Does anyone have any insight on what I should plant this spring for the fawning and antler growth of my herd this summer. I have about 450 acres, and am looking at 3 2-3 acre summer plots. I was thinking a mix of max attract 50/50 and medic, maybe some mostermix as well. any ideas? We have had plenty of rainfall this winter and the ground is holding moisture pretty good, I’ve also got my soil tests back and everything is looking good. Thanks

Max Attract is a cool season blend planted in the fall for winter growth.  Medic is also a fall/winter blend.  They won’t work in the spring and summer.  Monster Mix perennials will grow in the spring and summer - you can plant in the spring but I prefer to plant them in the fall here in the southeast to aviod fighting heavy summer deer browse, summer weeds, heat, and drought on the slow to establish perennial clover and chicory.  You can have great luck in AL with Lablab, Ebony Peas, Burgundy Bush, and any or all of these mixed with white milo.  Plat at about 40lbs. total blend/acre.  You may need to protect and manage with the Plot D-Fence System (Tecomate web site consulting drop down) to get optimum results.

Hey Rans, Thanks for the advice. How about time frame, when should the seed you recomended be planted?

You want the soil temps to reach an average of 66+ degrees during the day before you plant.  This usually happens around mid - late April.  Watch your local farmers and when they start planting cotton or soybeans you can put Tecomate summer crops it in the ground.  We are getting some great rain to plant on and I hope it holds.

Best of Luck!

Thanks again Rans. This should really help out a lot. We’ve seen an amazing difference since we started planting Tecomate, and this will be the first year that I’ll be planting it for the summer. It should have a great impact.

bonecollector, I ran across your post and saw you were from Troy.  I hunt a tract of property about 20 miles from you in Luverne.  I have been planting Tecomate Products since 1998.  My three favorite products offered by Tecomate is the monster mix number one, Lablab and buck bush number two. 

Why Monster Mix.
Due to the deer densities in our area you can just about build you whole food plot program around monster mix if used right.  If you choose to use monster Mix you will want to choose your best bottom land soils or areas that receive a little shade during the day.  The reason I like these conditions is that these areas typically stays cooler and the clover will produce longer.  The tripoli white clover in the mix will generally grow until the air temperatures exceed 80 degrees. 

If I am going to plant a plot of Monster Mix I will either spend the spring and summer spraying the plot intensively for weeds with glyphosate or if I don’t think that I can sacrifice the acreage with no food plot production in that plot I will plant round up ready beans.  I recently put in a Monster Mix plot that I have been doing weed control in for two years now.  I would recommend really paying attention to the weed control in the plot. It will make you work easier after the Monster Mix is planting.

Now for planting again soil type is critical.  We are lucky in our area that we have a several poultry producer.  I would use this recourse if you can.  Poultry litter is a great soil builder.  If you can get poultry litter apply it to the phosphorous recommendation on you soil test.  I have tested several samples of litter in our area and it is typically 3-3-2.  So one ton has 60 pounds of nitrogen, 60 pounds phosphorous, and 40 pounds of potassium. 

You will want to plant mid to late October.  As far a seed I have had good success planting 20lbs of Max Attract, 8lbs of monster mix, 10lbs of oats, and ten pounds of wheat.  If price is a concern, I would replace the Max Attract with 50lbs of cereal grain such as wheat or oats.  I like either mix because it takes the deer a little time to get on the triticale in the Max Attract.  The deer seem to find the oats and wheat a little quicker than the triticale.  Also, the triticale does not stay in the grazing zone as long in our area if we get warm weather during the hunting season on the other hand if it stays cold like it did this year the triticale will continue to grow.  If you plant the Max Attract, Monster Mix, and cereal grain mix you will want plant the Max Attract and cereal grains first then cover with a drag.  You will not want to harrow them in.  If you harrow it in you will bury some of the components too deep.  After the bigger seeds are plant and covered you can over seed the monster mix.  I like to use a little hand seeder since you are putting out only eight pounds of seed for this application.  I would drag again and if you have a cultipacker cultipack it at the end.

To maintain this plot you will want to do a spilt application of fertilizer.  I would fertilize with nitrogen if it warms up late in Nov or Dec. at about 50 to 100 pounds an acre.  I would then apply the second application of fertilizer in late Feb or March.  This application will be 60lbs of potassium to the acre.  You will want to monitor the plot once hunting season is over.  You need to watch the height of the growth of the cereal grain.  One the cereal grains get 12-18 inches in height you will want to spray your plot with poast or poast plus.  For me this is a critical step because first it releases the growth of the clover and chicory and secondly it acts a cover to help protect from heat stress and weeds.  No you have a Monster Mix Plot. You may need to follow up with the poast product again if additional grass emerge in the plots in spring or summer.  The only mowing I do is to cut the tops out of the weeds and the chicory if it is bolting.  I do not like to cut the clover because of the temperatures.  Since the clover is low growing I have found if you cut it during the warm season it will allow more sunlight to hit the soil increasing the chance for weeds.  Mowing can stress the clover if it is not dormant or cause it to enter dormancy if the temperatures are right.  The longer you keep it growing in our area the better off you are regarding forage production and weed control. The only time I will mow the plot to six inches is late in October.  I would also consider over seeding the plot with more monster mix if there are some spotty areas in the plot.  With proper maintenance I have had Monster Mix last five years.  One other thing I do after the first fall is come in grain drill oats and wheat back into the plot at 40lbs.  If you don’t have a drill or access to one you can broadcast 50lb of a cereal grain before you mow the plot to six inches.  This will give you some thatch to cover the seed.  Not the perfect situation but with rain it will work.  By planting this cereal grain you will also be maximizing the use of the nitrogen produced and left behind in the soil from the clover.  This will also help you to minimize weeds later.  Don’t forget to put in an exclusion cage!  I have a continuation on the next post

How to plant Lablab and Buck Bush. 

There is nothing like Lablab for growing big antler deer.  If you can get Lablab established you can grow forage until the first frost.  Getting lablab established after the first year is tough. If I am planting into plowed ground I will incorporate a pre-emerge herbicide like prowl or treflan.  You will want to spray it according to the label (pay attention to your soil type) and lightly harrow it in no more than two inches.  This will give you control of many grasses and some broadleaf weeds.  Because I have found that this pre-emerge herbicide is necessary I perfer using a mix of lablab, Buck Bush and sunflowers at 40lb to the acre.  All three can be used with either herbicide and can later be sprayed with poast to control grass infestation later.  This cannot be done with Milo/Grain Sorghum.  The sunflowers will allow the lablab to vine up spreading out and increasing forage production.  The buck bush will offer a food source if the deer over graze the lablab early. 

My favorite method for planting lablab and sunflowers is to no-till it in to my winter grazing.  After timing my pre-emerge herbicide application of prowl with rain for incorporation I generally will spray the winter crop ideally 12 -24 inches.  I then no-till it into the 12-24 inch stubble left behind by the winter crop.  If it has grown higher than this I will mow to about ten inches allow it to begin re-growth and then spray it with glyphosate.  This stubble will act as weed protection, moisture protection and early grazing protection.  This method has worked for me now for three years.  It is the only way I have been able to successfully establish warm season plot without high fencing.  I do this for roundup ready soybeans too.  The deer don’t seem to find it as quickly.  I also will spread poultry litter over the top of it and it seems to keep the deer away until the lablab starts pig tailing (added insurance).  At the pig tailing stage it can handle heavy grazing.  You will want to purchase a cowpea inoculant to treat your lablab with just before planting.  It will aid the lablab in affixing it’s own nitrogen.  This will help increase forage but with the extra nitrogen in left behind by the lablab it will help you winter plots at a fraction of the cost of commercial nitrogen.  If you cannot get the cowpea inoculant you will want to increase your nitrogen fertilizer application. 

For Fertilizer application if you are not able to get poultry litter you will want to use 5-15-30 at 250-300lbs to the acre (this fertilizer application will be used if you inoculate the seeds before planting).  If no inoculant is added you will want to add a bag of 34-0-0 to the above application and you may need to apply more nitrogen later.

You can get all the herbicide mentioned at the Pike County Co-op.  You can also rent a no-till grain drill from the Goshen Co-op.  I have found that the rental will pay for it’s self because you can plant the expensive seed precisely.  It will also save you time, compaction, wear on you equipment and fuel.  If you are considering the no-till approach get your soil right during the fall planting.

Please keep in mind if you are using poultry litter it will take longer for the microbials in the soil to make the poultry litter available to the plants.  Applying nitrogen can speed up the microbial activity. So it may take a little time for the poultry litter to work.  Because of this I like to apply the litter in the late summer or fall. 

I know this is a lot of information.  But I think it will help you and if nothing else help you to avoid some growing pains that I have experienced.