RonM

Hey 655 I dont know if you went to a farm store like Tractor Supply or a Lowes type, tell the clerk you want "cover crop rye" that usually clears them up to get the right product. I see it advertised locally for $5.50 a bushel,, a lot cheaper than grass seed. Good luck ... Sean yours looks really good, especially for being in only 2 weeks, nice job.. We are going to start getting wheat in the ground in the next couple of weeks, probably a couple thousand acres, our problem is not so much with deer but with geese eating it up, pulling out the roots, we have to chase them off daily....

Hiawatha

Depending on the land, crop etc the nitrogen content can vary alot from fall to spring. I have had instances where the land did not call for nitrogen in the fall however in the spring it needed it and vice versa. Last year we applied anhydrous amonia to all of our land, howver it was a drought year. Most of the nitrogen was not utalized and stayed in the soil. This springs soil sample called for nitrogen, but the little amount needed we were able to put on dry. So weather can also have an affect on the process.

ir655

FH, any update on this plot? New pics, eager to to see what came up and how it is doing!

farm hunter

Its become quite lush - I'll get some updated pictures this weekend.

FH

farm hunter

Here is a couple pictures from this weekend of the Rye plot. Again - its about 2 acres.





We still have not had a frost yet - Though we should get it tonight. After the first heavy frosts - the Rye becomes more attractive - as other forage withers. The deer are eating it now - but not yet like I expect them too - The neighbors 30 acres of Alfalfa is still getting alot of the attention - that too will change in a couple weeks.

Also the Rye should slow down growing until its Dormant in late October. This plot seems to have really responded to the 46-0-0 Urea at planting. Its definitely a little thicker, taller and more lush than we are used to. - Its about 4-6" tall right now.

ir655

Wow, that looks great FH! Thank you very much for taking the time to take the pics and update! Looks very promising, best of luck with hunting to you.

farm hunter

Oct 14 - A little fall color makes it a pretty picture.

ir655

FH, it looks beautiful! Love the colors, have the deer been hitting it hard yet?

farm hunter

Nov. 29th -

The deer are really hitting the rye hard now. Its been a very good fall draw - and has kept the deer closeby.

The fact that we've had very little snow - and that the plot is really the only GREEN plot around - makes it very HOT right now. Even the clover plots cannot compare - and the deer seem to know that the corn will be there when they REALLY need it - and kind of ignore it now - until the snows come.

Talondale

I think part of the attraction is that the rye is still growing, which provides tender shoots, which are prefered. Whereas at this point clover is all old growth that is just sustaining. The downside is rye is less nutritous than other grains, like wheat, so if something else was around that was greening up too, that may be prefered. Corn is mostly a carbohydrate (sugar) and doesn't offer as much nutrition that the deer need at this point, trying to recover from the rut. Come later in the winter the deer will want that extra energy provided in corn, to help keep warm.
Nice looking plot. Will you be planting something in it in the spring? Like soybean (nitrogen fixing)?