Food Plot Pics - Updated Pics
 

Here are updated pics of some of my foodplots from my earlier post of 6 weeks ago.

The sunflowers have taken off with our recentheavy east coast rains and are in full bloom:



The spring-planteddurana clover/burnet/chicory plot in the powerline has had some weed problems, but mowing and herbicides havekept them under control and it now looks like a plush green carpet. Deer are in here every evening:



The kura clover field was re-juvenatedalso bymowing and the rains; deer are pulling down stalks to feed on silk and immature ears from the (1A) cornfield in the background:



The trees are full of maturing apples, and deer are hanging around here after dark (note the browse line):


The corn along my tree line and chestnuttree orchardis 8 ft high now (that is a weedy 5 yr oldalfalfa/clover mix in the foreground):



And every once in a while, planta random, senseless act of beauty:




Enjoy!

-fsh

RE: Food Plot Pics - Updated Pics
 

Very nice - Sunflowers are espeially appealing to see, but the clover is the Deer Magnet.

Nice pics

FH

RE: Food Plot Pics - Updated Pics
 

A little slice of heaven right there.
'
Everything looks great, do you have a local turkey pop, they're gonna be hamming that sunflower field come fall.

Awesome pics too by the way. I'm really enjoying this, might have to change my username, how's Rob/PA Farmbowyer sound...LOL

RE: Food Plot Pics - Updated Pics
 

Rob
- it kinda surprised me as I thought the same last year w/the turks. Last fall/winter, the turks (not many) went intothe corn fields, and I never saw them touch the sunflowers.
-fsh

RE: Food Plot Pics - Updated Pics
 

That's interesting....whodathunk?

We planted some sunflowers in a backwoods spot along with some biologic and sorgum, they cleaned the sunflowers off immediately and then the bio when it turned cold, never did touch the sorgum...

RE: Food Plot Pics - Updated Pics
 

Very nice food plots. My food plots consist of corn, brassica and clover. Now that I have seen your sunflower plot and how nice it looks, I think I may do the same. I have a questionon how you planted all of the sunflower seeds. Did you use a grain drill or broadcast them by hand?

RE: Food Plot Pics - Updated Pics
 

mlo
- thanks. I used a MF two-row corn planter for my sunflower fields. I also used treflan for pre-emergent control of grasses (foxtail and crabgrass would otherwise take over;my first-ever sunflower plot was buried in foxtail...).

-fsh

RE: Food Plot Pics - Updated Pics
 

How funny, before I got to reading the follow-up posts....that's exactly what I thought.

To the poster:

Next year, consider beans in the mix with the sunflowers. I've seen some impressive set up where the turkeys AND deer come in for a few days together each fall on a small area...makes for neat sight, and some good hunting!

RE: Food Plot Pics - Updated Pics
 

Phade - thx for the suggestion. The sunflower fields are fordove hunting, so I endeavor to keep these fields clean as practical.I didn't note it in my post,but there are ~10A of soybeans just beyond the sunflowers that a local farmer had planted to produce a crop. (Unfortunately this is his last year, after doing this for the past 10 yrs).

-fsh

RE: Food Plot Pics - Updated Pics
 

Fsh, what is likely to happen to the 10 acre field when the farmer stops farming it? The farmer quit on several properties around me where the fields were small and the landowners let them go to grass. Lost their value for deer and geese and put pressure on me to fill the void. Sure wish they were still being tilled.

RE: Food Plot Pics - Updated Pics
 

Good question yeoman, I found out just yesterday, so I haven't come close to figuring it all out.. I really enjoyed having this guy, as he converted a former pasture rife with johnson grass into something tillable. Plus the soybeans were a treat to the deer -some very nicebucks would show up in the beans in August, and Ienjoyed watching them with a telescope from my living room. I surely do not want to add 10 acres to my bushhogging chores, and the expense and time of planting soybeans myself are not appealing either. I let another neighbor grow hay on 10A, and it would be easy just to let him takethe field or part ofitover. I have severaloptions andtime to think about it.
The days of the small So. MD farmer are numbered - as these guys age and retire, more land gets converted over to housing or left fallow only to grow up in sweetgum and tree-of-heaven...
-fsh

RE: Food Plot Pics - Updated Pics
 

Awesome pics!
No question that you put a lot of time and effort into your land management.
Rain today will keep it nice for quite awhile.

RE: Food Plot Pics - Updated Pics
 

Looking Great!