Deer numbers are down here for now and I’ve planted more acreage than I ever have…..With the combination of those two factors, I’ve passed that threshold where browsing pressure isn’t having a major impact right now. Things can change a lot here at my place though as the season progresses. When cold weather gets here and food becomes scarce then patterns will change.

We must be hitting conditions now that are just right for clover because it’s started exploding over the last week or so. This moist bottom with semi-shade is thriving. This is mostly crimson clover that was just top sowed out of a bag spreader.

Planted Oct 6th with rye and top dressed Oct 15th with crimson and advantage clover.

Planted Oct 6th with rye, crimson and advantage clover. Top dressed Oct 15th with rape, turnips and chicory

^^^ Impressive

270 that thing is Beautiful !

Looking awesome 270!

fine looking field 270

What was your rate on the brassicas?

CNC- I'll have to check my log book next time I'm at the camp. I experimented with rates and mixes based on past notes and plot location/soil type. I do know the last plot pictured above was my heaviest brassica mix.

Here's another plot with same mix, but less brassicas and more clover.

Yea 270, you got some fine looking plots.

Give me some Ranch dressing and I'd eat that.

I have similar situations going on here and I think I like the thinner rates better. What do you think?

I used 1 lb/ac which is about a Red Solo cup full. I'm thinking about maybe going with half of that next time.

I agree. I think the best mix is going to be the last pic I posted with less brassicas and more clover.

Funny, I use the same red solo cup scientific method:)

Did not get a soil sample (I know, I know!). Topped my fields with 200lb/ac of 13-13-13. Hopefully we will get a good soaking rain this evening like we are supposed to. Also cut a bunch of trees off the road and put up a new shooting house I had disassembled for travel. Man this stuff is addictive. I'm already looking forward to spring so I can plant again when I actually have some biomass. This year with new fields it's was pretty much just bare dirt to start.

I’m thinking that the lighter mix should work out just right in the spring as well for allowing the clover room to thrive without having to worry with mowing the rye. The brassicas should create that space for us I believe so that the rye isn't so thick that it smothers out the clover when it bolts. That means if you've planted yuchi clover in your mix then the plot should be thriving all the way through about the end of June without us doing anything other than maybe topping off our nutrients like (Ca, P, K) sometimes around March or early April right before spring jumps.

I'd like to get some kind of legume growing in the summer mix next year for the sake of N credits.

N deficiency is pretty easy to notice by just using your eyes. My 3 pt spreader bit the dust this last year and I thought I could just spread everything by hand. I did and it sucked……so did the evenness of most of the stuff I spread……including that last round of 34-0-0. My wife says I’ll never get it even if I keep trying to hold a beer in one hand. Psshhh…..What does she know about food plotting…..

Here you can see a side by side picture of N deficiency as a result. The area to the top left of the pic received N and is now a deep green color…..the area on the right got missed and is now N deficient. All in all I didn’t do too bad but it’s glaringly obvious where I missed. Those areas are turning yellow now. You don’t want to let it get to that point.

I’ve been rethinking my N application timing. We had a lot of heavy rain upfront the year after planting that I know really had an effect on my field running N deficient sooner than expected….but I still think I may adjust my N timing a little in the future to 50 lbs of 34-0-0 at planting and 100 lbs 4 weeks later instead of 6-8 weeks….That’d be planting early Oct and the heavier N application early Nov……play it by ear from there.

If we could get enough summer legumes growing then the application at planting may could be cut out. My sand just runs N deficient nearly overnight when it goes and I want to stay out ahead of that…..yellow forage is not palatable…..I’ve done well at becoming much more efficient with holding Ca, P, & K but nitrogen is the one that I still need regular applications of in order to thrive……I think that may be the biggest challenge for everyone when talking about the idea of reducing fert usage.

Why not split your second N app in half and do a third app a month or so later. This would keep your plot green into the rut, assuming you hunt over it. My deer don't use my plots much early season, so I have pushed my planting date back to early November with an initial app of N and another before Christmas. This has worked out real well at keeping my plots palatable during the last half of the season, which coincides with the rut at my place.

I don’t think 50 lbs/ac of 34-0-0 is quite enough on that 4 week application. I say I added 50 lbs/ac on this last application but in reality, the lack of evenness due to my hand spreading really has me putting out a higher rate on the areas I did cover. I hit the other areas I missed yesterday before this rain and I’m probably much closer to 100 lbs/ac now. The areas that got good coverage a couple weeks ago are looking awesome….a deep, deep green. I may still add another round of N around Christmas. It may work out best to be three applications of 50 lbs...100 lbs.....50 lbs