dogdoc

Wood ducks are very hard to decoy--those little flying torpedos just land where ever they want. You need to go buy you a dozen mallard decoys. You'll be fine just getting the cheap ones--they will last several seasons and give you an idea if you really like waterfowling--but let me tell you it is addictive. Best tip--you can have 100 of the best decoys on the market but if your not set up where there are ducks and close to where they want to be it will be a long day hunting. IMO wood duck decoys are just confident decoys for your puddle ducks. Get a call and then find someone that knows how to use it and have them teach you. Over calling is a big mistake that some rookie waterfowlers make--calling at the right time and the proper call (hale call, feeding call, lonesome hen call) will make all the difference in the world. Good camo---good camo and a good hiding spot is a must. I'm a BIG fan of Max4 camo. Blends in great with most cover around lakes and ponds., good luck todd

nice little plot. keep us updated--I'll be intersted in seeing if you have any weed problems planting in the spring. Should make a nice little bow spot.

if your deer decide they like brassica that plot will last you about an entire 24 hours. Five hours is plenty of sunlight. Plant just like you would clover---till/disc, fertilize with triple 19, till in fertilizer, broadcast seed, drag and pack. That's it. Although brassicas are a PERFECT winter food for deer it may take a while for them to get accustomed to eating the plant. But once they do and decide they like it they can wipe out a brassica plot pretty quick. If it was me I'd stick with an annual grain such as wheat and maybe toss in a few brassica seeds to see if they will eat it. First year I planted brassicas they never touched them. The second year they nibbled on them--the third year they devoured them. I just don't think you will be happy with a small brassica plot. good luck todd

Pennington makes a great product and that would be an ideal fall/winter attracting/nutrition plot. Stay away from a pure brassica plot unless you're planting 3 acres+. If you've never planted brassicas it can take the deer a while to learn to eat it. It took 3 good seasons until they started eating the brassicas well at my place. Plus they are a late season plant so the hunting window on the brassicas can be short.

Darron--I agree. Mowing is an excellent way to keep the weeds under control. I have two perennial plots that are 5 years old now and still doing great. They survived a drought that I thought would surely wipe them out but by fall they started thriving again. I mow plots at least twice but usually three times a year. I do let my clover complete one life cycle a year (complete flowering). I think it is important for the longevity of the plot to allow one complete life cycle. I also use herbicides only if needed on the plots--but I don't want to overuse herbicides. When I first started plotting I hated weeds but as time as gone by and I've gotten older I've realized there is no way over time to have a completely weed free plot. My goal is just to keep them under control as to not wipe out the plot. A lot of broadleaf weeds are good food for both deer and the seeds for birds--but not as good as a well fertilized patch of clover and chicory. todd

what kind of weeds are you dealing with. Arrest is a grass killer so it will not kill any of your broadleaf weeds--which are usually the biggest problem during the late spring and summer. Arrest will not harm any of the plants/mixes you listed. If your problem is a grass such as fescue, bermuda, johnson grass then arrest will help--if your problem is a broadleaf weed then you will not get any help with arrest. Slay herbicide will kill all your brassicas and may set back your chicory or even kill it since it is still at a very young stage of plant life. That's why I never plant perennial plots in the spring. It's just too hard for the young plants to compete and suppress weed growth. I only know this from experience. I started a nice 1 acre clover plot several years back when I was first getting started and by the end of the summer it was 90% weeds. From now on all my perennial plots are fall planted with me spending the spring and summer creating a nice weed free seed bed.

welcome! With 4 to 6 hours of sunlight you can plant just about anything you want. That's plenty of sunlight time to grow just about anything. Personally I'd plant a mix of oats, winter wheat, austrian winter peas, and brassicas. This will be the most attractive plot you can plant!!

I have a 15 gallon sprayer that I attach to the back of my Yammie Big Bear with no problems at all. Purchased it at Atwoods. It's a must if you are spraying larger fields.

is that the same spot that you planted last year with her? good luck this year. I remember the drought you guys were in last year but still had a pretty good stand. todd

when that happens and you decide you want to build a waterfowl project be sure to contact your local federal wildlife office and ask about the partners program. The feds helped pay for the 1/2 the project.

be sure to take some pics and keep us informed on the progress. todd

pretty good. I didn't have water in it the first season but got a good rain during the split and had some nice hunts. It's not big enough to hunt everyday but once to twice a week you can get good numbers of ducks coming to it. Hunt it more often then that and the ducks just quit coming.

my problem isn't that they don't eat the brassicas it's just that when the brassicas turn sweet the deer eat them so fast there is only a short window of opportunity to hunt them. They are a great winter food supplying both high protein and carbohydrates. It wasn't until my 3rd year of planting them that the deer finally "learned" to eat them but when they did they were gone in a hurry. Your acre plot could be eaten in less than a week depending on your deer numbers. My brassicas are always planted in a mix of wheat, oats, rye, and winter peas.

neither one. While I love brassicas I wouldn't put all my eggs in one basket. You could probably get away with a pure brassica plot on the 3 acres but with only 1 acre a pure brassica plot would get eaten down pretty quick.

have fun Kyle--you're a lucky man.

not stupid at all. There is a drain pipe at the deepest part of the pond. It has 4 openings that are threaded for a PVC screw on cap. So I can drain it slowly and at different levels depending on how low I want to drain it or how high I want to fill it. This is what the pipe looks like. You can see one of the openings on the very bottom. There are 3 others on the back side of it. You can also see the drain pipe that goes under the dam.

fun times ahead my friend!

Martin, last year I planted Jap Millet only. This year I changed things up a bit and planted jap millet along with a wild bird mixture. The wild bird mixture contains white proso millet, grain sorghum (don't know what variety), milo, and sunflowers. Hoping to do a little dove hunting on it also.

Drained the duck pond about 50% three weeks ago and 13 days ago I planted it. I did not disc but instead after it drained we got a nice 1/4 inch rain so the next day I broadcasted the seed and then just drove over it several times with the ATV and my chain link drag. Looked like this when I was finished: 13 days later: todd

yep--about 3/4 of an inch.

dang---do you fertilize that plot weekly:)

looks great. Did you fertilize when you planted? If so I probably wouldn't fertilize again until a couple weeks before bow season to get it tasting REALLY good.

what do you mean until the weather gets better? My pups never saw grass until they were 4 weeks old. They slept in their whelping box with Belle right next to MY BED!!!! cute pups. todd

congrats!

Here is a pic of soybeanman's wildlife soybean mixture. I sprayed the plot today with roundup but they seem to be coming along great. They are 3 weeks old today: and here are a few pics of my Hamann Farm's clover/trefoil--mostly clover though. need some rain really bad--hopefully I'll get some soon. todd