My cousin and I finally got to get up to the property a couple weekends ago to check the plots out and mow them if needed. They dont rent out pull behind mowers for quads around us (only 3-point hitches) so we ended up having to push mow all of the plots. Ended up taking about 5 hours but worth it in the end. You can see how good the popel trees are coming up in some of the pictures. They are coming in very thick and on average about 8 foot tall. Some are over 12 foot already since weve had the property select cut the winter before last.
The figure-8 food plot before mowing. Planted ladino clover last spring and didnt touch it since then accept for fertilizer and lime toppings.
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Full Version: 2008 Food Plot Progress
Another smaller plot. Planted Ladino clover last spring and tilled in a clover mix this spring.
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We planted rye in the trails about 3 weeks prior to the pictures. They were nothing but dirt beforehand.
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Apple trees were doing pretty well. Can anyone tell me what those yellow plants are? They were surrounding almost all of the apple trees and the perimeter of the food plots. They pulled up really easy but just curious what they were.
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Another apple tree. You can see how thick those weeds grew in around some of them. Any way to kill them? I just pulled them all out but i dont want them coming up again.
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Tom the plots look great as do the apple trees. Lot of hard work that you did. Congrats 
plots look awesome as for that weed we have them around here to what there called ??
Looks good.
Buck, Those plots look very good for where you are and the soils in that area. 
Just keep mowing them to keeep the weed/ grass competition down. Also look at putting on a little fertilizer for fall "top dressing". Use something with no or very low nitrogen levels. ( 100-150# / acre should really add a lot od nutrients to the clover.) 
The clover doesn't need nitrogen and all it will do is help the grass compete with the clover.
The yellow weeds are a plant called mullen. It is an introduced plant. It grows very well on poor solis particularly when the mineral soil is exposed by farming, fire or timber operatiolns. The seed stays viable in the soil for years and the plants appear when the soil is exposed.
Just keep mowing them to keeep the weed/ grass competition down. Also look at putting on a little fertilizer for fall "top dressing". Use something with no or very low nitrogen levels. ( 100-150# / acre should really add a lot od nutrients to the clover.) The clover doesn't need nitrogen and all it will do is help the grass compete with the clover. The yellow weeds are a plant called mullen. It is an introduced plant. It grows very well on poor solis particularly when the mineral soil is exposed by farming, fire or timber operatiolns. The seed stays viable in the soil for years and the plants appear when the soil is exposed.
They look great! Nice work BT. Any cams on the plots?
Thanks for the comments guys. Yea i cant wait for October now, this is my first year hunting over food plots really. Last year they were nothing but dirt since all we did was threw seed down and hoped it worked...NOPE!
Thanks for the inputs Cap. Ive done some searching on the internet and i found if you mow the clover every 45 days (give/take) you should be looking good. Im going up for a few days in the middle of August to mow again. Ill go ahead and add more fert. at that time then. Does the mullen do any harm as far as taking nutrients from the apple trees? im not really worried about them, I just want the trees to do good since they are only a couple years old.
Yep if you look at the picture with the feeder in it, i have one on the pine tree in the middle of the plot overlooking the feeder.
QUOTE (Captiveone @ Aug 5 2008, 08:22 AM) 
Buck, Those plots look very good for where you are and the soils in that area. Just keep mowing them to keeep the weed/ grass competition down. Also look at putting on a little fertilizer for fall "top dressing". Use something with no or very low nitrogen levels. ( 100-150# / acre should really add a lot od nutrients to the clover.) The clover doesn't need nitrogen and all it will do is help the grass compete with the clover.
The yellow weeds are a plant called mullen. It is an introduced plant. It grows very well on poor solis particularly when the mineral soil is exposed by farming, fire or timber operatiolns. The seed stays viable in the soil for years and the plants appear when the soil is exposed.
Just keep mowing them to keeep the weed/ grass competition down. Also look at putting on a little fertilizer for fall "top dressing". Use something with no or very low nitrogen levels. ( 100-150# / acre should really add a lot od nutrients to the clover.) The clover doesn't need nitrogen and all it will do is help the grass compete with the clover. The yellow weeds are a plant called mullen. It is an introduced plant. It grows very well on poor solis particularly when the mineral soil is exposed by farming, fire or timber operatiolns. The seed stays viable in the soil for years and the plants appear when the soil is exposed.
Thanks for the inputs Cap. Ive done some searching on the internet and i found if you mow the clover every 45 days (give/take) you should be looking good. Im going up for a few days in the middle of August to mow again. Ill go ahead and add more fert. at that time then. Does the mullen do any harm as far as taking nutrients from the apple trees? im not really worried about them, I just want the trees to do good since they are only a couple years old.
QUOTE (Willy4003 @ Aug 5 2008, 11:22 AM)
They look great! Nice work BT. Any cams on the plots?
Yep if you look at the picture with the feeder in it, i have one on the pine tree in the middle of the plot overlooking the feeder.
The mullen won't compete with the trees that much. Oon clover plots I have easy access to, I try to mow them whenever the blossums are just past peak. That will usually be 30-45 days. The fall fertilization is important since it is the high nutrient in the clover the deer are seeking out. Fert in late Aug/ early Sept puts a good growth on the clover pior to Oct 1.
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