re: Planted summer plots today

If you listen to some of the older MSU podcast, or some of Drop Tine Seed podcast, Jason Snavely has been a big reason why they have considered regenerative foodploting. If you have never listened to Drop Tine, I highly recommend his stuff. Years ago, I listened to one where he talked about frost seeding clover, chickory, and possibly alfalfa. My Dad and I tried it as he mentioned, and all I can say is Wow! I plots exploded in the spring green up.

I was telling Levee yesterday about my plan for food plots this year. Almost all of my plots this year are going to be on never tilled or worked soil. They are areas that I have freshly brush cut this year. They have been wooded for at least the last 40-50 years, but probably the last hundred plus years.

One of the spots I burned in march, then came back and brush cut it down in April. It's about 1.5 acres. I am going to rebrush cut it in August, then burn the debris the following day. Then come back 1 month later and drill it with seed. No herbicide on this plot because the August burn should kill most all of the woody structure.

On the next spot, I brush cut in late May, and burned it the next day. It has grown back with Hairy Cluster vine, but there are quite a few forbs growing beneath the hairy cluster vine. I haven't decided if I am going to cut and burn, or spray and drill into the top. That will probably be an August decision. The late May burn seems to have killed most of the woody structure that was in this 1.5 acre plot area.

The third spot will only be a spot blot that is drilled into an area that was burnt 2 weeks ago. It will be a game time decision to see what the results are like from the July burn. This plot will be 10 ft strips mixed into old field habitat.

The 4th spot is a 4 acre old field habitat area. I will make about 1 acre a food plot, and then I plan to strip plant a few 10 ft strips in the middle of the old field area. I plan to burn the 1 acre area and the wooded hillside that is next to it. For the strips, I am going to have to spray in August, then cut early September and drill in late September. I have 1 other spot that is about 2 acres that I plan to plant about a 1/2 acre into the middle of it.

I do not plan to fertilize anything because this is all rich healthy soil that hasn't been disturbed for years. The Microbs in the soil are rich and healthy. I don't want to damage that, but I want to work with it.

Sorry, the frost seed experiment with Alfalfa was in southern Missouri.

I do want to try it in Mississippi and see how it grows. I’ve always heard that our area is a little to hit for it.

Seems like a lot of examples were of folks not using herbicide at all. I don’t see that being possible down here. We also struggle with the example they recently gave of excessive deer population making it impossible to get the growth needed for the system work.

I, too, like it for the time aspect.

This is not the year to go cold turkey on herbicide if you ask me. You have to snuff out the weeds and in a drought year, it’s tough

Based on my research…..

That’s why those podcasters are seemingly against Regen. It’s not that they don’t want us to be successful….they just don’t want us to come in and fail and waste years due to weeds. They said it becomes too thick without significant browse pressure and weeds for turkey and deer to even travel through. They said they see it all the time.

So, I’d strongly suggest using herbicide the first few years. Heck, even Grant Woods suggests using it at first.

Is there anywhere that rents drill seeder to pull behind an ATV?

Yea I figured.