Let's hear sum plantin stories.
Gonna' do some late rice here soon in the field. Startin to think about millet and milo in the woods/swamp after a burn down.
Have one beaver project that I thought benny would have completed by now. Guess I'll start that 8 year project myself soon after a little timber is sold don't want to just kill off good hardwoods for nothing. Already put in a ditch between two beaver swamps to make a super highway they can tier off. Just gotta' get some willows started, a few logs laid, and beaver house started all in strategic places.
Whars da best place to get some beaver scent to spread out to make them jump and go lookin' and how where do ya put that out?
Anybody doing strictly moist soil?
Plantins
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jdbuckshot
- Duck South Addict
- Posts: 3821
- Joined: Wed Feb 05, 2003 12:37 pm
- Location: Forest Mississippi
moist soil
i planted rice and millits last year and they did well. had alot of work done on my beaver damn. i blew it and put in a valve, took alot of time. i haven't brought the water down yet but its still a little low from the blow. lots of giant smart weed and i don't think i am going to plant any thing this year, just spray some open holes out and draw the water down a little this month and so on. don't burn any more. i have a drag made from 4 pieces of rail road iron and rail spikes in it. works like a charm after you spary. and prittty good if you don't spray. have another place im going to plant jap millit in. if it ever dries up i am going to fix my levee, my dozer guy didn't do to good. leaks around the pipe, you guys know any one around scott county that has a trakhoe? probably needs to be a small one.
don't know much about beaver scent, just know they are attracted to running water.
any suggestions on moist soil managment?
jim hunter
don't know much about beaver scent, just know they are attracted to running water.
any suggestions on moist soil managment?
jim hunter
"The rich ..... who are content to buy what they have not the desire to get by their own exertions, These are the real enemies of Game."
Benny can get real deep on moist soil and matching gizzard studies density, species, and grit sizes from your area and also taking into account where they came from and where their going next. That's sort of a little out of my league.
One thing I have come to appreciate in the last few years is the value of disking even if you have to do it in the fall for the following year. Disturbing the soil turns back succession to good smartweed and grasses and sedges.
Also in the past 5 years that have been warmer than normal I have noticed ducks stay on moist soil plants more and more which says a lot for the theory of ducks hitting grain only when it's cold when they need a higher carb diet. Also with no-till up north the ducks we get may not need carbs when they first get here but moist soil plants.
I personally do not think giant swamp smartweed has enough bang for the room it takes up. This is the one that gets about shoulder high and grows in water well. I prefer the waist high smartweed. Just seems there is more seed per plant. Blowing beaver dams is not enough in my humble opinion you still have to get rid of the undesirable species and encourage the desirables and I think disking is the best thing you can do whenever you do it. Millets on exposed mud flats does do great.
I like the idea of spraying non-beneficial plants and letting the more desirable moist soil species proliferate; however with that said disking helps even more do the same thing.
My woods/swamp area has a ton of deer so I can not use beans and corn so I do supplement wherever I can with jap millet in wet areas and brown top in dry areas and a mixture of same for just in case. Have never had good luck with milo except for feeding birds, but also haven't put it in the woods. Am thinking strongly about spraying a bunch of milo in the woods this year just to see if the deer and birds don't eat it up before the ducks. Milo has a very uncanny ability to produce a head even when planted late or without much time.
I also want to try chufa in the woods, but I personally don't know of anybody having any success with it for ducks.
One thing I have come to appreciate in the last few years is the value of disking even if you have to do it in the fall for the following year. Disturbing the soil turns back succession to good smartweed and grasses and sedges.
Also in the past 5 years that have been warmer than normal I have noticed ducks stay on moist soil plants more and more which says a lot for the theory of ducks hitting grain only when it's cold when they need a higher carb diet. Also with no-till up north the ducks we get may not need carbs when they first get here but moist soil plants.
I personally do not think giant swamp smartweed has enough bang for the room it takes up. This is the one that gets about shoulder high and grows in water well. I prefer the waist high smartweed. Just seems there is more seed per plant. Blowing beaver dams is not enough in my humble opinion you still have to get rid of the undesirable species and encourage the desirables and I think disking is the best thing you can do whenever you do it. Millets on exposed mud flats does do great.
I like the idea of spraying non-beneficial plants and letting the more desirable moist soil species proliferate; however with that said disking helps even more do the same thing.
My woods/swamp area has a ton of deer so I can not use beans and corn so I do supplement wherever I can with jap millet in wet areas and brown top in dry areas and a mixture of same for just in case. Have never had good luck with milo except for feeding birds, but also haven't put it in the woods. Am thinking strongly about spraying a bunch of milo in the woods this year just to see if the deer and birds don't eat it up before the ducks. Milo has a very uncanny ability to produce a head even when planted late or without much time.
I also want to try chufa in the woods, but I personally don't know of anybody having any success with it for ducks.
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jdbuckshot
- Duck South Addict
- Posts: 3821
- Joined: Wed Feb 05, 2003 12:37 pm
- Location: Forest Mississippi
disking
eastwoods,
disked up alot of smartweed last spring, but when is the best time to disk it over, how often. i knew blowing my damn wasn't really going to help my managment process. i just did it to get my vavle in. went out yesterday and its finally back up to full capacity, maybe a little higher than before. but you are right about my giant smartweed it can be too much sugar for a dime. i was telling you about my drag. do you think dragging it would help like disking does, do you think i should drag it before the season like people roll rice fields. i have never had any luck with milo myself, black birds love it. rice is easy to grow and ducks love it but i didn't get a very good yeild last year. had alot of blank seeds. needs alot of fertilizer. opposed to millits need hardly none. just looking to learn more about moist soil. Love posts like this one!
disked up alot of smartweed last spring, but when is the best time to disk it over, how often. i knew blowing my damn wasn't really going to help my managment process. i just did it to get my vavle in. went out yesterday and its finally back up to full capacity, maybe a little higher than before. but you are right about my giant smartweed it can be too much sugar for a dime. i was telling you about my drag. do you think dragging it would help like disking does, do you think i should drag it before the season like people roll rice fields. i have never had any luck with milo myself, black birds love it. rice is easy to grow and ducks love it but i didn't get a very good yeild last year. had alot of blank seeds. needs alot of fertilizer. opposed to millits need hardly none. just looking to learn more about moist soil. Love posts like this one!
"The rich ..... who are content to buy what they have not the desire to get by their own exertions, These are the real enemies of Game."
your homemade hire/harrow will do just fine. what your actually doing is exposing your already there seed bank to air which will make it germinate.
i would try a roundup/24d combo on a non-windy day and you won't have nothing survive that then hire it 2 weeks later.
Time of year, well that's a great question and one we could spend a year on and equally important is speed of water removal, but for now let's just talk concepts. Early drawdowns encourage panicum, barnyard grass, smartweed, and flatsedge. Mid encourage same with beggarticks, crabgrass and woody growth. Late drawdowns encourage Rice cutgrass, sprangletop, woddy growth, spikerush.
Speed of drawdown basically accounts for diversity of species. A fast drawdown will promote one or two species taking over. A slow drawdown will allow for a more diverse speciated fauna.
What I tried to say earlier in the above post. If the first chance I had to disk or hire was in October I would do it then and probably every other year. Probably spray to control undesirables.
Course if I could drain the swamp through the beaver dam and had all the time in the world I would probably plant corn. So what I'm getting at is you do something in netween and something you can manage with the help of mother nature and your budget and your time.
i would try a roundup/24d combo on a non-windy day and you won't have nothing survive that then hire it 2 weeks later.
Time of year, well that's a great question and one we could spend a year on and equally important is speed of water removal, but for now let's just talk concepts. Early drawdowns encourage panicum, barnyard grass, smartweed, and flatsedge. Mid encourage same with beggarticks, crabgrass and woody growth. Late drawdowns encourage Rice cutgrass, sprangletop, woddy growth, spikerush.
Speed of drawdown basically accounts for diversity of species. A fast drawdown will promote one or two species taking over. A slow drawdown will allow for a more diverse speciated fauna.
What I tried to say earlier in the above post. If the first chance I had to disk or hire was in October I would do it then and probably every other year. Probably spray to control undesirables.
Course if I could drain the swamp through the beaver dam and had all the time in the world I would probably plant corn. So what I'm getting at is you do something in netween and something you can manage with the help of mother nature and your budget and your time.
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okie guide
- Newbie
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- Joined: Fri May 14, 2004 8:48 am
Okie said a mouthful then and another great concept. Every place is unique. I might also add that what mother nature gives you in most natural duck wintering habitats also must be worked with and not against.
Basically you need to think on a five year plan is another concept.
I once thought I had this one moist soil swamp figured out and a few ducks liked what I was doing there. I figured out after five years I was stuck in a stage of succession that was not so beneficial. What I was doing never encouraged woody species such as willows and trees and I thought I was doing right. But what I had was giant smartweed and other moist soil plants that did provide food for a few ducks but not for a bonanza that would black out the sky. What was missing was the disking which was done right in front of the blinds in October every year. In those small areas I had a bonanza of grasses, sedges, and annual smartweeds. So basically, I figured out with the help of folks on this forum that I really ought to be disking the entire thing in October perhaps half one year and half the next so some moist soil seed will remain high.
I like disturbing the soil.
Basically you need to think on a five year plan is another concept.
I once thought I had this one moist soil swamp figured out and a few ducks liked what I was doing there. I figured out after five years I was stuck in a stage of succession that was not so beneficial. What I was doing never encouraged woody species such as willows and trees and I thought I was doing right. But what I had was giant smartweed and other moist soil plants that did provide food for a few ducks but not for a bonanza that would black out the sky. What was missing was the disking which was done right in front of the blinds in October every year. In those small areas I had a bonanza of grasses, sedges, and annual smartweeds. So basically, I figured out with the help of folks on this forum that I really ought to be disking the entire thing in October perhaps half one year and half the next so some moist soil seed will remain high.
I like disturbing the soil.
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jdbuckshot
- Duck South Addict
- Posts: 3821
- Joined: Wed Feb 05, 2003 12:37 pm
- Location: Forest Mississippi
plantins
went out to my new wet land yesterday to do some spraying and stuff. and had a good hatch of woodies out of my boxes. its only a year old looks like its going to be a good place. gotta get ready to disk some!
"The rich ..... who are content to buy what they have not the desire to get by their own exertions, These are the real enemies of Game."
Yeah eastwoods, trial and error, trial and error. Did ALOT of walking and spraying last year and all I did was open it up for the smartweed to come through. But as my lcuk would have it, we got a gully washer/turd floater of a rain in November last year and 90% of my seed floated out in the flood. But the "note to self" in my brain, was rooted in forever so to speak. Thanks for the help over the last 4-5 years.
I have a hunting bud that says if we ever don't have a "next year" I'm gonna commit "sideways"
because I'm constantly in the fall looking around and saying "Ya know, next year I'm gonna do ............"
Hell, to me that's half the fun of it.
I have a hunting bud that says if we ever don't have a "next year" I'm gonna commit "sideways"
because I'm constantly in the fall looking around and saying "Ya know, next year I'm gonna do ............"
Hell, to me that's half the fun of it.
Also in the past 5 years that have been warmer than normal I have noticed ducks stay on moist soil plants more and more which says a lot for the theory of ducks hitting grain only when it's cold when they need a higher carb diet. Also with no-till up north the ducks we get may not need carbs when they first get here but moist soil plants.
You hit the nail on the head. I've seen 'em in old, weedy fishponds adjacent to a thousand acres of rice and beans when it's warm....and it's been warm the last 3 years now. But then there are some folks who believe you don't have a duckhole unless you've got grain in it. Not always so.
Wingman
ISAIAH 40:31
“I ask you to judge me by the enemies I have made.”
― Franklin D. Roosevelt
“I ask you to judge me by the enemies I have made.”
― Franklin D. Roosevelt
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okie guide
- Newbie
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- Joined: Fri May 14, 2004 8:48 am
Your smartweed seed did not float off. Smartweed seed will remain hardy in the ground for 40-50 years. There is alot off different types of smartweed, the 2 best are pale smartweed and the other is pennsylvania smartweed. If your smartweed is growing in existing water odds are it is not the good kind
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