Planning my first food plot in eastern NC
01-01-2012, 09:31 AM
#1
Spike
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2011
Posts: 4
Planning my first food plot in eastern NC
I’m looking to plant food plots on roads beds in eastern NC ( pocosin coastal habitat). Some areas have very good sun and some areas are shaded. Basically all the land off the road beds are wetlands with free standing water during the fall. The land that is not free standing water is still very low. The road beds are 30ft wide in places and also have area under power lines to plant. I have the time to start this project this winter. Any help or ideas? Clover?
01-06-2012, 01:03 PM
#2
Typical Buck
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Person Co. NC
Posts: 884
Clover sounds like your most likely winner, but if it is under water more than a day or so you are wasting your time. Get your soil right first, soil tests are free in NC. Look at durana clover from pennington seed. I;ve used it for years and it continues to amaze me in borderline situations.
01-07-2012, 04:34 AM
#4
Typical Buck
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Person Co. NC
Posts: 884
Small world. You would do best to get your soil test done now, lime applied this spring, and keep it sprayed this summer to eliminate weed pressure. If you get your soil test back and it looks like a bunch of random numbers to you, shoot me a email and I'll walk you through it. You will also need to know the size of the area you are planting.
Hold off planting until the fall, you will get much better results. You will need 5lbs of Durana Clover (your perennial). It would be helpful to mix in 30/lbs an acre of oats or winter rye as a nurse crop, you could also add 10-15lbs/acre crimson clover if you can pick up some locally. The crimson establishes much faster than the durana, but it is only an annual. Crimson gives you some clover for the first season you plant it, the durana will fill in the following year. It will spend the first 6 or 8 months putting down roots before it shows much top growth.
Hold off planting until the fall, you will get much better results. You will need 5lbs of Durana Clover (your perennial). It would be helpful to mix in 30/lbs an acre of oats or winter rye as a nurse crop, you could also add 10-15lbs/acre crimson clover if you can pick up some locally. The crimson establishes much faster than the durana, but it is only an annual. Crimson gives you some clover for the first season you plant it, the durana will fill in the following year. It will spend the first 6 or 8 months putting down roots before it shows much top growth.
