Clover/corn food plot Day 15
Y'all remember the old saying "Feast or Famine"? Using it describe the rain situation on our place! Feast was 24+ inches from Jan through April. Famine is now having no rain since May 4. The bottom land is so hard and dry on the top that the clods of the clay soil are like rocks! It is amazing that seeds can push their way to the surface.
The clover part has plenty of competition from native grasses and weeds. There is a green tint to the wetter areas of this patch that show the amount of "water grass" that has sprouted. The tiny clover plants are struggling and if it doesn't rain, we may have to replant in the fall.
Planted the corn side of the plot last Friday the 17th. Used the red corn that we had salvaged for seed from last season, Surprisingly there were a few "hills" of corn needling through this AM. Even though the surface is very dry and hard, there is enough moisture in the ground for the seed to germinate. Probably by the 25th you will be able to see the corn from end to end.
Pictures this week will show the clover/grass competition, the red seed corn, planting the 1st round and the 1st corn to sprout. (if I can get 'em to come out in this order)
Treefarmer
Feast or famine or in this case flood or drought.
We've had 2 1/2 inches of rain in just last 3 days. The water level in my lake went up about 8" in last one week.
Clover/corn food plot cont'd... had a bump in the forum before we could finish posting the pics
kc45, this ground in this bottom is so full of clay that an inch of rain makes it so slick you can't do any thing for several days. This soil is actually known as Dunbar loamy sand, described as being a poorly drained, strongly acid sandy clay material.
Treefarmer
Is that piece of equipment an actual grain drill?
I know about the feast or famine. We went with barely any rain the whole fall-winter-spring. Now we got 4" in one shower three weeks ago. No rain for 3 weeks, then 4.5" in 2 afternoon storms. Lost power for three hours and knocked FIOS out int he entire house. My young okra plants are officially destroyed. Gonna replant those beds after this holiday weekend
Iluv2hunt, that piece of equipment is a Burch 2 row planter, just right size for gardens and food plots. The ones I used last season are stripped down for running over rough ground, no track plows or fertilizer distributors. Planters similar to this are used for row crops, corn, soybeans, cotton, etc.. The large rusty blue containers hold the fertilizer and it is metered out by an auger and placed on each side of the seed in a continuous band. The seed hoppers have "plates" which pick up the seed and drop them at a predetermined interval by means of different sprockets. These planters are set for 36 inch rows, the center line between the tires are 72 inches so you keep the same distance as you plant. Most of the big farmers have planters with a minimum of 4 rows but there are several that have 8 row rigs (big bucks). In contrast a grain drill will drop seeds in more narrow rows, 6-9 inches depending on the drill and of course from 6 foot wide to much wider, 12 foot, etc.. The seeds drop through tubes and are placed in a small furrow made by a coulter on each spout. Grain drills are used primarily for winter grains, oats, wheat, rye and spring/summer millet, soybeans in food plots. These crops are usually not cultivated like corn, where you go back and cultivate between the rows.
Treefarmer
