Updates: Sorghum, Wild Apples, Unique Plot Blend | Dream Farm w/ Bill Winke
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- Опубліковано 25 сер 2024
- In trying to figure out how to remove grass from one of my sorghum plots we came up with a unique (high effort) solution. I also update on early-dropping apple trees and start an experiment to test a blend of perennials I have never planted before. This episode is a bit of a mixed bag, but it moves pretty fast so hopefully you find something here that interests you.
For more land management videos from me check out the Deer Dirt series on the HuntStand channel: / @huntstand
When Bill posts a video go ahead and hit like before watching. Never disappoints
I sure appreciate it. Have a great day.
I have to hand it to you Bill, your videos are always interesting and serve a purpose. You seem like you work your butt off on your ground. It is obvious that none of your success has been an accident. Looking forward to the next video.
Thanks for the comment. Owning the land is a sure a privilege but it seems that it comes with a lot of work - at least if you want to make the property as good as possible. Have a great day.
My deer love chicory. I have had it on the farm mixed with clover for almost 20 years. In early bow season, you can watch some of the doe’s and yearlings go through a clover plot only eating the chicory leaves. It may be that it’s a learned food preference, but its drought tolerance makes it a must with white clovers on my land.
I like alfalfa on its own so I can treat with Roundup when needed.
I’m in southern IN so others areas may be different, because the Soil, Sun and Rain treat us as individuals. We all have to test and learn what works for our own Dream Farm.
Exactly, even what weeds thrive varies a ton by location. We have more issues here with some weeds than I had in southern Iowa, mostly I think because of the dirt. Better dirt means more weeds! Thanks for the post, very useful.
Great vid. I love having food plots with different things. I love having food for the hole yr
Thanks for the comment. Have a great day.
Chicory will do great, deer LOVE it!!
Looking forward to it. Thanks.
Bill, thanks for the update. We have been adding Chicory to our clover plots for many years. We are up to 50% in some of the plots, and are currently experimenting with different clover types to find out what advantages they may show. We have found numerous advantages to the high percentages of Chicory in our plots over time. Thanks, Bob
I have been hearing that a lot. I need to try it more. I planted it one time in southern Iowa and the deer didn't touch it so I wrote it off. I need to revisit the idea of planting chicory. Have a great day.
Bill, we planted it years ago within a clover plot and found the deer seeked it out. That is when we started increasing the percentage and have been very pleased with the results. Bob SWWI
@@bill-winkehave it and deer don’t touch till everything else is gone. Usually hit it before it freezes
Good to see another Amos! There's not too many of us out here😅
Amos is a good solid name.
I love chicory it's been great the last 3yrs in this drought
Good point. I have heard that it is very drought tolerant - a great quality for some sites (like ridgetop fields and maybe even interior plots where the tree roots steal all the moisture. Have a great day.
I thoroughly enjoy watching your content. I know Whitetail Institute makes a great product but they are one of the most expensive options. They are guilty as most seed companies of charging the customer for seed coatings. The bag you planted was almost 20% coating and other crop seed…. That’s 1lb of nothing. The better option for all hunters is to read and understand the seed tag. You can always apply seed coating yourself before planting for a fraction of the cost. Love the content!
I understand Jim, but most guys will never mess with a seed coating, myself included. If it makes a difference I already want it on there. Also, Whitetail Institute claims that their coating holds moisture next to the seed. That is its primary purpose. I have not tested that but if true that is probably worthwhile. When buying seed, forget about price per pound. Instead, focus on price per acre. In the end saving a few dollars per seems pretty trivial given how much we spend on other stuff related to food plots and deer hunting.
Maybe put an exclusion cage in this perennial plot. I have two plots with a clover chickory mix and the cages are the only place I can see chickory, the deer gobble it up as quick as it emerges. Pretty amazing. Thanks again as always. Kevin
That is interesting, Kevin. I have only planted it one time in southern Iowa and the deer didn't touch it so I quit. Looking forward to seeing how they react to it here. Strange that deer can acquire a taste for something in one area and ignore it in other areas. I hear people say that their deer don't eat turnips (brassicas), but I have seen deer hammer them most places I have planted them. Have a great day.
Those apple trees have to be pushing 30 years old with the size they have. Would you say that is one of the hidden gems on this farm? Food plots in general are pretty easy to cut in year one in my current experience but you can't get soft mast trees to do the same.
Alex, I bet many of them are older than that. I found one back in the timber that was surrounded by 8 to ten inch diameter hickory trees. It was definitely there before those hickory trees came in. Some are only a few years old too, the cows kept spreading them by eating the apples and crapping out the seeds into the perfect media for growth! Definitely the hidden gems on the farm. I noticed when buying that piece, but didn't realize just how many there really were.
Sainfoin is a HIGHLY palatable forb. It produces copious amounts of nectar for honeybees and reseeds itself. Excellent plant for deer. More of a western thing.
I am learning about it. Seems like pretty cool stuff.
😊 Dream Big brother 🙏
Thanks and same to you!
I planted that wi edge, the deer love it. Funny they like to criticize Whitetail institute but no one else offers that mix.
Thanks for the comment. I don't why people would criticize them - their seed is quality stuff. The first food plot I ever planted was in 1996 and it was Whitetail Institute Imperial Whitetail Clover. It amazed me how well it grew and how the deer loved eating it. Have a great day.
Nice update. Have you considered a stand setup on your apple trees? With as many trees as you have, it might take a few observation sits to dial in a stand location, but there's a lot of potential there! Apples are really all I focus on for the 1st month of the season, especially the crabapples - they're magnets.
I have seen that too, Matt. Last year was the first season for really checking out that part of the farm where all these apples are growing - we bought it in 2022 (late). So I have a lot to learn about how to hunt it. The hard part is how widespread these trees are. Like I mentioned, there are a ton of them and they are spread far and wide along the edge of the top field. I have a pretty good idea where the buck I am going to be hunting is living and I do know he was hitting part of the apple planting last year, so I will set up in that area. I have a rough idea on how to hunt him there. Should be an easy spot to hunt. Easy to get in and out being on the edge like that. Will be fun to try a few things there. No problem if it fails since the risk of educating him is very low up there. Have a great day.
Hey buddy, that tree that is dropping might a good one to grow seedlings from like we discussed. Never know what you’ll get. Also, I never have worried about grasses, etc in my sorghum out in Kansas. Once the sorghum gets going it doesn’t seem to mind the competition. Sainfoin is a legume from China or somewhere.
Tommy, I think weed control is kind of a regional thing. I didn't worry about it in southern Iowa either where the soil was not as good as here. The grasses grow so fast here that they can keep pace with the sorghum once they get going. I am looking forward to seeing what that Sainfoin looks like and how the deer react to it. Have a great day.
Small gas tiller.
I think that is the ticket. I looked at them, but decided since we really only had about 1/3 acre to do, we could just man up and do it by hand. Next year, I will have a better system. Thanks.
Sanfoin is a clover i believe, cattle guys grow it like alfalfa and bale it.
I am looking forward to seeing how it does on the farm. Looks like some pretty cool stuff.
im very interested to see how the edge comes up
Me too Don. Looks like it is starting to grow already, but we did get a nice rain right after seeding. I will update in a few weeks.
A cultivar would help
Definitely. I have also thought about a gas roto-tiller. Thanks for the comment.
Weeding the sorghum??? For my corn planter I’m going to make a cultivator to fit on my loader forks ahead of each planter unit. If I change the shovels out to the wide “Alabama” type of heads it would make a solid option for weeding the grasses out of the young sorghum. With a sprayer on the back of the tractor I could spray a pre-emergent while cultivating to minimize the next wave of germinating weeds.
I think I have another project on my list for this winter.
Kevin
That sounds like a pretty nice setup for sorghum. The only pre-emergent I have used was atrazine for broadleaf control. I have not found anything for grass that won't also kill the sorghum. There likely is some kind of solution that I haven't found yet. Good luck.
Atrazine works did it
Yes for broadleaf weeds, but doesn't help with grasses. I have used it and it does keep everything out but the grass.
Would cleth kill sorghum?
Does it make sense to set up a camera on apple tree for inventory purposes? Might make for a good episode also!!??
I think that will be interesting. I will do that in September as more of the trees start dropping.
Bill, do you have that shirt & hat you were wearing on HuntStand deer dirt E7 you put out yesterday on your website? I didn’t see it on there.
Those are from HuntStand. We don't carry their apparel. Not sure where you can find that. I don't think they sell those.
Looks like you have some equisetum (horsetail) in that plot. Do you know of any way to get rid of it, specifically in a clover plot?
Occasional mowing is probably the best way to get it out of your clover plot. Good luck.
How's the burn areas looking ?
They look really good. Still very few signs of the stuff I wanted to get rid of: multifloral rose, gooseberry and Japanese barberry. I will show that area in another update in a few weeks. Have a great day.
What did you spray for your sorghum?
I didn't spray anything on the sorghum. I did spray the seedbed with glyphosate right before I planted, but I should have added some atrazine to that also. I am still trying to figure out the best way to control weeds in sorghum so I can plant more of it next year. Good luck.
We sprayed dual and atrazine on ours pre and it stayed pretty clean would of did a post but mother nature said no
Put a camera on the Apple tree so we can see what's coming....lol
Yes, from the tracks it is lots of deer, but it would be interesting to see "which" deer.
Intern applicant…Not anymore! 🤣
Chased him off! He did come back and is learning fast. Just needed a little "break-in period".
Pick up a cultivator
Tyson, I think a gas roto-tiller is the ticket long-term. Have a great day.
I agree,thats why they made a row cultivator.Was this milo/grain sorghum or sorghum grass?
Hey Bill love these off season vids of prepping and plot maintenance. I have a question about soy beans in a .5 acre spot. i have them growing great. Nice thick, tall and luscious, but full of weeds. Johnson grass mainly and some kind of short stickery weed full of stickers. What can i spray them with as my beans start coming up without killin my bean plants? Thank u for any response or advice u can offer sir.
John, most beans are RoundUp ready, which means you can hit them with glyphosate herbicide to remove most things. My guess it that the short "stickery" plant might be horse nettles. Glyphosate will kill that too. I would first check with whoever you got the beans from to make sure they are "RoundUp Ready" but I would be really surprised if they aren't. Good luck.