it for him he will let me bow hunt his ground this year. Well I am as green as they get when it comes to planting a food plot but I said deal since he has never let anyone back there to hunt besides his father in-law (85yrs old) who’s health out allow him to get out and hunt anymore. Well I was going to do some research and talk to some people that knew what they were doing and he is a go getter so I woke up the next morning to an email conformation that he bought a 1 acre bag of frigidforage so I am committed for sure now. I don’t have the equipment or knowledge of what to do now so I am looking to hire someone to help me plant it. I can do all the grunt work I just need some expertise and someone that has a disc that can tear up the ground that is now just tall grass…. PM me or reply to this post with any insight. Thanks, Dustin
 
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Get some roundup, and spray asap, let it die a week or 2 till its brown, then burn it off. Spread your seed, and harrow it in, and hope for rain.
 
Get it sprayed as soon as you can.

I do not know which blend he bought so I can not tell you what the planting dates

are.You will have to disk it up somehow and possibly add NPK depending on what he

bought. Cultipack it good and watch it grow.

Find out what he bought and we can be more specific on what to do and when to

plant. Get it sprayed ASAP though.

Good Luck.
 
Thanks for the help guys! He bought Big-N-Beasty Brassicas mix......Is roundup the stuff to use or is there anyother type for spray you recommend? how much Roundup for 1 acre do you think i will need?
 
You need to get them planted real soon if u want any size to them. I dont think u will have enough time to spray and it be effective. If u sprayed in the next couple days and wait a week u will probably be alrught. If it were me, i would mow it, till it, and plant it. U might have weeds ur first year but u could spray with clethodim if they get to bad.
 
Scott said:
You need to get them planted real soon if u want any size to them. I dont think u will have enough time to spray and it be effective. If u sprayed in the next couple days and wait a week u will probably be alrught. If it were me, i would mow it, till it, and plant it. U might have weeds ur first year but u could spray with clethodim if they get to bad.
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×2. Don't worry about weeds to much cause it takes a few spraying and planting cycles to get rid of all the dormant seeds in the ground. Get after it though!
 
Go to Tractor Supply or your local Co-Op and buy one gallon of Glyphosphate concentrate...buy 41%. Much cheaper than "ready to use" RoundUp. You can use a hand sprayer like you use around the house...will take a while but you can do it. The instructions on the jug will tell you what rate to use with water; depending upon the type of grass and weeds that are there. One gallon should get you a few sprays.
 
go to your local woods dealer and rent a 72" tiller. Just get a 40horse or bigger tractor and getter done. Easy to run and creates a very nice seed bed for brassicas.
 
Projects like this don't turn out well unless you really do your research and do things correctly, all steps of the way. you will need to quickly find someone local who will do you a favor over an acre or you will need to quickly get educated this late in game to do it right. Get it mowed & killed asap. Mow, couple days later spray. I'd load up on fertilizer (high amounts of N, like 50-100 lbs actual N per acre) Any # will be % per 100 lbs - so actual N of 13-13-13 will be 13 lbs. load up and do this quick. Gotta cover N but you're better off trying to find a slow release N from your local co-op so you don't have to immediately work it in. So- I suppose a lot of details you need to grasp quickly or get lucky and find someone extremely reliable who will do you a big favor doing this for a reasonable price.

Really, a compromise, if you can locate a farmer, equipment, etc this late in the game.... Mow it, spray it- put slow release N on top and drill in your seed immediately. I'd say that's your best shot at this point if you want to find a compromise that's a little simpler to digest.

I'd say, on average, 75% of the time, folks in this case don't do it right & it's a complete waste of time, money & work - so put in the time and leg work, good luck, hope it goes well.
 
I'm on the " do it right" bandwagon. Ive seen a lot of plots that were done quick fast and in a hurry turn Into a weed patch.
You still have time but not very much. Mow-spray-rent a tractor and tiller.
I hope it all works out and if I was closer I would give you a hand
 
Brassicas, I think at this point you are better off like Scott said, Mow if possible, broadcast N/urea for best results, disc/till, roll/pack, broadcast seed, roll/pack again, then do a raindance. I think you can skip the spraying on the brassicas as long as you prepare a good seedbed, if it's in good soil.
 
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Maybe you should consider saving that bag of expensive seed till next year. Mow, spray after a little greenup, wait a bit , then till up and plant winter rye this year. That way you're not pushing the time envelope so hard and winter rye is still a great fall plot.
 
turkeyriver said:
Maybe you should consider saving that bag of expensive seed till next year. Mow, spray after a little greenup, wait a bit , then till up and plant winter rye this year. That way you're not pushing the time envelope so hard and winter rye is still a great fall plot.
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Good advise:way: Put the rest of the dbltree mix in with the winter rye, clover,radish, oats and peas and the landowner will be very pleased. The rye and clover will really feed the deer into spring and give him alot of daylight viewing that wont end when the brassicas rot in march. I sometimes skip the oats and peas but the rye/clover/radish combo cant be beat. The brassica mix will do better after a year of the rye/clover building up the soil.
 
6x6 said:
Good advise:way: Put the rest of the dbltree mix in with the winter rye, clover,radish, oats and peas and the landowner will be very pleased. The rye and clover will really feed the deer into spring and give him alot of daylight viewing that wont end when the brassicas rot in march. I sometimes skip the oats and peas but the rye/clover/radish combo cant be beat. The brassica mix will do better after a year of the rye/clover building up the soil.
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I like this idea. Mow and till it now, than till it again right before u plant end of august. I have had good luck controlling weeds by tilling it a second time after weeds start to come back.
 
If you need to rent a piece of equipment I would contact Bobcat of Ames or Boone Rental. They have tractors and 3-point attachments and even Bobcat pieces that will help you do the soil prep. Keep it simple, spray, fertilize, till, plant and don't forget to pack. Even if you have to drive over the plot with your vechicle you need to pack the soil after you plant.
 
Thanks for the advice guys! I am going out tonight to start mowing it. I will keep you posted on how this experiment goes. Thanks!
 
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