what is a low maintenance crop?

[LeviD1]

I use whitetail institutes imperial whitetail clover. There extreme works very well in our area and is a year round mix. The clover seems to attract better both deer and turkey. But it takes alot of nitrogen and also lime. Most the soils in our area are 5.5-5.7   clover prefer 6.5-7.2   dolomite lime works well to fix it. I use the clover which comes back every year but I also plant tall tine tubulars for winter forage. They love those when the snow hits the ground.

what are tall tine tubulars? I figured I would have to add lime which isnt a problem. next spring once I clear out the area I am going to test the soil before I start planting.

[JimmyHoffa]

I use whitetail institutes imperial whitetail clover. There extreme works very well in our area and is a year round mix. The clover seems to attract better both deer and turkey. But it takes alot of nitrogen and also lime. Most the soils in our area are 5.5-5.7   clover prefer 6.5-7.2   dolomite lime works well to fix it. I use the clover which comes back every year but I also plant tall tine tubulars for winter forage. They love those when the snow hits the ground.

what are tall tine tubulars? I figured I would have to add lime which isnt a problem. next spring once I clear out the area I am going to test the soil before I start planting.

It's a brand of turnip developed by whitetail institute.  The animals like them in the winter because the root gets sugary and they dig them up and eat them.

[jasnt]

They taste like a bland radish that's been slightly sweetened.  They love eating the plant part as well as the root. Intact they never touch the root till the ground freezes up. They grow so that a good part of the tubers is aboveground. After the frosts and my clover is eaten to carpet then they hit the tall times hard!

[KFhunter]

I'm going to have to look into the tall tine tubers for part of my rotational hog grazing program,  thanks jasnt 

winter forage would be an excellent addition.

[jasnt]

I'm going to have to look into the tall tine tubers for part of my rotational hog grazing program,  thanks jasnt 

winter forage would be an excellent addition.

. My brothers hogs get out from time to time,they LOVE! these tubers!!!  Had to get the dogs to round them back up and in the pen.

I irrigate all my plots but I think that the extreme mix doesn't need it in our area. But I have the means and it grew thick and tall with a good watering once a week

[LeviD1]

do you plant them both mixed together or separate them? Also I was reading the panting instructions for both and it says to to use a cultipacker. How necessary is this? What do you do when you plant them? And thanks for the suggestion of the imperial institute clover and tubulars. From what I was reading they are both drought tolerant and seem like a good choice for me.

[KFhunter]

do you plant them both mixed together or separate them? Also I was reading the panting instructions for both and it says to to use a cultipacker. How necessary is this? What do you do when you plant them? And thanks for the suggestion of the imperial institute clover and tubulars. From what I was reading they are both drought tolerant and seem like a good choice for me.

A cultipacker will increase your seed to soil contact and thus get you a better germination rate.  You can still plant it though but you'll loose a higher ratio of seed without it.

[LeviD1]

think running it over with the atv would be better than nothing? I dont really want to purchase a cultipacker.

[jasnt]

do you plant them both mixed together or separate them? Also I was reading the panting instructions for both and it says to to use a cultipacker. How necessary is this? What do you do when you plant them? And thanks for the suggestion of the imperial institute clover and tubulars. From what I was reading they are both drought tolerant and seem like a good choice for me. 

I keep them separate. I disk till soil is loose then water it down. Then broadcast the seed then I use a peace of chain-link and drag it with no weights. Then water again real well.  I plant last week of may or first of June.

[LeviD1]

Cool. Thanks for the info

[dibbs]

On one property I hunt in S. Stevens county, there is a large amount of spotted knapweed and goatweed (St. Johnswort).  Are there any "food plot" plants that will compete favorably with these noxious weeds?  I've scratched up the ground with an old steel tooth and spring tooth harrows behind the toyota, and spray with roundup to kill the first batch of weeds, but with all the years of noxious weed seed in the ground (property hasn't been farmed in 30 years/had weed control) in a year or two whatever I've planted is choked out.  Thanks for your suggestions/ideas. 

[jasnt]

I'm fighting those too.  I have a 2acer area that I want to put in more clover. What I've been doing is risking it up. Let the weeds germinate then disk again, then repeat. The knap weed is the worst one. It puts out chemicals fro. Its roots making the soil perfect for knap weed and chokes out others. The first clover plot I put in was able to get established and now I don't get many weeds. The clover grows so thick no light reaches the soil. Plus I mow it few times a year which helps to keep any weeds that grow from going to seed.  One of our feilds was really bad!!  We put goats in there and over grazed it every year for about 3 years. Now we trade off with other fields but that first field is almost entirely grass now.  With any aggressive weed control you should be able to get control of it in a year or 2 but it won't be easy.