I had to watch this video twice since it is so rich in information. Most guys buying land find that their open grounds are in existing fescue and not sure how to get started with the release process. In addition, I really appreciated the explanation of why soybeans monoculter is not a good practice having planted $700 of soybean seeds last year and ending up with no viable plants at the start of the season.
Thanks! Soybeans can be quality forage but almost always are browsed short in food plots. They can be a good part of a blend. Deer tend to consume them quickly but this allows other forage crops to get started. In addition, knowing this less expensive varieties of beans can be used than are commonly sold to food plotters.
One of your better video's guys. food plots can be overwhelming some times and seed companies seem to make it hard to figure out what and when to plant. cheers guys, appreciate the video!!
Did probably quarter acre this last season and mixed bunch of stuff together. High rate of seed was broadcast and plot grew excellent. Had doe family group feed on it several times a day all thru till end of December. Was eaten to the ground but always had deer on it. Few mature bucks even staged for the camera was well worth it. More improvements to come and the clover in that plot should be thick this spring. Will hit with clethodime and kill of winter rye and oats most likely
Since you don’t have a disc, what do you find to be the best way to have a fire break around a field you are going to burn? Do you make a lap around the field with the mulcher like you showed in a recent video? Also do you broadcast some of these food plot blends in the savannahs you create after you burn or would you rather have the native grasses and forbes?
Great questions! At my place, I back into edge of the timber and create a line by blowing leaves with a backpack blower. I rely on native vegetation in savannas as it will be better adapted to that site and will reseed or other varieties grow during different seasons. I do make Hidey Hole plots in savannahs and other timbered areas!
Question: Fall release to summer release. Are you crimping or terminating the fall release when you drill the summer release through it? After watching a newer video today mentionioning not cleaning the plate I realized I have just done that. Planted summer release in elbon rye and oats and crimped it. So my plate is clean right now. Considering fall release this coming fall and want to know what to do next spring Thanks, Todd
If you drilled through the Fall Release some of the clovers, etc., should still be alive and providing forage. During the late summer, i often simply drill through the Summer Release and don't crimp after planting the Fall Release blend. I hope this help!
I plant the Summer Browse Pressure Release blend by GreenCover.com during the late spring and the Fall Browse Pressure Release blend during the late summer - about 45 days before the average first frost date at my area.
I recently purchased 92 acres of abandoned farm in western Louisiana. I was wondering if controlled burning in June would benefit my hunting in November. I am new to habitat management any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Do you guys have any information on transforming an area that was cleared with a forestry mulched and covered in wood chips? Should I burn it, till it in, plant over it?
Woods chips take a while to break down and I doubt they will burn or carry a fire if spread thin on the ground. They tend to hold a lot of moisture. The area can be planted but realize the first few crops may not be very productive as the microbes in the soil will be tied up breaking down the chips versus helping the forage crop. Planting is better than allowing weeds to take over the area.
Planting 7 acres of summer release this weekend for the first time. We have sandy soil so I’m hoping for the best. Debating on trying fall release in late August, but can’t find a good video on the fall release results.
The plots you see during the fall and winter on this channel were almost all planted with the Fall Release blend. It's worked great for us! Given the sandy soil at your place, make sure there's ample soil moisture or rain in the forecast.
Grant, i live not to far down the road from you. How do i got about planting crops on soil that isnt very deep? i mean they call it stone county for a reason haha.
Yup - "Stone" county! 1st - try to never disk. That will destroy whatever soil is there. I started by renting a drill from Stone County. Sometimes the seed would be visible on the rocks! However, I produced crops and over time build quality soil. Not using a disk was key!
I usually wait till the new crop has germinated. However, if the seed on the fall crop is close to mature or it's turning dry, crimp as soon a the the new crop is planted.
This is great.... BUT!!! If you have a small plot of land like I do, how do you afford 20K in a drill and 10K in a roller crimper. Why does being "natural" and ecological have to cost so damn much to do? At the end of the day on a 20 acre plot if you cost in all the equipment and chemicals you are still cheaper than the 2 main implements you need to do your method...for 20 or more years? I keep finding these "ecological" approaches, get excited (as I am not a fan of chemicals and feel there should be a better way) BUT THEN get thrown off the cliff again by either the infeasibility of the approach or cost.
You can find the smaller genesis 3 for 10-11k and the roller crimpers under 9k. Still alot of $ but worth it, or have someone make you a atv roller crimper, way cheaper.
@MD I literally called every shop in a 100 mile radius and no one knew what a crimper was, as well as no till drill. It's really frustrating to see techniques you just can't do.
@@lukestephens7896 There are several videos to make a home made crimper roller.. if your like me we will find a way to make it the cheapest. I found an older water tank someone discarded and working on collecting rest of parts to make my own roller crimper. I only need a 1/2" bar stock 6' long to finish building the project. I can't afford all that money it cost even for low end stuff and i lease my hunting property so no promise tree company doesn't come in and destroy all the work ive done over the years to get my food plot going.
Do you hunt deer in the spring and/or summer? Besides anecdotal experience, what scientific studies demonstrate the correlation between bucks in a food plot in spring or summer = fall/winter bucks? I am on board with cover crops and I get that it FEELS good to see deer and think we are necessary for feeding them during the most abundant time in nature, but it has to go beyond feelings and psychologically thinking it is needed. If there isn't a correlation, then we are at a minimum fooling ourselves and wasting time/money/energy and at worst, it is to capture hard earn dollars that could be utilized elsewhere. I am not accusing, just wanting to see solid scientific evidence that it matters for DEER --- I get the impact of the soil and agree, but for DEER.
Brad - There's no ag around me. Typically my food plots are the best forage around and yes I get trail camera pics of the same bucks in plots during the summer that I do during the fall. Deer have a high level of fidelity to their home range. In areas where food sources vary by season from one side of their home range to the other, deer do shift. That's not the case at my place and in most timbered areas. This is based on my observations and from putting GPS collars on bucks for research.
Hi Grant, i just have a question on how you would handle this situation. I want to plant two 1/4 acre food plots in the middle of my 30 acre woods. There is another 20 acre property that is connected to my woods and that person baits. I also have another person that baits in a field just off my property line, drawing the deer out of my woods and one other person is baiting close to my area. I had heard that bait trumps food plots, so if i plant food plots, am i just helping out all the people that put bait close to my area? Should i bait instead? ( would rather not) just curious how you would handle this situation. I want to improve the whitetail heard along with the hunting. Thanks for all the great food plot videos.
Craig - The good news is that research shows deer quickly learn to avoid bait during daylight hours if there's much hunting pressure. Baiting facilitates deer spreading disease and parasites. Imagine if you licked where others urinated, defecated, and salivated. You are wise to not bait and if you hunt your plots without alerting deer, I suspect you will do great! It sounds like there's a lot of hunting pressure around your property so being intentional about not alerting deer should be a primary goal for you!
@GrowingDeerTV yeah I was planning on hunting 75 yards or so off of the food plots so I don't alert the deer. I have a 1/2 acre thicket in the middle of the woods and was going to plant the 2 plots close to that and just keep the middle of the woods as a sanctuary and hunt on the edges of that and not right on the plots as I don't think I can get away with hunting on the plots cause deer when probably bust me when getting out at night
How can you plat a seed mix you show with all the different seed sizes in a no-till ? You would have to set openings large enough for the larger seeds then the small seeds are going to go through seeder quicker than should not? That’s the problem I’m having
Farmers and food plotters simply put the mix in a drill or broadcaster and calibrate. The calibration process will sort out how wide to open the meter. I've used this technique for decades and never had an issue.
Tanner - The average seed size of the species in the Summer Release blend are smaller than the seed size of most soybeans. Smaller seeds are often better when broadcasting. It's important to broadcast seeds onto a clean seed bed. If there are weeds or competition - the new seedlings from the broadcast seed likely won't compete well. It's a huge advantage to braodcast seed just before a rain. Rain helps insure the seed makes good contact with the soil and that's there's ample moisture for germination and growth. I hope this helps!
Hearing Grant speak about nature is like sitting through a sermon at church. When it's over, you just feel better!
I had to watch this video twice since it is so rich in information. Most guys buying land find that their open grounds are in existing fescue and not sure how to get started with the release process. In addition, I really appreciated the explanation of why soybeans monoculter is not a good practice having planted $700 of soybean seeds last year and ending up with no viable plants at the start of the season.
Thanks! Soybeans can be quality forage but almost always are browsed short in food plots. They can be a good part of a blend. Deer tend to consume them quickly but this allows other forage crops to get started. In addition, knowing this less expensive varieties of beans can be used than are commonly sold to food plotters.
Timely video as we started the Release Process last fall. Please keep the educational videos coming!
Thanks and we will!
One of your better video's guys. food plots can be overwhelming some times and seed companies seem to make it hard to figure out what and when to plant.
cheers guys, appreciate the video!!
I suspect the deer moved at the sound of the bow being shot.
A great clear and concise review. I just received my Summer release and am anxious to see how it does.
Great information Grant! Thanks for sharing all your knowledge.
Awesome videos you do a great job of explaining. Thank you for all you do. God is good all the time!!.
Keep the videos coming! Thank you.
Did probably quarter acre this last season and mixed bunch of stuff together. High rate of seed was broadcast and plot grew excellent. Had doe family group feed on it several times a day all thru till end of December. Was eaten to the ground but always had deer on it. Few mature bucks even staged for the camera was well worth it. More improvements to come and the clover in that plot should be thick this spring. Will hit with clethodime and kill of winter rye and oats most likely
Sounds like your plot worked great! Why use the herbicide? Simply weedeat the rye and oats before the seeds are mature - at least that's one option.
Grant,
Great Video!
Thanks!
Love the video!
Thank you grant
Welcome!
Good information 👍🏽
It seems like a high amount of chicory (25 -35%) extends the life of clover into the fall. And deer utilize it more in early summer
Chicory can work well. It doesn't do good when planted with the frost seeding technique and reduces the options is using fertilizer.
Since you don’t have a disc, what do you find to be the best way to have a fire break around a field you are going to burn? Do you make a lap around the field with the mulcher like you showed in a recent video?
Also do you broadcast some of these food plot blends in the savannahs you create after you burn or would you rather have the native grasses and forbes?
Great questions! At my place, I back into edge of the timber and create a line by blowing leaves with a backpack blower. I rely on native vegetation in savannas as it will be better adapted to that site and will reseed or other varieties grow during different seasons. I do make Hidey Hole plots in savannahs and other timbered areas!
Starting to transform a jackpine and blueberry area this year. Deer are likely to eat it all down to nothing so we just use rye. Should be interesting
Let me know how it works!
Awesome info
Question: Fall release to summer release. Are you crimping or terminating the fall release when you drill the summer release through it? After watching a newer video today mentionioning not cleaning the plate I realized I have just done that. Planted summer release in elbon rye and oats and crimped it. So my plate is clean right now. Considering fall release this coming fall and want to know what to do next spring Thanks, Todd
If you drilled through the Fall Release some of the clovers, etc., should still be alive and providing forage. During the late summer, i often simply drill through the Summer Release and don't crimp after planting the Fall Release blend. I hope this help!
Hey Grant, what do you usually plant in the summer into your clover plots? Do you plant after turkey season or in late summer? Thanks
I plant the Summer Browse Pressure Release blend by GreenCover.com during the late spring and the Fall Browse Pressure Release blend during the late summer - about 45 days before the average first frost date at my area.
It’s the wrong episode for this question, Grant, but do you think your no till methods are transferable to large scale agriculture practice?
Absolutely! The most profitable farms use similar techniques. It's call regenerative ag in the farming world.
I recently purchased 92 acres of abandoned farm in western Louisiana. I was wondering if controlled burning in June would benefit my hunting in November. I am new to habitat management any advice would be greatly appreciated.
I don't know plant species are there now so I can't accurately answer your question. In general, fire based on a good plan always helps habitat.
Do you guys have any information on transforming an area that was cleared with a forestry mulched and covered in wood chips? Should I burn it, till it in, plant over it?
Woods chips take a while to break down and I doubt they will burn or carry a fire if spread thin on the ground. They tend to hold a lot of moisture. The area can be planted but realize the first few crops may not be very productive as the microbes in the soil will be tied up breaking down the chips versus helping the forage crop. Planting is better than allowing weeds to take over the area.
Planting 7 acres of summer release this weekend for the first time. We have sandy soil so I’m hoping for the best. Debating on trying fall release in late August, but can’t find a good video on the fall release results.
The plots you see during the fall and winter on this channel were almost all planted with the Fall Release blend. It's worked great for us! Given the sandy soil at your place, make sure there's ample soil moisture or rain in the forecast.
How did your summer blend work? I also have sandy soil.
@@alanwhite4839 I blew the motor in my tractor so I wasn’t able to plant it this year. So I will try again next spring.
Grant, i live not to far down the road from you. How do i got about planting crops on soil that isnt very deep? i mean they call it stone county for a reason haha.
Yup - "Stone" county! 1st - try to never disk. That will destroy whatever soil is there. I started by renting a drill from Stone County. Sometimes the seed would be visible on the rocks! However, I produced crops and over time build quality soil. Not using a disk was key!
Great video! One question…..do you crimp immediately after drilling in the seed or wait until the seed germinates?
I usually wait till the new crop has germinated. However, if the seed on the fall crop is close to mature or it's turning dry, crimp as soon a the the new crop is planted.
Needs a podcast
This is great.... BUT!!! If you have a small plot of land like I do, how do you afford 20K in a drill and 10K in a roller crimper. Why does being "natural" and ecological have to cost so damn much to do? At the end of the day on a 20 acre plot if you cost in all the equipment and chemicals you are still cheaper than the 2 main implements you need to do your method...for 20 or more years? I keep finding these "ecological" approaches, get excited (as I am not a fan of chemicals and feel there should be a better way) BUT THEN get thrown off the cliff again by either the infeasibility of the approach or cost.
You can find the smaller genesis 3 for 10-11k and the roller crimpers under 9k. Still alot of $ but worth it, or have someone make you a atv roller crimper, way cheaper.
@MD I literally called every shop in a 100 mile radius and no one knew what a crimper was, as well as no till drill. It's really frustrating to see techniques you just can't do.
@@lukestephens7896 There are several videos to make a home made crimper roller.. if your like me we will find a way to make it the cheapest. I found an older water tank someone discarded and working on collecting rest of parts to make my own roller crimper. I only need a 1/2" bar stock 6' long to finish building the project. I can't afford all that money it cost even for low end stuff and i lease my hunting property so no promise tree company doesn't come in and destroy all the work ive done over the years to get my food plot going.
@@jwmfatboy can you share the videos??
@@lukestephens7896 best option is to search youtube for homemade cultipacker or crimper
How do you get this guy to come look at your property and tell you how to improve it and how much is it cost wise ?
This depends on the acreage and location. Please send this information to info@GrowingDeer and your contact information.
Do you hunt deer in the spring and/or summer? Besides anecdotal experience, what scientific studies demonstrate the correlation between bucks in a food plot in spring or summer = fall/winter bucks? I am on board with cover crops and I get that it FEELS good to see deer and think we are necessary for feeding them during the most abundant time in nature, but it has to go beyond feelings and psychologically thinking it is needed. If there isn't a correlation, then we are at a minimum fooling ourselves and wasting time/money/energy and at worst, it is to capture hard earn dollars that could be utilized elsewhere. I am not accusing, just wanting to see solid scientific evidence that it matters for DEER --- I get the impact of the soil and agree, but for DEER.
Brad - There's no ag around me. Typically my food plots are the best forage around and yes I get trail camera pics of the same bucks in plots during the summer that I do during the fall. Deer have a high level of fidelity to their home range. In areas where food sources vary by season from one side of their home range to the other, deer do shift. That's not the case at my place and in most timbered areas. This is based on my observations and from putting GPS collars on bucks for research.
Can I use a old John Deere Van Brunt to plant the seed in sandy soil ??
Sorry - I don't know/haven't used that planter.
It can plant soybeans, rye, wheat, oats , buckwheat and some other seeds.
Hi Grant, i just have a question on how you would handle this situation. I want to plant two 1/4 acre food plots in the middle of my 30 acre woods. There is another 20 acre property that is connected to my woods and that person baits. I also have another person that baits in a field just off my property line, drawing the deer out of my woods and one other person is baiting close to my area. I had heard that bait trumps food plots, so if i plant food plots, am i just helping out all the people that put bait close to my area? Should i bait instead? ( would rather not) just curious how you would handle this situation. I want to improve the whitetail heard along with the hunting. Thanks for all the great food plot videos.
Craig - The good news is that research shows deer quickly learn to avoid bait during daylight hours if there's much hunting pressure. Baiting facilitates deer spreading disease and parasites. Imagine if you licked where others urinated, defecated, and salivated. You are wise to not bait and if you hunt your plots without alerting deer, I suspect you will do great! It sounds like there's a lot of hunting pressure around your property so being intentional about not alerting deer should be a primary goal for you!
@GrowingDeerTV yeah I was planning on hunting 75 yards or so off of the food plots so I don't alert the deer. I have a 1/2 acre thicket in the middle of the woods and was going to plant the 2 plots close to that and just keep the middle of the woods as a sanctuary and hunt on the edges of that and not right on the plots as I don't think I can get away with hunting on the plots cause deer when probably bust me when getting out at night
What’s the ideal ph level for the summer release blend
6.5 but a wide range words well!
How can you plat a seed mix you show with all the different seed sizes in a no-till ? You would have to set openings large enough for the larger seeds then the small seeds are going to go through seeder quicker than should not? That’s the problem I’m having
Farmers and food plotters simply put the mix in a drill or broadcaster and calibrate. The calibration process will sort out how wide to open the meter. I've used this technique for decades and never had an issue.
Can someone explain to me why baiting deer is considered unethical but planting food plots isn’t
How do I broadcast summer release blend and forage soybeans (I don’t have a seed drill)
Tanner - The average seed size of the species in the Summer Release blend are smaller than the seed size of most soybeans. Smaller seeds are often better when broadcasting. It's important to broadcast seeds onto a clean seed bed. If there are weeds or competition - the new seedlings from the broadcast seed likely won't compete well. It's a huge advantage to braodcast seed just before a rain. Rain helps insure the seed makes good contact with the soil and that's there's ample moisture for germination and growth. I hope this helps!
@@GrowingDeerTV thank ya, I sure appreciate it