I watched this video two weeks ago and took Wes's advice so I was prepared when I planted last week. I took a 3 inch pump and a two inch ag rain gun and I pump about 20,000 gallons on 3/4 acre field. I'm going to do it again tomorrow. It's a lot of work but even with 100 degrees days here in Oklahoma it's already coming up and looking good. Thanks for the advice.
I have a 1/4 acre barassicas plot have a unlimited water supply 30 yards from it use a 110v well pump that pumps 33 gal a min watered twice for 12 hours each lot of work but my plot is doing great with other peoples plots have stuggled
Is it bad to plant Brassicas on same ground multiple years ? Does a nurse crop like rye that comes back in spring break that cycle? Thank You for your time Wes !
The issue that occurs is, crop diseases build up. It’s likely not going to be something that happens after a couple years of growing the same crops on the same soil, but it’s possible. I wouldn’t shy away from It, if that’s the plot that has worked well for you, I’d want to keep planting it, keep a eye on it, and if and when it gets harder to raise because of the disease then it would be time to move to a different crop for a year. Thanks for watching
Great information Wes. I can relate to this 💯. I planted my first small clover plot here in Indiana in the spring of 2022. And we didn't get rain for 13 days, which is very unusual. So i decided to get at least some water on it before the seed would die. I got 4 55 gallon barrels and pumped it out with a submerged 12 volt pump. Took all weekend after i had everything set up. It took 3 days to germinate. Afterwards i made a sprinkler system that was 80 yards out of pvc connected to a garden hose. Lot of money and a lot of time. And it didn't work as planned due to the lack of water pressure. And had some bare spots, but it came in after re- seeding. Listeners beware it does involve a lot of work. Thank you,Wes for what you do to help us all learn.
Thanks for sharing your experiences with watering, they are spot on, a lot of work, time, and money spent trying to get the crop up and going! Thanks for watching and good luck with the plots!
Im in the same boat here in Virginia.planted on the 14th with rain in the forecast and no rain. Got good germination hopefully we get a thunderstorm or two towards the end of the week.
Montgomery County Virginia, got Clover seeded and 6” tall with chicory but planted brassicas the day before we got 5” and they are doing great but it’s so dry now getting worried. Lord please give us rain? Will Jolt fertilizer help my clover and Brassicas until it rains? I got some now. Thx Wes
@@BD85Skyjve never heard of jolt fertilizer but I highly doubt it would do anything to help! The plants are getting established and sending the root down, as soon as you get the next rain I suspect you will see some very good growth! Hang in there, maybe rains will return soon! Thanks for watching
I agree Wes. I’ve got a really good spring next to a food plot and a decent pond next to another. I’ve watered using a trash pump and fire hose from time to time. When you do the math on how much water it takes to get 1/2” - it’s huge. Seems like the juice isn’t worth the squeeze.
Yes sir, it’s amazing the sheer volume Needed to actually do any good. I love those natural springs with flowing water, we’ve got some areas around my place that has springs like that, and I’m always fascinated by them, especially the big ones. Thanks for watching and good luck with the plots
I met the neighbor about 20 years ago when I bought the place. He was probably 90 then. Said I had the best spring around. All the guys used to water their cattle back in the dust bowl days. I’m in OK. Still don’t want to irrigate out of it! Congrats on 4k subscribers.
I planted 2 acres of oats with a no till drill and it got the rain two weeks ago. It germinated and is approximately 2-3" tall. I am in eastern Ky and same hear no rain and extreme heat this week. Any thoughts on what i can expect? Does the no till drilling protect mine or not?
It will be totally fine with the dry weather, my only concern is planting cereal grains to early can get them to big and cause them to be not have the attraction to whitetails. Hopefully it’s a small plot and the deer keep it eaten down pretty close. But cereal grains you don’t have to worry about on drought, if you get them Up they are very drought tolerant. Thanks for watching
@@DIYfoodplotpro it is the second year for his plot. It has been in fescue and orchard grass. I drilled it last year with clover and oats. Came back this year and mowed it high late spring and sprayed it twice with Slay and Aresst Max. Like i said drilled oats two weeks ago and will frost seed clover again this february. There is probably a 40% clover cover now just small. Hoping the oats will help and see more this spring.
Mini gun sprinkler heads are amazing with a big pond pump mine shoots the whole 3/4 acre plot with one head. Can put down a inch of rain in hour or two
Yep, it takes a lot of water, nearly 4000 gallons per acre, to equal an inch of rain. If one were toting it in 5 gallon buckets that is 800 trips to the well/pond/creek, not to mention the time to sprinkle it out gently so as not to wash your seeds/sprouts away. I am holding out for rain, even if I have to wait until October to get my seeds down, in zone 8b.
@@williamgaines9784 yah it’s impossible to do any good with a 5 gallon bucket. Watering is extremely difficult even with a pump and sprinkler heads….good luck and I hope the rains return to you soon!
Sucks you didn't get the rain they was giving! I got quite a bit in Menifee but still not what I was expecting, I got good germination but like you said that scorcher next week gonna be hard on them! If I only had a pump and hose I could water out of a pond but I ain't got shit like that, I'm a hunter not a Farmer! I got my 1/4 acre plot in Morgan county done last night, I was literally spraying until 11 o'clock last night! And the bad part was it was over a steep hill and I had to travel that hill a million times to get my lime and water down! I'm just doing a grain plot there were it's a yr 1 plot but may do something different next yr, the thing about that plot is I can get water on it if need to but probably won't need it come mid September! Good luck Wes! No rain is a bitch!
Can't believe the very wise and informed Plot Professor got kaboonged by the 10th of an inch rain hex!!! Yup, definitely looks like a $100 per acre REPLANT to me in another 10 days from now....MAYBE???
We will see. Giving some very small rain chances towards the end of the week. Maybe this won’t turn into one of those lengthy fall droughts. Thanks for watching
Thanks Wes, I am sorry to hear it, same boat for me so far very little germ. It’s looking like tillage rad, oats and rye this year. Not to mention 250$ worth of alfalfa may be lost, hope for the best, good luck.
I’ve had pretty good luck with alfalfa and droughts, I’d hold out a while until I considered it a failure. You can also add More alfalfa seed this fall if you need to thicken the stand. Good luck
I've been watering plots for years and here is what I've learned over time: I used to irrigate as soon as I planted in an effort to get the seed to germinate. However, I was doing g more harm than good. The seed would germinate and within a week my crop would be coming up and looking good. But if there wasn't any rain in the next two weeks, everything would die. Furthermore, sometimes the ground surface would get a hard crust to it making it difficult for any lagging seed to break the surface. I now plant and leave the seed in the ground without watering. The seed will stay dormant until it gets rain and then it will germinate on its own. I do, however, water existing crops that are struggling from drought and heat. (Think clover). It's a great tool to have. I just think it's better to water an existing plot than to try to jump start one with irrigation.
Thanks for sharing your experience! I completely agree, if you start watering, it’s very very hard to stop. That’s one reason that I mentioned in the video to put more than 1 inch…get it good and soaked where you’re actually recharging the soil. Thanks for watching
So will your plots that were roto-tilled be okay? I tilled and cultipacked and got 2 good rains after planting my brassicas and then two weeks of dry heat. Will those little brassicas that germinated survive?
I doubt the brassicas that germinated will survive, but will just have to wait and see. In your case, you’d got 2 good rains after planting, I would say yours will be fine. Thanks for watching
For your phosphorus and potassium no, for the nitrogen it depends on how much rain you got over the summer. If you received very little, it’s likely that some of the nitrogen is still there, might have to add some but definitely not a full rate! Thanks for watching
I dug a pond for watering trees. But I agree 100% about not watering plots, to much work and time. Perennial plot and oars and rye to fall back on if needed is good enough for me.
Sounds like south ga and Fl. Not much rain, floods washing every thing away then nothing again. Lol look back on stats. Average rain. I call food plots feeds birds, turkeys, squriles and raccoons.
There is a lot of truth in feeding all the animals with the food plot seed! I do agree that we get more big variants in the rain than what we use to, from flooding to flash droughts thanks for watching
I watched this video two weeks ago and took Wes's advice so I was prepared when I planted last week. I took a 3 inch pump and a two inch ag rain gun and I pump about 20,000 gallons on 3/4 acre field. I'm going to do it again tomorrow. It's a lot of work but even with 100 degrees days here in Oklahoma it's already coming up and looking good. Thanks for the advice.
That’s awesome, sounds like you got her setup! It’s work, but when it’s the only option you have, it’s a good one! Thanks for watching.
I have a 1/4 acre barassicas plot have a unlimited water supply 30 yards from it use a 110v well pump that pumps 33 gal a min watered twice for 12 hours each lot of work but my plot is doing great with other peoples plots have stuggled
Is it bad to plant Brassicas on same ground multiple years ? Does a nurse crop like rye that comes back in spring break that cycle? Thank You for your time Wes !
The issue that occurs is, crop diseases build up. It’s likely not going to be something that happens after a couple years of growing the same crops on the same soil, but it’s possible. I wouldn’t shy away from
It, if that’s the plot that has worked well for you, I’d want to keep planting it, keep a eye on it, and if and when it gets harder to raise because of the disease then it would be time to move to a different crop for a year. Thanks for watching
Wes coming through again with the cold hard truth and solid info! Thank you Brother! Hope the family is well!
Everybody is doing well, I really appreciate you asking! Thanks for watching and glad you found it helpful! Good luck with the plots
@RedlineOutdoors seent me here. Great info man, really appreciate your work.
Glad to have you on the channel, thanks for watching!
Great information Wes. I can relate to this 💯. I planted my first small clover plot here in Indiana in the spring of 2022. And we didn't get rain for 13 days, which is very unusual. So i decided to get at least some water on it before the seed would die. I got 4 55 gallon barrels and pumped it out with a submerged 12 volt pump. Took all weekend after i had everything set up. It took 3 days to germinate. Afterwards i made a sprinkler system that was 80 yards out of pvc connected to a garden hose. Lot of money and a lot of time. And it didn't work as planned due to the lack of water pressure. And had some bare spots, but it came in after re- seeding. Listeners beware it does involve a lot of work. Thank you,Wes for what you do to help us all learn.
Thanks for sharing your experiences with watering, they are spot on, a lot of work, time, and money spent trying to get the crop up and going! Thanks for watching and good luck with the plots!
One of your best vids yet Wes.
Thank you Dave! Really appreciate you saying that! Thanks for watching and good luck with the plots
Im in the same boat here in Virginia.planted on the 14th with rain in the forecast and no rain. Got good germination hopefully we get a thunderstorm or two towards the end of the week.
I'm in the same boat in Bedford VA.
Fingers crossed for a good rain to fall on that plot soon! Good luck and thanks for watching!
Hope you get a good rain on your plot as well very soon! Thanks for watching
Montgomery County Virginia, got Clover seeded and 6” tall with chicory but planted brassicas the day before we got 5” and they are doing great but it’s so dry now getting worried. Lord please give us rain? Will Jolt fertilizer help my clover and Brassicas until it rains? I got some now. Thx Wes
@@BD85Skyjve never heard of jolt fertilizer but I highly doubt it would do anything to help! The plants are getting established and sending the root down, as soon as you get the next rain I suspect you will see some very good growth! Hang in there, maybe rains will return soon! Thanks for watching
I agree Wes. I’ve got a really good spring next to a food plot and a decent pond next to another. I’ve watered using a trash pump and fire hose from time to time. When you do the math on how much water it takes to get 1/2” - it’s huge. Seems like the juice isn’t worth the squeeze.
Yes sir, it’s amazing the sheer volume
Needed to actually do any good. I love those natural springs with flowing water, we’ve got some areas around my place that has springs like that, and I’m always fascinated by them, especially the big ones. Thanks for watching and good luck with the plots
I met the neighbor about 20 years ago when I bought the place. He was probably 90 then. Said I had the best spring around. All the guys used to water their cattle back in the dust bowl days. I’m in OK. Still don’t want to irrigate out of it! Congrats on 4k subscribers.
Thank you sir!! Very cool, thanks for sharing!!
I planted 2 acres of oats with a no till drill and it got the rain two weeks ago. It germinated and is approximately 2-3" tall. I am in eastern Ky and same hear no rain and extreme heat this week. Any thoughts on what i can expect? Does the no till drilling protect mine or not?
It will be totally fine with the dry weather, my only concern is planting cereal grains to early can get them to big and cause them to be not have the attraction to whitetails. Hopefully it’s a small plot and the deer keep it eaten down pretty close. But cereal grains you don’t have to worry about on drought, if you get them
Up they are very drought tolerant. Thanks for watching
@@DIYfoodplotpro it is the second year for his plot. It has been in fescue and orchard grass. I drilled it last year with clover and oats. Came back this year and mowed it high late spring and sprayed it twice with Slay and Aresst Max. Like i said drilled oats two weeks ago and will frost seed clover again this february. There is probably a 40% clover cover now just small. Hoping the oats will help and see more this spring.
Mini gun sprinkler heads are amazing with a big pond pump mine shoots the whole 3/4 acre plot with one head. Can put down a inch of rain in hour or two
Never used that brand before, but there are several that do a really good job. Thanks for watching
@@DIYfoodplotpro irrigation king has different huge sprinkler heads at least that’s where I found mine.
Yep, it takes a lot of water, nearly 4000 gallons per acre, to equal an inch of rain. If one were toting it in 5 gallon buckets that is 800 trips to the well/pond/creek, not to mention the time to sprinkle it out gently so as not to wash your seeds/sprouts away.
I am holding out for rain, even if I have to wait until October to get my seeds down, in zone 8b.
@@williamgaines9784 yah it’s impossible to do any good with a 5 gallon bucket. Watering is extremely difficult even with a pump and sprinkler heads….good luck and I hope the rains return to you soon!
Sucks you didn't get the rain they was giving! I got quite a bit in Menifee but still not what I was expecting, I got good germination but like you said that scorcher next week gonna be hard on them! If I only had a pump and hose I could water out of a pond but I ain't got shit like that, I'm a hunter not a Farmer! I got my 1/4 acre plot in Morgan county done last night, I was literally spraying until 11 o'clock last night! And the bad part was it was over a steep hill and I had to travel that hill a million times to get my lime and water down! I'm just doing a grain plot there were it's a yr 1 plot but may do something different next yr, the thing about that plot is I can get water on it if need to but probably won't need it come mid September! Good luck Wes! No rain is a bitch!
@@troybrake5686thanks for watching Troy! Good luck with the plots!
Can't believe the very wise and informed Plot Professor got kaboonged by the 10th of an inch rain hex!!! Yup, definitely looks like a $100 per acre REPLANT to me in another 10 days from now....MAYBE???
We will see. Giving some very small rain chances towards the end of the week. Maybe this won’t turn into one of those lengthy fall droughts. Thanks for watching
Thank you
Thanks Wes, I am sorry to hear it, same boat for me so far very little germ. It’s looking like tillage rad, oats and rye this year. Not to mention 250$ worth of alfalfa may be lost, hope for the best, good luck.
I’ve had pretty good luck with alfalfa and droughts, I’d hold out a while until I considered it a failure. You can also add
More alfalfa seed this fall if you need to thicken the stand. Good luck
I've been watering plots for years and here is what I've learned over time:
I used to irrigate as soon as I planted in an effort to get the seed to germinate. However, I was doing g more harm than good. The seed would germinate and within a week my crop would be coming up and looking good. But if there wasn't any rain in the next two weeks, everything would die. Furthermore, sometimes the ground surface would get a hard crust to it making it difficult for any lagging seed to break the surface.
I now plant and leave the seed in the ground without watering. The seed will stay dormant until it gets rain and then it will germinate on its own.
I do, however, water existing crops that are struggling from drought and heat. (Think clover). It's a great tool to have. I just think it's better to water an existing plot than to try to jump start one with irrigation.
Thanks for sharing your experience! I completely agree, if you start watering, it’s very very hard to stop. That’s one reason that I mentioned in the video to put more than 1 inch…get it good and soaked where you’re actually recharging the soil. Thanks for watching
sorry the rain missed you I have that problem a lot where I live and it's no fun. That's a lot of work for no rain. Hopefully you get some rain soon.
I sure hope so! Got some very small chances in the forecast for about 7-8 days out. Fingers crossed! Thanks for watching and good luck with the plots
So will your plots that were roto-tilled be okay? I tilled and cultipacked and got 2 good rains after planting my brassicas and then two weeks of dry heat. Will those little brassicas that germinated survive?
I doubt the brassicas that germinated will survive, but will just have to wait and see. In your case, you’d got 2 good rains after planting, I would say yours will be fine. Thanks for watching
If your spring plot fails would you have to refertilize for a fall plot?
For your phosphorus and potassium no, for the nitrogen it depends on how much rain you got over the summer. If you received very little, it’s likely that some of the nitrogen is still there, might have to add some but definitely not a full rate! Thanks for watching
I dug a pond for watering trees. But I agree 100% about not watering plots, to much work and time. Perennial plot and oars and rye to fall back on if needed is good enough for me.
Yep, always good to have those plots to fall back on in case all else fails! Thanks for watching and good luck with the plots and trees!
Sounds like south ga and Fl. Not much rain, floods washing every thing away then nothing again. Lol look back on stats. Average rain. I call food plots feeds birds, turkeys, squriles and raccoons.
There is a lot of truth in feeding all the animals with the food plot seed! I do agree that we get more big variants in the rain than what we use to, from flooding to flash droughts thanks for watching