ChasinTail
Member
this is my first year planting food plots i would like to know what is the best to plant i have 3 different plots one of them is a 6 acre also have 4 acre and a half acre.
what is the best to plant
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letemgrow
PMA Member
If I was only going to plant one thing....it would be soybeans. Hard to beat them since the deer browse them all summer and eat the pods all winter long. If you go that route, you can also broadcast some rye/radish/turnips/oats etc into the beans when they yellow for even more attraction come fall.
If you put in 10 acres of plots and do it right, you should be able to easily feed all the deer in a mile radius of there...and then some!!
If you put in 10 acres of plots and do it right, you should be able to easily feed all the deer in a mile radius of there...and then some!!
ChasinTail
Member
Yes i just sent the soil into the extension offfice today. thanks for the feed back looks like soybeans may be it
letemgrow
PMA Member
How many acres total are you wanting to plot? If you have 2 plots that are 10 acres (the 6 and 4 acres ones) then more plots, I would put at least one of the others in clover as its much cheaper and does not have to be planted every year like soybeans. Deer eat clover most, if not the entire year too. :way:
Yep, I'd do beans, plant them thick (230-250k per acre), hit hard with P&k & lime (soil test) and then broadcast turnips, radishes, etc like letemgrow says with some Urea right before a rain. I'd also be doing a plot or 2 (1/2 to 1 acre) of alice white clover (and maybe some others you like).
antlerfreak
New Member
you guys broadcast turnips in your beans? how late in the year can you do this and still get a good crop by first frost? Will turnips grow everyear once established or do they need replanted every year?
I was going to leave an area clear for my turnips, but I guess if they will grow just fine in the beans I will plant it all in beans and throw in the turnips later.
I was going to leave an area clear for my turnips, but I guess if they will grow just fine in the beans I will plant it all in beans and throw in the turnips later.
letemgrow
PMA Member
You have to get the beans in by a good time every year, but for southern IA/Northern MO you can get a pretty good stand of turnips/radishes etc by broadcasting into beans that are yellow by around late August/Early September on most years.
nannyslayer
New Member
Yep, broadcast into standing beans work pretty good, just need to get them in a little earlier than usual. Late July will work fine.
Turnips will go so seed on occasion, but best thing to do is work up the ground in the spring, reseed with beans, and reseed the turnips again the next summer. You won't have an established turnip patch year in and out without re-seeding, but its best to work the ground up each spring and crop rotate something, to keep disease at bay.
antlerfreak
New Member
How heavy do you want to broadcast them into beans? and wont my beans still be green in late july not allowing turnips to grow?
You want to plant your beans early. I plant mine really early BUT that's me. So- my beans are MATURE and they are starting to die- turning yellow- when that happens, I put turnips on. From my memories of last season, I put on AROUND 5-6 pounds of Turnips per acre OR I put 10 pounds of Ground hog Radishes per acre. OR I've done a combo last year- AROUND 3 lbs turnips and 6 lbs of ground hog radishes (look at suggested rate- always up the amount a little bit if you're broadcasting vs a standard/proper planting). I strongly suggest doing both AND doing some areas separating both SO you can see what works better for you. Make sure you don't plant too thick- like putting double the rate of something. And make sure you don't skimp on fertilizer, you're wasting your time otherwise!!!
*Also, I'd add in some winter rye into your beans late August- cheap and easy!
Hammer on the P&K when planting beans and proper lime amount according to your PH (do soil test on all needs). When you plant turnips and radishes, I personally would put on a bit more P&K and AROUND 100-150 pounds of Urea or more (mainly a cost issue there) right before a rain- I'd be generous- might as well do it right!
*Also, I'd add in some winter rye into your beans late August- cheap and easy!
Hammer on the P&K when planting beans and proper lime amount according to your PH (do soil test on all needs). When you plant turnips and radishes, I personally would put on a bit more P&K and AROUND 100-150 pounds of Urea or more (mainly a cost issue there) right before a rain- I'd be generous- might as well do it right!
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