Fertilizer, When to plant?
12-10-2002, 10:30 AM
#1
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Milan MI USA
Posts: 28
Fertilizer, When to plant?
Couple of quick questions.... Am planting several food plots this year. Looking for a variety of foods for thoughout the year. So far have narrowed down to the following
1. Alfa Rack (Alfalfa & Clover)
2. Biologic Fall Attractant
3. Cow Peas & Clover
4. Dwarf Essex Rape
5. Wheat & Clover
6. Pumpkins (Insisted by the Father-n-law)
I am in an area of heavy agrictulture. Mainly Corn and Beans. Other areas on my property will be seeded with grasses such as rye, blue, timothy, and orchard.
Basically what i need to know is when to plant these as well as fertilizer recommendations.
1. Alfa Rack (Alfalfa & Clover)
2. Biologic Fall Attractant
3. Cow Peas & Clover
4. Dwarf Essex Rape
5. Wheat & Clover
6. Pumpkins (Insisted by the Father-n-law)
I am in an area of heavy agrictulture. Mainly Corn and Beans. Other areas on my property will be seeded with grasses such as rye, blue, timothy, and orchard.
Basically what i need to know is when to plant these as well as fertilizer recommendations.
12-10-2002, 08:17 PM
#2
Boone & Crockett
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Ponce de Leon Florida USA
Posts: 10,079
RE: Fertilizer, When to plant?
Welcome to the board. Maybe some of the posters from Michigan will be able to help you with the timetable. Go ahead and do your soil samples now and adjust your lime needs. It takes several months for lime to work.
12-10-2002, 11:14 PM
#3
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Ferry Township, Michigan United States
Posts: 165
RE: Fertilizer, When to plant?
The single, most important thing to do, is get a soil sample.... Follow the recommended lime and fertilizer required. Perhaps the pumpkins will do well where you are. Up here the snow has to be pretty deep with not much else to eat before the deer even look at them. (broken,quartered,smashed) I think you have a very good menu planned. You might consider corn too, just for the cover that it would provide. I'm no expert. We have all winter to read the posts on here and learn lots of stuff. Do the soil sample! It will save you a lot of time and money. In this dept. I am an expert. terry<img src=icon_smile_clown.gif border=0 align=middle>
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12-12-2002, 07:32 AM
#4
Typical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Livonia Mi USA
Posts: 551
RE: Fertilizer, When to plant?
Soil sample, soil sample, soil sample... With our this your blind... I can guarantee you the Imperial product will not preform as advertised if the soil conditions are not met. Your planting period for the State of Michigan is April 15 thru June 15. However, your a farmer now and there is no bigger gambler on earth.
You need to watch the weather forecasts. Do not plant the forage crops if there is a forcast of drought for the summer. We suggest that you use a annual for the spring and re work the soil for fall planting, the month of August. Do not plant if there is a chance of a hard frost. We suggest that you do not plant the forage crops if you have to lime for more that one point, plant the following planting season. This gives the lime and fertilizer time to work. You may do everything right and if mother nature does not play along the products may not work. You may do everything right and mother nature DOES play along and the product still does not work. There's mo way to know. You do what the farmers do, start all over again.
Romans 10:9 Psalms 42
You need to watch the weather forecasts. Do not plant the forage crops if there is a forcast of drought for the summer. We suggest that you use a annual for the spring and re work the soil for fall planting, the month of August. Do not plant if there is a chance of a hard frost. We suggest that you do not plant the forage crops if you have to lime for more that one point, plant the following planting season. This gives the lime and fertilizer time to work. You may do everything right and if mother nature does not play along the products may not work. You may do everything right and mother nature DOES play along and the product still does not work. There's mo way to know. You do what the farmers do, start all over again.
Romans 10:9 Psalms 42
12-17-2002, 08:27 PM
#6
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: cazenovia, NY USA
Posts: 2,973
RE: Fertilizer, When to plant?
Welcome.
Split your planting ideas into Cool Season, and Warm Season plantings. This will help you prioritize you plantings. Cow Peas
are the only true warm season planting you have, though clover and
alfalfa make good warm season crops as well.
The Rape, Wheat, and biologic should be fall planted.
If you get good rainfall in your area normally, work on the clover/alfalfa first, and spring plant. (Late may/Early June in my area). Follow the lime, and fertilizer reccommendations of your soil test. Figure on mowing the clover/alfafa 2-3 times during the summer.
Wheat & Rape, are easiest to plant. Both require some fertilizer and ground prep, but its not as intensive as clover. Rape really needs Phosphorous & hefty amounts of Nitrogen to do well. I've never had good results with rape. The deer seem to prefer clover to it, then in the fall switch to rye or corn, without ever going to the rape, but all areas are different.
Pumpkins require alot of Nitrogen, and water. You should not plant with clover, as you will need to mow the clover, to reduce weed competition. Pumpkins can be planted with Cow peas, or Corn (if you do not spray). Pumpkins would probably do best in their own plot. As much as I've heard deer like pumpkins, I think you'll find they prefer traditional forage. Pumpkins, would be like a "candy" to deer. I've heard that they should be busted open for deer to take to them.
Good luck, the only overall advice I would give, is to take it one step at a time, better to have one very productive plot, than 1/2 dozen half baked plots. It can get expensive, and you'll learn alot as you go along.
Split your planting ideas into Cool Season, and Warm Season plantings. This will help you prioritize you plantings. Cow Peas
are the only true warm season planting you have, though clover and
alfalfa make good warm season crops as well.
The Rape, Wheat, and biologic should be fall planted.
If you get good rainfall in your area normally, work on the clover/alfalfa first, and spring plant. (Late may/Early June in my area). Follow the lime, and fertilizer reccommendations of your soil test. Figure on mowing the clover/alfafa 2-3 times during the summer.
Wheat & Rape, are easiest to plant. Both require some fertilizer and ground prep, but its not as intensive as clover. Rape really needs Phosphorous & hefty amounts of Nitrogen to do well. I've never had good results with rape. The deer seem to prefer clover to it, then in the fall switch to rye or corn, without ever going to the rape, but all areas are different.
Pumpkins require alot of Nitrogen, and water. You should not plant with clover, as you will need to mow the clover, to reduce weed competition. Pumpkins can be planted with Cow peas, or Corn (if you do not spray). Pumpkins would probably do best in their own plot. As much as I've heard deer like pumpkins, I think you'll find they prefer traditional forage. Pumpkins, would be like a "candy" to deer. I've heard that they should be busted open for deer to take to them.
Good luck, the only overall advice I would give, is to take it one step at a time, better to have one very productive plot, than 1/2 dozen half baked plots. It can get expensive, and you'll learn alot as you go along.
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