No Chemical Food Plots?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 22 เม.ย. 2024
- Is it possible to have great food plots, build a great herd, build a great hunt AND do it all without using chemicals? Based on 3 decades of planting food plots both professionally and personally, here is the best I can offer you in planting food plots without chemicals...
*All 19 of our 2024 WHS Pure Wildlife Blends are available for purchase right now, including our wildlife blends! Check out our food plot seed blend website....
www.purewildlifeblends.com/
*Would you like to make sure that you create the best food plots in the neighborhood? Then you should check out my books, seed, hunting and habitat design web classes, podcasts and hundreds of deer strategy articles:
www.whitetailhabitatsolutions... - แนวปฏิบัติและการใช้ชีวิต
Thanks Jeff
You are very welcome!
I had a sign on my closet door, years ago, that said BALANCE !
Great advise.
That was a great sign Ron... extremely SMART 😊👍
No short cuts this year!, following to the T. Just finished the second spray yesterday here in Indiana. Going to plant the traffic max around my water tank. Thanks for all your information Jeff
That's great to hear Paul! Now just need rain 😁
I’ve been using variations of Jeff’s methods for maybe 5ish years… don’t have a no till planter. pretty much the only way I can go herbicide free is with light disking after mowing or rolling the buckwheat down in August. And yes that’s assuming a good rain or two come, if those miss us we’re dry the weeds get the head start. When it works out weeds as % of the plot are actually very low. My priority is lowest possible chemicals use, even if that means slightly suboptimal plot. But still it’s all fairly futile considering everything around us is soaked in Liberty.
Just saw you have a pollinator blend. Gonna mix it in with thyme and rhubarb in the bee garden. Rhubarb and thyme help bees fight off mites. Like giving them a medicine cabinet. I like thistle. Maybe I will loose less bees in sundew, dragonflies, and pitcher plants if I have some thistle away from the fen.
That's pretty cool Eli!!
I have an organic fruit and berry orchard. Clover has did wonders for my soil. Plus I have bees. Just using clover to limit weed growth and help with nitrogen.
So would a clover/buckwheat mix be good for weed suppression?
It would not, at all. The buckwheat doesn't grow in the same timeframe/pace as the buckwheat. The buckwheat actually shades out the clover and kills it when planted together. Also, you have to keep clover mowed to suppress weeds, and either use chemicals on it or completely replace every few years if you don't.
Clover is great for small plots...we have about 1.5 acres planted out of 20.75 acres. But not very good at all for an actual food plot program.
@whitetailhabitatsolutions9751 I have a very small plot, less than an acre and was considering planting buckwheat. Should I just plant clover instead?
I spray and try to use buckwheat 1 for soil buildup and 2 weed control but sometime you still have to spray
Amen to that! All about balance...
Thanks so much for your videos. I've learned so much. Blessings to you and your family
Thank YOU Bill! I hope folks can appreciate the balance in this video 😊
I'm a self employed landscaper and I find it funny every year when I'm out spraying beds some people ask me what I'm spraying and after they hear it's glyphosate they respond with a gasp and frown. I then tell them if they personally pulled the weeds in their area I would agree not spray there. To this day none of the complainers have ever pulled a weed so just continue to spray
Yes, that's a great example of reality, ha. Appreciate it! I've seen folks pulling weeds in food plots too, to no avail. I've even seen this crazy idea of using tarps ( that are non biodegradable btw) to cover up and kill growth before planting just plain silly...especially when lots of folks have a couple of acres to plant. Or more. That's a lot of tarps!
So I was going to buy your Green Max Traffic blend for fixing my ATV roads, but I found something cheaper on the Tractor Supply clearance rack.. It was the food plot mix with the big buck on the bag that is full of rye grass and other crap deer don't eat. 😂
I hope that works out for ya, lol
His seed is so expensive. Try North Woods Whitetail. Their seed is high quality and priced very reasonably. Plus, if you have questions, you can call him directly
@@joepro8858 I personally have no problem with WHS/Pure Wildlife or Northwoods. They all seem like good people. So far I've bought my bulk seed from a local small business. There's something satisfying about scooping seeds out of a big wooden barrel. Maybe it's just nostalgia.
@illegalclown Agreed good people. I just have an issue paying twice the amount for the sane seed .
This is just a method that Im currently doing, Last week of August, first week of September, wait for a chance of rain, shallow Power till first 3 to 4 inches for good soil contact,drag,seed,and cultipack all in the same day. Will get some weeds but deer will eat them also...Works great with time restraints...
Unfortunately deer don't eat weeds during the hunting season and the weeds significantly hinder growth of the actual food plot growth...the good stuff. Also, if you end up not getting the rain the field turns into weeds and the deer leave the land to find food elsewhere. That can range from mild success to complete failure...been there done that 😉
Ive kept it mowed in the summer then sprayed it with roundup then next day thrown down the seed and cultipackted and did get real good results from that. Also the plants tend to be better spread out that way...
Jeff, do you no-till corn planting also?! Thanks
With a no till planter yes...just broadcasting into standing rye, no. I've tried that and seen it fine, with very poor results. Yes you can get ears of corn...but an extremely low yield due to a lack of consistent spacing. Much better options...
Do you do any additional fertilizing in your plots, or just ultimate no till, plot start/plot boost
Hi Ryan! We used a general base fertilizer last year...I believe 150#s per acre of 6-24-24, followed by 75#s Urea per acre on the brassica at around 3-4 weeks old.
My Mon is starting to get terrified of herbicide because of everyone getting cancer from it but I tell her I spray with a mask and do it with no wind! If she isn’t at the tank how is she going to be at risk?
Quick Question, when you say rye are you talking about the winter rye or a prennial rye?
Rye grain...Fall rye, Winter rye, etc.
Recently used 24-D "without solvent" no clue what this was, milk white instead of the normal dark color. Used it anyway, did I kill my sorghum?
Hi Andy that one actually stumps me ..I'm not sure, I would have to Google it!
@@whitetailhabitatsolutions9751 Thanks Jeff, so far, I've been researching without an answer! lol
👍🏻
Jeff, can you successfully plant summer food to attract bucks and avoid a doe factory by careful herd management such as taking a surplus of does during the hunting season?
Not really? And most of the time there isn't a need to. Also, bucks typically need a different type of habitat to bed in during the summer that is bad habitat to bed in during the fall...open mature timber for the summer months. Not to mention they have plenty of great food during the summer and commonly live over a mile in the summer, from where they live in the Fall.
Most can't shoot enough does when they have summer food. Also every time you shoot a deer you risk pushing deer to your neighbors. It can get bad in a very short amount of time.
There would be so little potential strategic value and such a major negative risk, that we don't even do it here on my own land.
One of the big lies in the food plot seed industry is that you can change a bucks antlers by what you plant for him during the summer months. Folks will say that a given buck grew so much because of the food when really...he just got 1 year older 😊
As a general rule those that have the most bucks during the summer have the least amount during the fall....
Jeff, thank you for taking your valuable time to answer this question. The more I watch your videos, I hear you talking about corn in a sense that it really is a fall/late season crop although it is getting planted in the spring. Corn and soybeans were what I was considering. The soybeans seem like if you can get them to maturity (keep deer from mowing them) down are a decent fall/late season strategy as well. We thought about one plot at a full acre. We will be planting turnips in early August for that home run to give them what they need in the fall and are considering taking the 30” rows that our beans and corn would potentially be on and planting turnips in that bare ground after the other crops start to take off and we get one glyphosate spray down. Appreciate your time and effort you put out to educate the public. Keep up the excellent work!
Would feeding protein through spring and summer be considered a food source that would create a “doe factory” on my property?
It sure can! It just depends on how many does you keep on the land specifically because of the feeding program.
Ok, thank you for the reply!
I feed protein to help grow larger bucks, which is actually working, but I lose my bucks in hunting season. So I think the doe factory effect is happening.
Jeff long time follower ...I am looking for information on making my property better for deer ...mature hardwood and poplars steep 30 35 percent grade ....with nice bench that deer use to transition through to another valley ...can you point me in right direction
Hi Douglas, I really appreciate it!
I would first check out anything in the whitetail and wildlife habitat playlist. Specifically anything with "design" in it. Also the hills and thermals playlist...
I will jeff ...I am in southern west Virginia.....very close to where josh from untamed and Beu from east meets west lease a hugh parcel ...reclaimed land not far away but no road access like the have
better just buy that field Jeff!
Hi, the crazy thing is that we do own about an acre there and we just let the farmers continue to farm it. Definitely don't need ag land 😁
Do u have a video all about chemicals
I'm not against using chemical spraying I just have no idea what to do I have potential access through a cousin with a chemical license but I need specific names and specific amounts I just don't know what to get and what I would need to use I have a lot of problems with ferns and small trees on my plot I keep trying to pull them up but it's not working well
I have a lot of videos about the use. If you search how to calibrate a sprayer, that is critical. But also "ultimate not till plots" is another. I have a lot!
That being said, there isn't anything I recommend that you can't buy over the counter or online. No need for an applicator license
@@whitetailhabitatsolutions9751 thank you I'll check it out
😁🦌
Unfortunately - here over the pond glyfo or other herbicides are not commonly available. So till and disc it is - with the consequences..
Yes that does make it tricky! I've found repeated tilling and discing dies work tho! Just like you said tho, "with the consequences". Hope you have a great growing year over there 😊👍
Hi Jeff, curious what the 3 things are over your right shoulder. Are they taller, different style trees?
Those are 3 older spruce trees on the neighbor's home site...
If you want to help folks that are afraid of the health risks of chemicals, you could recommend wearing protective clothing while you are spraying and pouring chemicals. Please wear proper protective clothing in all your videos as an example for others.
I spray in a sealed, climate controlled cab anymore.
Tilling and disking kills the biology of your soil. No matter what you do, there are risks and rewards. Choose the system that works best for you. I'm not a big fan of using chemicals, but I do because it works the best for me and my objectives.
Balance in most things in life is key! I appreciate your perspective.
Crazy thing is that food plotting is HUGE for my career, family, passion and pursuits, but in WI and now MN I haven't tilled, disced or plowed, ever. This will be our 23rd season.
If I thought it was best I would have a free tractor and equipment, provided by a sponsor that gives us $$$$$s for a partnership on top of the equipment. However even for the money, it's not what we believe is best so we don't take the sponsorship...
@whitetailhabitatsolutions9751 I appreciate you Jeff and all that you do!