Oklahoma Food Plots?

[CalvinHunter]

I have 80 acres in Hughes County, Oklahoma just North of the South Canadian River. The ground is very sandy, beachlike. I tried to plant Whitetail Institute Extreme and nothing came up this fall. After a few weeks on no success I three down some Oats/Wheat and it came in pretty good. My soil PH is 5.7.

I am very new at this so I am not sure how long the plants will live and when I need to replant. I see seed with instructions for February to May. I want to do a year round program so I know I will have to plant at least twice during the year. I have a tractor, disc, cultipacker and seeder. I only planted about an acre this fall but obviously I need to expand it. I have room to do about 4 acres year round.

What do you recommend I plant and do I do 2 acres in spring and a different 2 acres in fall?

Any advice would be very helpful. Thanks

[wtnhunt]

Welcome to the forums. Maybe dogdoc will have some better suggestions than myself.

You might try beans. Have had real good results with eagle beans in the bottom here, which is mostly sand for the top several inches.

[dogdoc]

Welcome!! Find a local farm seed store (which i am sure there are many in your area) and get some iron and clay cowpeas. They grow really good in sandy soil--however, if we have a hot dry summer you could lose anything you plant. You can plant anytime after danger of freeze. I usually wait till after April 15th. You could also plant some wild game forage sorghum with the peas to give them something to climb and increase the forage production. You will probably need to plant a minimum of 2 acres to be able to compete with the deer forage. In the fall use the other two acres to plant a combination of cereal ryegrain (NOT ryegrass) mixed with a forage radish. Both of those will do fine in the sandy soil. Sandy soil isn't ideal but hey--gotta play the hand your dealt.

let me know if you have any more questions.

todd

[CalvinHunter]

Thanks for your help. Is there anything I should plant in February/March?

[dogdoc]

Thanks for your help. Is there anything I should plant in February/March?

No. About the only thing you might get away with planting in March is oats but I would just wait till mid april then get you a spring plot started.

todd

[CalvinHunter]

Thanks again. When will the oats / wheat I planted in the fall be ready to be plowed up? Should I plant something like buck wheat in its place to help the soil. Its very sandy soil where the first few inches of topsoil was removed by a dozer when he was clearing. Ill still plant the other 2 acres that is nothing right now in peas and sorghum. Thanks!

[dogdoc]

Thanks again. When will the oats / wheat I planted in the fall be ready to be plowed up? Should I plant something like buck wheat in its place to help the soil. Its very sandy soil where the first few inches of topsoil was removed by a dozer when he was clearing. Ill still plant the other 2 acres that is nothing right now in peas and sorghum. Thanks!

Sounds insane but if you want to build up your organic matter in your soil then you want to stop plowing/discing your soil. Here is something you can try and after a few years you will replace that top soil. Everytime you disc you are removing valuable moisture and microbes from your soil. If you plant your fall rye/wheat and instead of discing it in you either spray and cut or roll it down and then spray it you will leave a thick layer of thatch on the top of the ground. This will break down and eventually add back organic matter to the topsoil. So lets say you want to plant buckwheat this spring---Which is very aggressive and out competes weeds. What I would do is either let the wheat mature and then cut the wheat right after broadcasting the buckwheat. The chopped up wheat (thatch) will work like a mulch over the buckwheat and after a good rain the buckwheat will germinate under the thatch. The thatch will breakdown and replenish the organic matter. And if you had good seed heads the next fall when soil temps and air temps become ideal for wheat the seeds will germinate and you'll have a free wheat plot (unless you have lots of turkeys). The more you disc and plow the longer it will take to replenish the topsoil. Kinda sounds crazy but it really works.

When you have a few hours of free time click on this link. It's a thread over at the QDMA that shows how a guy on sandy land has improved his soil. It's incredible.

http://www.qdma.com/forums/showthread.php?t=57057

[CalvinHunter]

Thanks so much