Ballistictip

This is kind of a follow uo to the I can' t win post. When they do the burn on our cutover we will be left with a few patches of cedar trees spread out through the are that I hunt. What I' m looking for is some type of grass/weed that will offer cover to create a travel corridor and a bedding area between the pines that border us to the tract of hardwoods that we have. The criteria is:
#1- The seed must be cheap. (I' m looking at 10 to 15 acres)
#2- The seeds must germinate and get tall very quick on poor to average soil. (Planting date will be late September)
#3- It doesn' t have to be something deer will want to eat.

This might not even be a feasible idea but I thought it could be worth a try to restore the bedding area that will be lost in the burn. Right now the main bedding areas are some type of grass about 4 feet tall but the herbicide should kill all of it. Natural regrowth probably won' t start until spring. If anyone has some suggestions it would be greatly appreciated.

Strutter

I' d say try winter wheat and winter hardy rye. Around here the farmers use wheat as cover crops and usually don' t sow it til Sept or so. It grows fast, is about 4 bucks for 50 lb, deer love it and it will grow just about grow on a rock. The farm stores haven' t even gotten it in yet this year. Was told today it would be near the end of the month. I use it to sow on my farm roads during winter to help
keep them from washing out and slipping.

Hope this helps,
Strutter

Dan O.

Canary grass might fill your needs. If you read Farm Hunters post about sunflowers they might do the job next year.

Dan O.

farm hunter

Balistictip - if you are looking to plant this fall - and get significant fall growth - you can stop trying. Seriously, even fast growing crops like Rye (which is a great planting for cover/bedding - planted this year - for Next June/July) cannot grow fast enough in the fall for cover/growth. Sunflowers or sorghum require 8-10 weeks growth for some height.

Personally, I' d find out what chemical is to be used, and if it has residual that might effect new plantings. Also, even the best laid plans sometimes go awry.

Maybe you you can make a deal with the landowner- if not.......If you have clover plots that maybe you would like to have escape the chemical - if its a glycophosphate - mow it very tight to the ground like 1-2 days before they apply the chemical. Since glycophosphate only works on growing plants, if little green is showing, some will make it through the spraying. Hover, other chemicals are not as forgiving as round-up type.

Good luck -

timbercruiser

Another thing to consider if you are having the kind of rain we have been having in S. Bama and N. Florida is that it may be too wet for a long time for them to get a good burn in this fall.

lawnfarmer

The only thing I can think of is winter rye. Cheap, grows fast, deer like it. If it doesn' t work out for you it will only cost you 50 or 60 bucks. I would sow it as soon as possible and hope for favorable weather. [&:] terry Greg Dude is correct, the deer may be able to eat it but not use it for cover or bedding. tc

greg-dude

Farm Hunter is right. There is nothing that can be planted now that will give you adequate growth for bedding area this year! Things that others are suggesting are food attractants which is not a bad ideal.

Ballistictip

Thanks for all the input. When I first had this idea annual rye came to mind. The cutover was sprayed last week and everything is already starting to wither. By the time they get done burning and planting the pines it will be mid September. I think I' m going to give the rye a shot with some winter wheat mixed in. With the warm winters here we' ve had rye growing pretty good in late November. I' m also going to start working on a few more food plot locations to get them ready for spring. With all this bare ground we' re going to have it' s too hard to resist.

farm hunter

Good luck -

One Note- any premium food this fall will be highly sought - you might want to consder a border plot.