4th edition in my first ever foodplot. If you haven't seen the other 3 posts of this saga, check out this link: http://www.huntingnet.com/forum/tm.aspx?m=1551786

These are the lastest pics as of today June 15th as it continues to grow. I went in today to check it out and heard a deer go. Also, there are huge tracks in the ground in the next door cornfield. I walked around the food plot and determined I'd come in after work and mow it off with my mower deck as high as it could go so I'd just clip off the top of the grasses, weeds and be above the clovers, brassicas, rapes, turnips and biologic. Not that I know what rapes, brassicas, turnips look like. I do know what biologic looks like and obviously clovers. Here's a pic after I mowed it off looking towards my treestand tree. It's the tree with the opening in the upper left of the screen.


This next picture is standing under the tree looking out into the food plot. You can see my truck in the background.



This next picture shows how high the actual golden rod/CRP field grows every year. This shows what the field has been year in and year out the last 30 years. I mowed "fingers" through the weeds to the foodplot. One I mowed the length of the field on a deer trial that has been there for years and years. Path of least resistance you know. I also mowed fingers to and from the corn field.


And of course, here's a close up of the clovers with the biologic or brassicas etc....It's about ankle high if that.

Looks like a suburban lawn .

Rob, FYI the broadleaf plant in the middle of the last picture is a brassica. Mowing will help the plants by invigorating them and adding new tender growth. But, I haven't heard of anyone mowing brassicas before. I would think that you would want them to grow as big as possible by fall so they can produce more tonnage per acre.

It depends on how much of the plant is left after mowing. If 80% of the plant is left, the plant will show no ill effects and the rootswill continue growing. At around 50%, the roots will stop growing. With less than 50% of the plant remaining, part of the root system will die off.

Only about half of the plant is above ground. The rest is in the root system. Mowing, grazing, or any other means of harvesting decreases the plant's ability to photosynthesize. Removing the top growth of the plant affects its ability to feed the roots.

This is really more of a factor with grazing than mowing, because frequency is also important. Plants can handle heavy grazing or mowing so long as they are given enough time to recover and build up their eserves before they are hit again.

Thanks guys, the last picture (the closeup) is after I mowed. I was mowing off the weeds that came back. As you can see, it didn't mow any of the brassicas, clover etc...I had the mower deck up high enough that it never touched any of the "plot" plants and still mowed the weeds.

Any other thoughts, you need to remember this is my first attempt and I'm absorbing everything I read from you all. Thanks in advance.

You'll be glad you mowed.

Mow once more at Labor Day - with the deck set at 8"

Next year the clover will be dominant - still mow at least 2x/year.

What you are really doing is stopping the Weeds from seeding back, and promoting canopy growth for the clover at the same time. The mowing will work great until grasses become well established - (3-4 years).

Looks Good
FH

You will need to plant the turnips every spring my turnips did will last year and the deer love them the most after the first frost, by dec. they were cleaned out.you will know them when you see them they grow a ball like beet size but white ,I ate a few they were good.Your plots look good, post photos this fall.

Rob; youshouldn't have worried about the clover germination. The closeup picture looks very nice. You don't want to mow the clover until it's matured. It looks thick enough to choke out most of the weeds.

Dan O.

farm hunter, thanks I hope I can get my deck high enough, I may have to take my push mower in because I believe it sets higher than my rider...I'll go ahead and mow it as you say and hang my stands the same day.

dayna0306, interesting, I figure I'd disc up the thinner areas of the plot and replant next spring. I was thinking about disc'ing an area and planting a fall plot but I think I'm going to wait and see how this one makes out as a whole, I'll be sure to post more pics in update #5 around Sept and then again #6 with a big old mature whitetail buck and my bow across his chest.

Dan O, Well when I went back several weeks ago it looked so darn small and I wasn't sure if it had enough lime to assist the clovers along. I was told clovers like sweet soil. I set the deck up high enough as you can see in the close up photo that I missed the all the actual "plot" plants. Unless I didn't recognize taller plants. Are there plants that could have grown more substantial than the plants you see in the close up, other than the rye grasses that I could clearly see?

I planted a mixture of the clovers, brassicas, rape, turnips, rye and a bag of biologic which is what the same things minus the clovers and grasses?

In the last photo that is a turnip in the middle ,light green ,they nibbled on them in late summer but after the freeze they dug up every root .Not a one came up this year.I wish I would have known that earlier I would have reseeded them.We just cut ours ,a local farmer cuts and bales it ,he loves it .My mower deck is to low ,he cuts it down to 6to8 inches just right ,might get 3 cuts this year.do yearly soil test from agway, it took 2 ton of lime per acre each year for us.