Just a quick update for all you guys interested in the rape seed. I went up on 10/05 and 10/06 to hunt the opening weekend in the U.P.. When I pulled in on Friday night I shinned the rape field and to my surprize the field had almost been eaten to the ground. Remember, it was a foot high last time up. There was nothing but stems left. My neighbor came over and said they started hitting the field the last week after our first frost.

I sat in the woods on Sat. morning and did not see a deer. I came home from the neighbors at 1:30 P.M. and saw a deer in the rape field right in front of the cabin. My thoughts started turning and I scraped the afternoon plans. I insted decided to make a ground blind along the rape field not 20 yards from the cabin. I was in the stand by 2:30, and by 3:00 The first deer was not 10 Yards from me. It was a button buck. He came Five yards from me, took a long look, and kept on eating. God I love Scent-lok. By 5:00 I had 20 deer in the field. All does and yearlings. What a great night to enjoy nature. I feel that it is only a matter of time before the Big Bubba comes around.

I will keep you posted to see how the rape reacts to the mow job. I would say that it has worked great and will be doing more next year.

Good Luck to ALL!!!!!

Sandman

Hey Sandman, I've been following your progress and it really sounds good to me. How many pounds of rape did you sow to the acre? I only have about one acre left that I can plant. The rest is in ladino clover and alfalfa. My corn was a bust this year due to the lack of rain. I also have a little rye, but not enough to matter. Can you post a picture? I'm interested. You probably wouldn't get much of a picture if the deer have it all eaten up. Please continue your updates on your food plots. terry<img src=icon_smile_clown.gif border=0 align=middle> (a troll)

LIVE FREE OR DIE

Lawnfarmer, I planted about 10 pounds of seed per acre. I planted on the heavy side. I have read that 5-7 pounds per acre is good. I also used 350 pounds 19-19-19 fert. per acre. I will try to post some pictures. Just imagine one acre of lettace that was a foot tall and now it is nothing but stems. That is what the deer did in one week. Remember, there are 100 deer per square mile by me, so the pressure is high. I am going up again tomorrow and will post next week.

Good luck to ALL!!

Sandman

Sandman -

Good luck hunting.

I'd be curious to know if the deer seemed to lay off your neighbor's alfalfa? It seems that the deer on my neighbor's alfafa have switched back over to clover - good for us. We've noticed this trend three years straight, after the first frosts. Sounds like you might have a similar scenario.

My father-in-law is an old timer, and he always said the the alfalfa gets &quot;bitter tasting&quot; to the deer after a frost. I don't know if this is true, but I must admit that the deer behavior tends to back it up.

Good luck with you plots and hunting.

Man it sounds great Sandman. I am in Northeast PA and some of the people around hear love rape also (of course the plant). I did not put in any with my newest plots (ladino with a rye nurse crop). I would also be very interested in your progress. What level pH does rape need to get good results?

Good luck with your plots and I ditto the Scent lok comment, it makes one very stealthy.

Kevin C.