Vet Judy

Have you ever wondered why everyone talking about deer food plots speaks about cool season and warm season annuals and then further complicates it with north and south, biennials and perennials.

Even more intimidating is the fact that there is no easy separation between these food plot plants in all areas. In other words, you have annuals that can act like perennials in the right areas and can be encouraged to reseed, but in other deer food plot regions reseeding is not viable. A plant may be an annual in one area a perennial somewhere else.

Seeding times may vary and are not as easy plant in the north on such and such a week and in the south do something different. Then there is the deep  south, mid south, regular south, south east, south west, the plains…..yikes. It is no wonder that things are a little confusing.

Mostly all coverage of the deer food plot plants is given in a list of plant profiles which give the technical classification. Occasionally you are lucky enough to have someone say north versus south. But that still leaves out east versus west.  Then you have acid versus basic soils, loamy versus sandy.

So you go online to find a seed mixture and notice that even though everyone is talking annual, perennial, biennial  all of these are in a mix together: now what is going on?

Here are some general concepts that may help you out:

The legume list for deer food plots and small game is the longest.

Legumes are almost always mixed with something else. AS a matter of a fact, in most cases food plots are a mixture of plants. It is important to remember that just because you want different plants in your plot thoughout the year, does not mean they have to seeded in the form of a mix.

 Here is a plot where rapeseed and chicory were planted  one in front of the other.  http://www.diydeerfoodplots.com/articles/5-steps-to-successful-fall-planting-of-whitetail-food-plots.html

My small grains, such as oats  I also do monoculture in some locations. Mixes were created for you to help ease the burden of decision making and improve your success but they are not necessary.

The “something else” that is mixed with legumes are

1.       small grains (oats,rye,wheat),

2.       annual grasses (annual ryegrass) , corn,  milo or grain sorghum

3.       brassicas (rapeseed, turnips, kale)

4.       other:  plants like buckwheat and chicory, vetches,

The legume and “other” choice for the food plots are based on

1.       season planting

2.       soil conditions(upland, bottomland, pH, moisture, wet lands, shady )

3.       when peak growth is preferred

4.       level of browse

5.       weed competition

6.       winter conditions

7.       equipment availability

8.       size of plot

9.       need for quick growth, recover crop, or targeting specific seasonal stresses.  

Although some legumes can stand acidic conditions, shady conditions, wet conditions, sandy soil etc, in general  food plot legumes do better in near neutral pH’s in well drained soil. 

Soybeans  are susceptible to overgrazing and therefore should not be used on small plots unless you have the ability to fence the areas off until they get established as deer tend to eat them immediately after germination and the weeds take the plot over.

Cool season Legumes are generally planted in the fall (Sept-Nov)

Warm season legumes are generally planted in the spring(Feb-June)

Both cool season and warm season plants are mixed together depending on the goals of the plot.

For example: buckwheat, alyceclover, American jointvetch are often combined with rape and forage turnips even though the last two are considered cool season annuals. The mix itself is considered warm season mix because it is predominantly warm season forages. It is planted early summer and will provide feed for early fall before mast is available.

Even perennials mixes often contain annual grains and rapeseed (brassica) because of the benefits of thse plants for protection nd cover while establishing alfalfa and ladino clover

Most legumes grow both north and south but sometimes perennials or biennials can become annuals depending on location and conditions.

The further north or south you go and the more severe temperatures are then the selection of plants can become narrower.

The deep south is the most difficult area because of the heat and moisture stress.

The far north only creates a problem when needing plants to overwinter and become active in the spring. In extreme far north conditions (when there is a lack of snow cover or inadequate cover crop protection, or prolonged severe temperatures) there may be some limitations if wanting to choose perennials or biennials. Successful deer food plotting in some regions is limited to cool season annual with rapid growth phases for late fall hunting or summer annuals for early fall hunting.

Let’s take a closer look at rye and ryegrass and their use in deer food plots.
 

   Annual ryegrass (Lollium multiflorum).is a cool-season annual grass commonly used in deer food plot plantings.  It is not to be confused with rye (Secale cereale).  Rye is also an annual grass, but is more commonly grown for grain than for forage.

 If you’re planting for deer forage in a warmer season, rye can be an excellent choice.  A disadvantage in cooler weather is that lower temperatures cause the rye plant to bend over (a condition called “lodging”).  This puts the plant on the ground rather than up in the air.

• Still, rye is a very valuable food source for deer and other wildlife.  In northern zones, some university research has recommended simply seeding rye into forest openings each year in the spring to improve food value for wildlife.
• My experience with the deer food plots on the ranch, however, is to treat crops as annuals with a “harvest” by the deer in the fall and winter.  Annual ryegrass really meets that purpose.  It contains about 16% crude protein.  It is also relatively high in calcium when compared to other common deer food plot crops.
•  As I’ve noted when writing about cool-season grasses, be sure that you don’t select a perennial ryegrass variety.  The perennial version can be aggressive and hard to get out of your food plot.  In addition to avoiding perennial varieties, there are some disease issues in ryegrass that can occur, especially in warmer climates, if it is seeded continuously.  (That’s another argument for rotating crops in your food plot.)
• Annual ryegrass will perform well when seeded into a food plot with a moderate pH (between 5.5 and 7.5).  Another advantage to annual ryegrass is that it is more tolerant to soils that are not as well-drained. 
•  Annual ryegrass is a great crop to use in a crop mix, as it serves as a good “companion” for some clovers and other shorter crops.  It’s quick growing and rapidly establishes, and it can be effectively used as a standalone crop to provide food value in spots where other grasses might not grow as easily.  I like to seed it on our fourwheeler trails to provide some deer cover and forage value on hard-traveled paths.

 For more free information on annual options for deer food plots visit: www.diydeerfoodplots.com/

Accurately determining the size of your deer food plot is one of the elements of having a successful food plot. It determines proper seeding rates, lime application and fertilizing rates. Here are some examples of how just guessing can lead to big problems in your food plot.

a) Too little seed leads to poor uniformity and decreased competition for weeds. The result here: you spend tonnes more time in weed control and your deer food plot annuals or perennials forage won’t flourish.

b) Too much seed result in plants that are too close together. They don’t get proper nutrition due to competition from their own. This results in plants that are more susceptable to poor moisture levels, decreased fertility in the soil, and increased weed competition.

c) Too much lime may potentially swing the pH to the opposite side of neutral. Neither acidic nor basic soils are good for most plant types that we chooose for our food plots. The vast majority of soils are acidic enough that this may seem unlikely, but I have seen it happen.

d) Too little lime or lime applied to the wrong level in the soil will not raise the pH sufficiently. This means the soil will remain more acidic than you would like and the nutrients and the fertilizer will not be available to the same extent. You may as well throw you money out!

e) Too much fertilizer is a bit self explanatory given the cost of fertilizer. Remember anything you do for the plants, you do for the weeds. The other important thing is that too much of a good thing can actually be toxic to the plants you are desperately working to grow.

f) Too little fertilizer is a little like depriving yourself of proper nutrition and then wondering why you are sick and weak and feel awful. You need to give the soil what it needs based on your soil test, nothing short of that is really a good idea for the forage, even if money is tight. It leads to weaker plants and thinner forage and may allow weeds and schrubs to take over the plot. Then you will end of spending money dealing with that problem.

Tillage is basically a depth and particle size concept going from the deepest to the shallowest penetration and from the largest particles to the smallest.

What tillage does is basically break soil into finer and finer particles in preparation for seeding.

The suprising thing is not all soils or plots even need tillage to get your food plot started. And there are some disadvantages to tilling the ground. For example. turning the soil over or disturbing the soil exposes new weeds and dormant seeds. These can then become strong competitors for your recently planted deer food plot.

So the best advice is only go as deep as you need to in the tillage action. How do you decide what you need to do and how deep you need to go. Consider the following:

1. What you are going to plant? Small seed or large seed? Deep roots or shallow roots?

2. What is the depth of the healthy soil in your plot? Do you have only an inch or two of surface dirt before you hit sand or clay?

3. Potential Moisture issues. Are you in a notoriously dry area, or is rainfall practically the enemy?

4. New site or a site that has already been used or prepared.

5. How much money can you or are you willing to invest? How big the plot is and what is available to you in terms of tilling options for behind your truck, atv, or hand tilling.

Keep posted and I will continue the saga of Tillage in days to come. I will even have some hints for those people with no cash, no land, no plot…..that is the no tillage, no plot, natural resource plotting concepts applied to the great outdoors in hard to reach, out of the way, no one knows it is there kind of places.

I had a client ask me this week about bracken fern weed control. In his food plots he has tried cutting, burning, round up, cultivating, and plowing. Yikes! These plants are almost full proof.

So I decided I might do a little post here. Maybe it can help you understand why it is such a problem and maybe even some ways to initiate and maintain control.  The key here is a long term strategy, with no letting up!

All of the methods of control are aimed at a particular biologic behavior of the plant. So here goes.

#1) NO BURNING: Bracken fern is considered a fire resistant plant. Some people have used burning to reduce the amount of dead fronds. Burning will only increase fern growth and the density of emerging fronds. If you are harvesting bracken fern, this would be to your advantage. But in any other circumstance, it will only fuel the plants efforts and give you a major headache.

The reason for this is the best spore germination requires sterile soil. On unsterilized soils, the spores may germinate but the new plants are quickly overwhelmed by other growth.

Now having said that, if you feel you still have to burn to reduce the fronds, do so in the winter before a planned cultivation or herbicide application in the spring.

#2) WINTER CRUSHING

In the winter only. We put our cattle in the affected area. We then feed them hay, so they are not encouraged to eat the bracken fern on the deer food plot. This way they keep to their simple function of crushing the ferns. This tramples the frost into the rhizomes. In the spring we move the cattle out of there, so as not to expose them to poison.

#3) MOWING

Lots of people try mowing. Here is the key. The most effective time is in the summer. The biggest gift I can give you is the advice to cut every 3 to 4 weeks between the months of June and July. In the heat of the summer, there needs to be at least two cuts. This allows the rhizomes to generate second fronds which depletes the plants resources. Then you have to keep doing this for 3 to 5 years. Yes, I know, Yuk!

The other good piece of advice. When you mow, it is important to remove the forage so not providing cover for underground bracken rhizomes.  If you remove the forage this allows the frost to destroy some of them in the winter. This also decreases Mg in the soil which helps decrease bracken fern growth in your food plots. Lower Mg in the soil is also better for grass growth.

Leaving the forage also provides a mulch against the soil and this can inhibit growth of any competing plants you are trying to grow by excessively shading it. The mulch can also be heavy and prevent the plants from emerging into the light in their most critical period.

Another interesting fact is that the bracken fern releases allelopathic chemicals which increases its ability to eliminate other vegetation. Even after the plants are removed, existing vegetation can be inhibited by toxins in the soil. Thus, if you have a bracken fern problem in your food plots, you have to be steadfast in your resolve for the next 3 to 5 years.

4) USING CHEMICALS:

Both Asulam and glyphosates can kill bracken fern. But here is the kicker: Asulam is more effective if cut first and both work best for the long term strategy if applied in the fall. The bracken fern has an extensive root system which is highly competitive. Kind of reminds me of dandelion! The only way to reach the underground root system with the chemicals is to take advantage of biologic behavior. In fall the transfer of food to rhizomes takes place in the autumn. This natural behavior allows us to get chemical further down deeper into the root system.

The important thing to note about chemicals is they are PART of the control program, not the answer to the problem when used in isolation.

#5) CRUSHING IN THE SUMMER

Emerging croziers can be bruised by the use of harrows, rollers or bracken crushers. Crushing is carried out with the same frequency as mowing. Crushing has the advantage of being safer when areas may damage blades of mowers.

#6) SOIL TEST AND PLANTING CHOICES:

First thing to do is soil test. You want to use the test to tell you if you are contributing to your bracken fern problem by giving it the exact soil conditions it thrives on. You may need to use fertilizer and lime applications to correct acid pH before you choose your next plant. Depending on your area, you may be able to select a plant with different soil pH requirement than the bracken fern and treat your soil accordingly. This may help you win the fight.

The best idea is to pick a rapidly growing tough grass for planting, that does well in your area. This will allow you to use the mowing strategy to your advantage. You can usually call the local agriculture office for information on what grasses grow well in your area. These are usually cheap to plant and can survive a variety of soil and waterfall variations. Be warned though, for food plots, stay away from perennial rye grass. If you use rye, use the annual variety. See my article on annuals.

Ideally you want to allow pasture to go to seed in the first year, especially if you are using perennial choices. This will help out compete the bracken fern in the next season.

6) CULTIVATION:

BEST in SUMMER.  This allows the rhizomes to surface and then they dry out. Best period is between June and August for most areas. Follow with annual choices. Then use mowing to keep bracken fern from out growing your new crop. The fern uses vegetative growth and if allowed it will easily out grow even the best growing annual if you don’t mow it as the annual establishes itself.

You can also use the weed control strategy noted in the annuals article. In food plots where I have excessive weed competition, I plant only annuals and spend the entire summer the first year or two dealing with the weeds. Most of the focus is put on the weed control. I then choose an easy annual that provides forage in the early winter during bow season.

Usually you have to do this 2 to 3 consecutive years if this is your strategy. I know. Yikes again!

#6) WASH EQUIPMENT:

Clean all equipment before moving to a new food plot. The rhizomes are moved with the machinery and create new infestations. Be extremely careful of this one. It is a lousy way to contribute to the overall problem yourself.

I hope this was helpful. This is a tough weed, and only the persistant win against this one. Have a great day.

Dr. Judy