Lime and Overseed Time Yet?

1836 Views 15 Replies 6 Participants Last post by Gabowman, Apr 2, 2020

Gabowman

Discussion Starter · Jan 14, 2020

Have wheat growing in food plots now (which is getting hammered) and also have some clover underneath. Sometimes in the next month I'm planning on adding some pelletized lime, and then again in another month or so. Just wondering if I would gain anything by adding some clover seed now to over-seed the clover already there or just wait until the ground starts warming back up before over-seeding. My plan is to cut the wheat when it dies (@ May/June) without hurting the clover so there is still greenery there until hot summertime burns it all up. Then I'll get the corn feeders back onto the plots until September when I will replant the wheat again. So....what do you guys think? What works best for you?

I should mention....the two plots I have might combine into 1/2 to 3/4 acre of plots. Theyre small but large enough to feed the deer that are there without getting stripped by the deer.

1 - 16 of 16 Posts

robertyb

· #2 · Jan 14, 2020

Go ahead and lime but wait on the clover. If you have a farm supple seed & feed store close you can buy regular lime from them a heck of a lot cheaper than pelletized lime. Mine has a small pull behind spreader they let me use that hooks up to my truck hitch. Over seed when ground starts warming to keep the birds from getting the seed.
My back yard plot is under water after all this rain.

Reactions: 1

hookedonbow

· #3 · Jan 14, 2020

TSC powdered barn lime in 50# bags. Easy to spread.

Reactions: 1

Gabowman

Discussion Starter · #4 · Jan 16, 2020

I was under the belief that the pelletized lime released slowly over a couple of months where as the powdered lime worked instantly. Right or wrong?

robertyb

· #5 · Jan 16, 2020

I have always been told that it takes lime around 6 months to really start working well. Her is an article about different types of lime.

https://feeco.com/pelletized-lime-vs-ag-lime-imposters/

Reactions: 2

dryforkbrady

· #6 · Jan 16, 2020

I went with two tons of lime per acre to start a food plot. I used bagged lime in my cone spreader. Access to the plot is not available for lime trucks. The next season it was 6.8 ph. The next year it was 6.5. I will check it soon to determine if I can get one more year.
If I needed lime I would put it in as soon as weather permitted.
I will keep my field trimmed close this summer. I may even practice exhaustive germination. Beginning in April/May, I may start breaking up the soil as if I am weeding my garden. I think if I do this every two weeks or so, there will be no vegetation the kill and scrape off when it is time to plant. I don't like to allow the field to go weeds then to seed over and over till planting time. Too much stuff to get rid off.
Here is what I use from Rural King.

See less See more

Reactions: 1

robertyb

· #7 · Jan 16, 2020

Only thing there is the cost. You used 100 bags at 3 or 4 bucks a bag and that gets expensive. I can do an acre for about 50 bucks or so. But if you can't get a truck or lime buggy in your are stuck to bags but if you can get a pickup in a small lime buggy should be able to make it.
We had to bulldoze a new road on our club to get a lime truck in to a couple of plots. It was worth it.

Reactions: 1

Tenpointguy

· #8 · Jan 16, 2020

I’ll be liming in March. Then late May , I’ll spray , till fertilize and plant. Probably going with Iron Clay Peas again. The end of September , I’ll do it all over again and plant winter wheat. The deer loved the Iron Clay Peas and when they were gone , loved the wheat through the winter.

Reactions: 3

dryforkbrady

· #9 · Jan 17, 2020

robertyb said:
Only thing there is the cost. You used 100 bags at 3 or 4 bucks a bag and that gets expensive. I can do an acre for about 50 bucks or so. But if you can't get a truck or lime buggy in your are stuck to bags but if you can get a pickup in a small lime buggy should be able to make it.

Plot hard to get to. I turn off the blacktop by my neighbors truck then drop off about 12 inches into a creek for about 30 yards then climb an old log road about 300 yards that is so rough no truck has been up it in years. I did have an offer from a friend to borrow his lime spreader. It was too wide. Oh yeah, it is not my property either.

Reactions: 1

Gabowman

Discussion Starter · #10 · Jan 17, 2020

DFB, my only access is by 4 wheeler pulling a small trailer when needed. My 2 plots total size combined is 1 acre. If I put out 50 lbs of lime per 1000 square feet then I will need approximately 44 bags. That's about $160. Since I don't pay a lease I don't really mind spending a little bit trying to make a better place to hunt. Between the lime, fertilizer, weed killer and two plantings a year (counting seeds) (Plus 20 bags of 50# corn I buy every year for feeders) I figure I spend about $400-$450 a year. IMO this isn't so bad having my very own private land to hunt on and literally do as I please improving my hunting situation although I don't own the land I hunt on. I'm the only person with hunting access though.

Probably mentioned this before but not here....I think I almost like working on this land as much as I like hunting on it. It's ALL manual though other than the use of my 4 wheeler, a small disc harrow, and a seed/fertilizer spreader. The land is a cut over that is pretty much grown up too high and thick to hunt other than those two food plots Ive made. The greens and the corn does draw 'em though.

I have a soil tester and will do a few soil tests first to see what it needs. I thinking about it I agree to leave the over-seeding out and just scatter the seed as the ground warms up and just pray for rain. Or if it turns too hot too quick I'll just gly-phor the whole thing when all of the wheat and existing clover dies and feed corn like I did this past year until Labor Day planting comes around again.

See less See more

Reactions: 2

dryforkbrady

· #11 · Jan 17, 2020

3

Gabowman said:
DFB, my only access is by 4 wheeler pulling a small trailer when needed. My 2 plots total size combined is 1 acre. If I put out 50 lbs of lime per 1000 square feet then I will need approximately 44 bags. That's about $160. Since I don't pay a lease I don't really mind spending a little bit trying to make a better place to hunt. Between the lime, fertilizer, weed killer and two plantings a year (counting seeds) (Plus 20 bags of 50# corn I buy every year for feeders) I figure I spend about $400-$450 a year. IMO this isn't so bad having my very own private land to hunt on and literally do as I please improving my hunting situation although I don't own the land I hunt on. I'm the only person with hunting access though.

Your story to me is my story to you. Only difference is I have a tractor. I have bushed hogged the field for a few years. I expanded taking out some heavy brush. Did the soil test via UT Agriculture extension office. I added 6000 pounds to my 1.5 acre plot. I have been planting oats and turnips for 3yrs now.
The owners son has always been offered "my plot" anytime he wants. Never taken me up on that. He did give a neighbor, not local to the area, the chance to hunt. I met him and he is a good youngster. Always yes sir and no sir. He can only hunt weekends so not much "threat" and he never hunted if he knew I was going to be there. Here are a few pics.

Wildlife Deer Snout Organism Darkness

Nature Vegetation Grass Natural landscape Natural environment

Wildlife Nature Vegetation Nature reserve Biome

See less See more

Gabowman

Discussion Starter · #12 · Feb 1, 2020 (Edited)

dryforkbrady said:
...I will keep my field trimmed close this summer. I may even practice exhaustive germination. Beginning in April/May, I may start breaking up the soil as if I am weeding my garden. I think if I do this every two weeks or so, there will be no vegetation the kill and scrape off when it is time to plant...

Last year it was so hot nothing grew for long. Once the weeds started taking over I used Gly-phor on the entire area and just ran my corn feeders. Periodically I used the weed killer so when it was time to plow and plant there was nothing but dirt in the plots. There was no vegetation to scrape off at all. It took about two months once applied for the plot to get in this shape. Regardless of how good the clover is I'll use the Gly-phor by the first of July again this year.

Lizzinator

· #13 · Feb 5, 2020

We always used regular lime on our pastures back when we had 144 acres. We would get a pickup truck load and used a spreader that was a pull behind a small tractor b/c of the hills and brush. If you need to put more down later in the year, you always can. We usually did it more than once--whenever we saw broom straw pop up. Your field looks great.

Reactions: 1

Gabowman

Discussion Starter · #14 · Mar 9, 2020

After some research I found that you can get liquid lime for a lot less than you can pelletized lime. 2 & 1/2 gal of liquid lime is around $55 and 2 of them does an acre whereas it would take 50 bags of 40# lime to do the same thing and that costs around @ $225. The liquid lime starts working in a couple weeks too.

Now I just gotta find a local supplier of liquid lime.

robertyb

· #15 · Mar 9, 2020

Gabowman said:
After some research I found that you can get liquid lime for a lot less than you can pelletized lime. 2 & 1/2 gal of liquid lime is around $55 and 2 of them does an acre whereas it would take 50 bags of 40# lime to do the same thing and that costs around @ $225. The liquid lime starts working in a couple weeks too.

Now I just gotta find a local supplier of liquid lime.

Post up if you find a supplier please.
Just found this, read it:
https://agfax.com/2015/04/09/buying-effective-liquid-lime-and-avoiding-snake-oil/

Gabowman

Discussion Starter · #16 · Apr 2, 2020

The corn feeders have been removed since late December. The clover is underneath the wheat whisch is getting taller and taller. The lime has been put down and the soil has been airated. With all the woods now coming alive and turning green the sightings on my cameras has really dropped down so maybe it's time to mow, spray, and get the feeders back into place. AND...if we continue getting some rain then cow peas aren't out of the question for early May. Or, after thinking about it, I may mow and give the clover a little time to see if fertilizing will make that jump and give the deer a decent clover plot until fall. Time will tell on that one but I know the corn spinners will get the deer back on a regular schedule of appearing for the cameras. Whatever I decide to do I will DEFINITELY have bare dirt come Sept 1'st to get my wheat and oats (maybe even a little turnips added too) back in the ground for a winter crop.

Just not enough time...…………...

1 - 16 of 16 Posts

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.