SUNFLOWER PLOT - PICTURES
#1
SUNFLOWER PLOT - PICTURES
My pictures are a little big - so I provided links for most of them - so you all do not have to wait for them to load.
The " Sunflower plot" started our as a corn field this spring - the sunflower seeds were Black-Oil Seeds for birds. I bought like 5 lbs of seed and mixed it in with 40 lbs of corn seed - mostly because the planter was planting the corn too close(small seed for my plates) - so I got the " Bright Idea" of cutting it with a cheap seed. As it turned out - the spring was VERY wet and cold - we had a frost and an extended wet period right after planting, and I lost 90% of the corn. BUT the sunflowers flourished. - So much so that the corn probably would have had a tough time competing with the sunflowers - in the future I would not plant so many seeds with the corn! The sunflowers stand about shoulder high.
The planting was originally a 3 acre planting. In mid June, I re-disked up a little more than 1 acre of it and planted what corn I had left. I left the rest in sunflowers.
The sunflowers are just now opening up - and there is some corn mixed in (not much). The replanted corn is coming on now, a bit weedy - but We' ll have at least some corn - and it' ll be very interesting to see if the sunflowers offer cover and or food for the deer. I ended up mixing in some soybeans - and while you cannot see them in the corn pictures (last picture) - the deer know they are there.
http://images.andale.com/f2/115/106/...se2___2003.jpg
http://images.andale.com/f2/115/106/...ose_1_2003.jpg
http://images.andale.com/f2/115/106/...s_8_3_2003.jpg
Replanted corn on 8/3 - planted in late June:
http://images.andale.com/f2/115/106/..._corn_2003.jpg
The other corn fields are VERY Spotty, and the weeds are very bad - even with cultivation - I' ll post " the weedy corn plot" soon.
The " Sunflower plot" started our as a corn field this spring - the sunflower seeds were Black-Oil Seeds for birds. I bought like 5 lbs of seed and mixed it in with 40 lbs of corn seed - mostly because the planter was planting the corn too close(small seed for my plates) - so I got the " Bright Idea" of cutting it with a cheap seed. As it turned out - the spring was VERY wet and cold - we had a frost and an extended wet period right after planting, and I lost 90% of the corn. BUT the sunflowers flourished. - So much so that the corn probably would have had a tough time competing with the sunflowers - in the future I would not plant so many seeds with the corn! The sunflowers stand about shoulder high.
The planting was originally a 3 acre planting. In mid June, I re-disked up a little more than 1 acre of it and planted what corn I had left. I left the rest in sunflowers.
The sunflowers are just now opening up - and there is some corn mixed in (not much). The replanted corn is coming on now, a bit weedy - but We' ll have at least some corn - and it' ll be very interesting to see if the sunflowers offer cover and or food for the deer. I ended up mixing in some soybeans - and while you cannot see them in the corn pictures (last picture) - the deer know they are there.
http://images.andale.com/f2/115/106/...se2___2003.jpg
http://images.andale.com/f2/115/106/...ose_1_2003.jpg
http://images.andale.com/f2/115/106/...s_8_3_2003.jpg
Replanted corn on 8/3 - planted in late June:
http://images.andale.com/f2/115/106/..._corn_2003.jpg
The other corn fields are VERY Spotty, and the weeds are very bad - even with cultivation - I' ll post " the weedy corn plot" soon.
#3
Fork Horn
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Lexington NC USA
Posts: 459
RE: SUNFLOWER PLOT - PICTURES
A friend of mine grew a 1/2 acre field of sunflowers a few years back. The deer didn' t have anything to do with them until the fall when the plants dried. Then.... Man, what are you talkin' about. The deer wouldn' t stay out of them. You couldn' t step anywhere in that field without stepping in a deer track. Hopefully you' ll have the same luck.
#4
RE: SUNFLOWER PLOT - PICTURES
Nope Dan - nothing serious anyhow - I really don' t know what to expect from the deer. If it provides cover I' ll be happy, if it provides a food source - it' ll be a bonus. I cannot remember - once a frost gets them - do the leaevs fall off? - I hope not, it would be nice to have head high, leafy brown cover - bordering a clover & small corn lot in the deer season. I sure would have rather have had the corn, or the $$ lost back. I expect the field will be a BIRD haven. I think they' re pretty anyhow??.
There should be enough heads once they dry - if the deer' l eat the dry seeds - look out!!
I read where the Whitetail Institute has a new product - Its some type of climbing bean - & sorghum. The sorghum provides a strong " trellis" for the beans to grow on, and then a seed head in the fall. Its a summer plot. I like the idea however, and suspect sunflowers would work as well - they are a hardy stem when fertilized. I look forward to seeing what the plot does, I' ll let you all know.
There should be enough heads once they dry - if the deer' l eat the dry seeds - look out!!
I read where the Whitetail Institute has a new product - Its some type of climbing bean - & sorghum. The sorghum provides a strong " trellis" for the beans to grow on, and then a seed head in the fall. Its a summer plot. I like the idea however, and suspect sunflowers would work as well - they are a hardy stem when fertilized. I look forward to seeing what the plot does, I' ll let you all know.
#5
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 2,059
RE: SUNFLOWER PLOT - PICTURES
I think Ballistictip is right. You' ll have to fight the deer off with a stick after they ripen. So if the deer don' t touch them when they' re growing this may be a good late season lure crop. The ones in my garden and field keep standing through the winter. They' re comparable to corn.
Dan O.
Dan O.
#7
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Bonnots Mill Missouri USA
Posts: 237
RE: SUNFLOWER PLOT - PICTURES
I know of some gardeners who complain that they can not grow sunflowers because of the deer. They eat them off when the plant is less then a foot tall. Keep us posted. I' ve been wanting to try them myself. Let me know if you find quail using them as well.
#9
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Dec 1969
Location: Townsend, DE US
Posts: 6,429
RE: SUNFLOWER PLOT - PICTURES
Farm hunter they llook much better than ours and deer do love them when they are small, we plant strictly for dove hunting. We will mow a row or two about 2 weeks before dove season and then a row each day during the season and keep them feeding... We have had so much rain here that sunflowers are not growing right , we are not getting hot nights and sunny days..
#10
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Alexandria, Minnesota, USA
Posts: 1,079
RE: SUNFLOWER PLOT - PICTURES
The rabbits eat them when they are a foot tall and the deer get them when they are 3 feet tall. I mix sunflowers in with my pumpkins and I had to protect everyone of them. The deer love them when they are young but the birds get most of mine in the fall. I don' t have as much as you do farmhunter.
I think the deer will be there. Put a camera on the edge and let us see your pics.
I think the deer will be there. Put a camera on the edge and let us see your pics.