While riding the roads of my hunting spot last night I noticed the one farmer did not plant corn this year. First time I’ve ever seen that. But what was there, I wasn’t able to identify. It was about mid-thigh high & had broad triangular looking leaves. What was it? Talked to the landowners son, sunflowers for bio-diesel. Plus I could see the actual flower this time. Anyways, I know deer like them, but when do they mature for the deer to eat? Are they chompin the plants now? will they just eat the flowers, seeds?
Snap a pic of it. What else do they plant in the area? Cotton, tomatoes, tobacco?(although all of these are usually pretty easy to identify)
Around here it's corn or soybeans. I'm guessing you know what soybeans look like tho'. Usually some sort of legume is rotated in to replenish the nitrogen.
First time you saw him not plant corn? That is a poor practice. Nitrogen was so expensive last year when the farmers had to buy seed and fertilizer that planting corn was not economical. For those farmers who waited to buy, it wasn't bad, but many around here went soybeans again this year b/c of the cost of nitrogen.
Kinda sounds like what a farmer down the road from me has planted. Sunflowers. If the keep getting taller and turn yellow in about a month, you'll know. :d
Kind of odd for him not to rotate his crops. Could it be Canola? Deer like canola leaves. If it is sunflowers you should see allot of deer on them. I had one of my best years seeing deer hunting sunflowers.
Canola, Milo, or Sudan......Those are all possible options If you had a pic of it I could tell you for sure.
I agree, they usually rotate the crops. Corn depletes the soil of nitrogen, an important fertilizer. Soybeans like all legumes, fix nitrogen into their roots and replenish the nitrogen in the soil.
from what i have observed last year, the deer will eat it at a yound stage. but once the flowers starts producing seed, the deer will love it, last year on our property the deer would often times walk right across a bean field to get to a sunflower field.
Lots of sunflowers down here in the south. The deer will eat everything until they are plowed under... they'll eat the heck out of the flowers for sure. Most of them down here are ready to cut around September and then get plowed under in October. Definitely should be a huntable food source for you.
I've planted "mammoth" sunflowers for a couple years and like them. I mostly plant them for cover and edges along paths where deer enter/exit an area. Also in the corn, and in the garden behind the little trailer we use to sleep in while at the farm. Like huntingson said, nitrogen is expensive and sunflowers need a lot of nitrogen. Guess he has a good deal with the biodiesel company. The deer will eat them, but right now there is a alot of other agriculture they prefer more. Especially the beans. They will still eat sunflowers though now, and when the beans turn yellow.
Grab the 870 and dove hunt that field. We've planted sunflowers before and I've noticed few deer tracks in or around the patches.
