There is a little grass patch on the property I hunt that gets grown up when crops are in the field because the farmer can't get to it to bush hog it. After the crops come out though he gets in there right away and mows it down. The way it is going as of late, it looks like the corn may come out a little early this year. So probably around late September or early October. Is there anything I could seed in that grass patch before he mows it down without actually breaking dirt and could anything grow through after he does mow it? I know most likely not, but I am just curious. Or if you guys have any other suggestions on what I could do with the 1/2 acre patch after he gets the corn out let me hear em.
You can seed the crap out of it with crimson clover and winter rye. It won't germinate until you get a rain on it but no matter how laye it gets, at least the rye will come in up until December here in MO and KS (no idea where you are). The clover will germinate and grow through Sept, Oct here at least. Also if it comes up quickly....won't hurt for it to be mowed off.
I got ya covered. Plotspike no till seed. I put in a no till plot up here in S.E. Michigan. I called Mike, the owner of the company, and he told me the stuff would grow on a rock. I then asked about putting some in after they cut the corn on my property, he said sure, as long as it gets 4 hrs of sun a day. So, here's the quick version. After farmer bush hogs, grab a yard rake and rake the excess grass off. That's what I did with mine, it was CRP that I sprayed with tractor supply version of round up. If you have the time, spray it, if not grab 100 lbs of 19-19-19 and spread it, I used a hand crank spreader, then plant the seed. Plant as in use same hand crank and walk around spreading it. Important******make sure it's going to rain with in a cpl days of this. The rain will push the seed and fertilizer to the ground. You could also use a lawn roller to get ground to seed contact. My first plot is going great, but I planted in late July, I just did another on some fresh cut CRP behind my house, 8/15/2013, and need to check it. I expect it to be the same as other soon. The seed did just what Mike said it would do, Grew, I didn't work the ground, nuthin, just cleared the grass, and spread. It can be found at tractor supply, or just google it Rand and Massey Plotspike. Rye, Clover, and Brassica. BTW, I have pics of 6 different bucks, and countless does in the plot since Aug. It's work'n for me, and I'm planting another one when my corn comes out, without a doubt. E
First off thanks for replying guys. Ok, so it wouldn't be too late to throw down the Rye, Clover and Brassica say early October? Also, if I throw down the 19-19-19 and then spread the seed before a rain will the Brassicas come up with the grass, or will the grass die off and the brassicas, rye and clover take over? And, what would the plot look like after a year or two without reseeding and it was continued to get bush hogged?
The seeds mentioned are annuals and won't survive more than one season, for fall seeded annuals like the rye and crimson clover...they will come up through the grass and compete with it but would be better if the grass was killed out, which goes for anything you may seed in living grass. I assumed the farmer may not want you to kill the grass out, if he doesn't care by all means roundup it. If you want a perennial food plot that survives more than one year, you'll want to put more effort into it and wait to see results until next year. perennials like red and white (ladino) clovers and/or alfalfa are really the only perennials I know of, I think there are some perennial wheat grasses, etc that could work in theory but I've never used them and wouldn't garantee them to be non-invasive. The perennials wil ltake more work to put in...working the soil or planting with a no-till in a fairly clean site with roundup'ed vegetation. The no-till seed mixes from these plot seed companies do usually work pretty good but some aren't very winter hardy so watch the ingredients.
