There’s a difference between northern states and southern states, which also explains the difference in Grants approach versus the Sturgis’s approach. Up north when most or all of your hunting season can be covered with snow 6 inches deep, you need a crop that works in these conditions.
Thanks! But many of the crops I produce do fine in northern states. I started assisting landowners in the Adirondack Mountains in northern New York during 1991 and have worked there since.
Green cover seed has some really great videos on soil health and principals. I've listened to quite a few and it's nice to connect the dots of working with creation instead of against it. I don't use herbicides or tillage on my plots, some weeds in my plots don't bother me. I'd rather have those then eat the herbicides that are so often used in food plots.
I watch Jeff Sturgis on WHS, but just have a hard time connecting to his videos. Great guy, just hard to connect with. I get a lot more info from this channel.
Yeah I watch Jeff also, he likes to say the same things over and over just a little differently each time. I understand why, but as someone that watches all of his new episodes, I don't always complete them because I don't feel like waiting for 3 minutes before he says something new. Grant and his team do a great job editing and creating really nice episodes.
I just watched Jeff's last video where he was saying diversity of plants doesn't work well for food plots. Now Grant says it does. I am going with Grant.
@@jonathansimmons4253 Then you need to listen better. Jeff does say diversity works but you have to have the proper mixture to be successful. If you plant rye and wheat at the same time as peas/soybeans, the rye and wheat will out compete the peas/soybeans and make it almost worthless to have planted them. So when you are buying a mixture from a store or making your own make sure to think about the different seeds will grow and compete with each other. Jeff also likes to have all his plots contain the same plants so that you aren't make the deer groups intermingle and compete across your property as they go for the "flavor of the week" food source that is ideal at that time. Jeff is more for property management, some of these other guys are more for here's how you draw deer early season and here is late season with no regards to how that effects the deer on your property. Another thing that Jeff and numerous people state is what works for one doesn't necessarily work for the next guy. Feel free to follow who you want but if you are going to watch someone at least listen to what they say in full and not half assed.
Is there a good food plot plant that will grow in a weed patch? The land owner where I hunt, said I can plant a small food plot, but can not use heavy equipment, or sprays. So, I have to plant in weed patches.
Mr. Phillips - Sorry - but no. New foreage seedlings won't compete well with existing plants. Maybe you can weed eat the weeds to get to the soil and the broadcast a food plot blend and some fertilizer!
Dr. Grant you’re always on the cutting edge. This is one of the best channels there is. Incredible resource for managers, but beneficial even for a child. Best content out there. Thanks for all you do.
Would it be possible to broadcast the seed by hand then crimp what is standing. I had a set of disks break on me (extremely rocky soil and user error lol) everything I didn't reach I spread seed and weedwacked I'm curious on how it will come up. Just tryed a 50lb bag of clover it went in about a week ago I'll check it today
Zachary - broadcasting works when seed will make great contact with the soil and it rains soon after the seed is spread. Seeds that land on vegetation, etc., will germinate when they become moist and warm, but without a root in the soil, they will soon perish.
Whats up man!! You might remember me as NC OutdoorsTV, I had to delete the last email and this is my new channel, im glad to have found you again buddy!!
i,m now planting 4 or5 difference plants now.. i wish i could fine a old grain drill.. but un till then ill have to keep tilling 2 to 3 inches... my garden i,v been for 2 years growing it with hay all over it... the results is far more veg.
Grant. I’m converting my farm to the Release System using Green Cover blend summer release. But how can I plant corn without tilling the soil? I cannot afford a no till drill yet. So last year I overseeded rye in my soybeans last year and tilled it in green this year to plant corn. I cringe as I see dust and heat go to work. But not sure what else to do when I don’t have a drill. And the county no longer has one to rent. HELP! Love the videos.
Thanks Neil! Sounds like you are making progress! However, it's tough to plant corn without either using a no till or plowing. Sorry - corn is a tough one.
Off topic, but are buck usually perimeter travelers? I am in North West Ohio, and notice most deer trails are within about 10 yards of the edges of the woods most of the time. And do does do the same?
Truly beautiful plots. I can't afford a no-till drill, and I understand the benefits of what you're doing, but for me now with the equipment I can afford, I'm doing pretty well. I too have not fertilized my fields. I rotate legumes with corn and have successful plots year after year. I turn the cereal grains into the soil deep. It also seems to help keep moisture where the roots can get to it.
Brandon - That's a very strong annual clover. It's flowering now. I'll crimp it soon and it will be terminated. If I don't crimp it it would make way too much seed for a good stand next year.
Is there a way to do this without a crimper? I started last summer with beans and then drilled in the fall blend (elbow rye, crimson clover, brassicas) over the beans. Now it’s time to drill in my beans again but can’t bring myself to buy a crimper. What other options do I have?
Jeff - You can terminate the standing crop with a herbicide. However, planting green - planting into a living crop and then terminiting it has many advantages.
We tried doing a no-till garden this spring. We tilled it last spring and the garden was mediocre. This year we didn't till to protect the soil like is discussed in your Buffalo system seminar video. We mulched and planted directly without tilling. Now our plants are doing amazing this year. Cucumbers and tomatoes will be ready to pick in about 2 weeks. Thanks GrowingDeer.
It's always a breath of fresh air to come here after some others provide information overload regarding habitat improvements. I enjoy all of it and all of the different perspectives. Definitely more than one way to provide benefits to your property and wildlife in general. I love the way Grant breaks everything down into much simpler terms and shows how simple processes can make a huge impact, even when at times it doesn't feel like you are doing much to benefit your property.
Without access to a roller crimper. What would be the next option? I am renting a no till drill from local ag extension and plan on planting this weekend. Any help would be appreciated! Thank you for the great content and helpful tips.
Joel - You can drill through the standing crop and then rapidly spray a herbicide or spray before you plant. Most herbicides harm the soil and life in the soil less than disking. Certainly there will be less erosion.
Love this. From a farming standpoint, what can be used in michigan and northern states to no-till farm standard crops? Rye doesn’t get that tall here until august
Jeremy - Some of the northern projects use crops like oats that are killed by the winter conditions so they can plant earlier - and others use cereal rye, brassicas, and clovers for all of the benefits such blends produce.
Love this system and would like to know the blends you use when in the soil building phase. And how many times you cycle that in a single growing season.
How would you recommend I plant a seed blend into a waist high, overgrown thicket, with minimal tools (disc, harrow, rake)? I intend to spray gly this weekend to terminate and come back the following weekend to broadcast seed and knock down/push over the old tall grass/thicket over the seed. However, I'm worried the thatch layer might be too thick for my seeds to get good soil contact. Would a burn be a better option or just heavily overseed to compensate the loss?
Jase - if you use a herbicide the existing vegetation will decrease in volume a bunch as the water will leave the plant. Then you should be able to broadcast the seed unless there's duff covering the soil from past years. If that's the case, using prescribed fire is a good option to make a seedbed!
As starting the release process can you no till drill and use hay for the cover crop? If you have a small (hide away) plot and you are just using a hand spreader can you use hay as a cover crop? Just to get everything started?
Tommy - if a crop of hay is removed, many nutrients will be remove and the mulch for weed suppression. This will decrease the results of the Release Process. It's probably better to get hay somewhere other than from a food plot.
@@GrowingDeerTV thanks that’s why I was asking. Some of it’s red clay (or something close) and there is no grass. We planted it last year with (what I thought amazing results) and the soil seems to be changing. However there wasn’t enough to cover the ground. So my thought was to throw hay out and use it as mulch like you do by not bush hogging and tilling. I’m new to this and hunting and not sure if that approach would help. Thanks for the advice and videos.
Long time viewer here, I’ve seen all episodes, and it’s absolutely wonderful to see how your techniques have grown over the years. I remember the old techniques used and to see you guys apply techniques that mimic mother natures techniques is great to see. It’s all about the soils and thanks for teaching people those techniques.
Marc - Wow. Actually I've never tilled here - haven't in 20+ years. I've only drilled or broadcast. I'm amazed at how much the soils at The Proving Grounds have improved through the years - and the quality and quantity of critters!
I'd love to be able to vastly improve the habitat of my hunting grounds for the turkeys, (only heard one gobbler this year, and turkey numbers aren't getting any better), and deer, because lord knows it needs it, I just have no idea where to start or how to go about it.
@@GrowingDeerTV I'm glad to hear yall will be releasing a video discussing it! I'm afraid the turkeys will be wiped out on my grounds before I ever figure out where to get started on trying to improve their livelihood.
Shelby - Pending on the growing conditions this summer, some of it will mature by time to plant the Fall Release blend. I plan to drill the fall crop into the Summer Release about mid August or later and let it germinate while the Summer Release is finishing.
@@rydaddy2867 thank you for that explanation. That is what I needed to hear. I’m gonna have to just roll it with my tractor tires, I guess. I’ve considered taking my blade, facing backwards and kinda raising a couple inches and dropping it every foot or so. It wouldn’t be as good, but a poor mans crimper
@@jasonc794 I haven't sourced the pieces yet to try to make a roller-crimper, but I have noticed that the steel tracks on the farm Bobcat seems to accomplish the same thing, just in only 2 narrow track widths so it would be painfully slow to cover a whole food plot of a crop to terminate that way. 24 inches at a time, back and forth...
Whew! Was worried it was just rebranding. You abated that fear halfway through. Please make this series it's own playlist on your RUclips channel. That way we can pull up this evolution and see the progression for a very solid approach to ground-up soil improvement. Thanks Dr. Grant!
There’s a difference between northern states and southern states, which also explains the difference in Grants approach versus the Sturgis’s approach. Up north when most or all of your hunting season can be covered with snow 6 inches deep, you need a crop that works in these conditions.
Thanks! But many of the crops I produce do fine in northern states. I started assisting landowners in the Adirondack Mountains in northern New York during 1991 and have worked there since.
Green cover seed has some really great videos on soil health and principals. I've listened to quite a few and it's nice to connect the dots of working with creation instead of against it. I don't use herbicides or tillage on my plots, some weeds in my plots don't bother me. I'd rather have those then eat the herbicides that are so often used in food plots.
Nice work!
I watch Jeff Sturgis on WHS, but just have a hard time connecting to his videos. Great guy, just hard to connect with. I get a lot more info from this channel.
Yeah I watch Jeff also, he likes to say the same things over and over just a little differently each time. I understand why, but as someone that watches all of his new episodes, I don't always complete them because I don't feel like waiting for 3 minutes before he says something new. Grant and his team do a great job editing and creating really nice episodes.
@@Chris.B1111 absolutely. Grant and his team are amazing.
Grant Woods & Don Higgins is all I listen to anymore.
I just watched Jeff's last video where he was saying diversity of plants doesn't work well for food plots. Now Grant says it does. I am going with Grant.
@@jonathansimmons4253 Then you need to listen better. Jeff does say diversity works but you have to have the proper mixture to be successful. If you plant rye and wheat at the same time as peas/soybeans, the rye and wheat will out compete the peas/soybeans and make it almost worthless to have planted them. So when you are buying a mixture from a store or making your own make sure to think about the different seeds will grow and compete with each other.
Jeff also likes to have all his plots contain the same plants so that you aren't make the deer groups intermingle and compete across your property as they go for the "flavor of the week" food source that is ideal at that time. Jeff is more for property management, some of these other guys are more for here's how you draw deer early season and here is late season with no regards to how that effects the deer on your property.
Another thing that Jeff and numerous people state is what works for one doesn't necessarily work for the next guy. Feel free to follow who you want but if you are going to watch someone at least listen to what they say in full and not half assed.
Is there a good food plot plant that will grow in a weed patch? The land owner where I hunt, said I can plant a small food plot, but can not use heavy equipment, or sprays. So, I have to plant in weed patches.
Mr. Phillips - Sorry - but no. New foreage seedlings won't compete well with existing plants. Maybe you can weed eat the weeds to get to the soil and the broadcast a food plot blend and some fertilizer!
Dr. Grant you’re always on the cutting edge. This is one of the best channels there is. Incredible resource for managers, but beneficial even for a child. Best content out there. Thanks for all you do.
Whitetail Video Magazine - Thanks for sharing the kind and encouraging words!
If you had to recommend one blend to plant for this upcoming fall season what would you recommend and when would you plant?
Tanner - The Fall Release blend from GreenCoverFoodPlots.com and it should be planted 45 to 60 days before average date of the first frost.
Would it be possible to broadcast the seed by hand then crimp what is standing. I had a set of disks break on me (extremely rocky soil and user error lol) everything I didn't reach I spread seed and weedwacked I'm curious on how it will come up. Just tryed a 50lb bag of clover it went in about a week ago I'll check it today
Zachary - broadcasting works when seed will make great contact with the soil and it rains soon after the seed is spread. Seeds that land on vegetation, etc., will germinate when they become moist and warm, but without a root in the soil, they will soon perish.
Whats up man!! You might remember me as NC OutdoorsTV, I had to delete the last email and this is my new channel, im glad to have found you again buddy!!
NC - Thanks and I hope you are well!
@@GrowingDeerTV im doing great, never got to go on that hunt, but ill have my time yet!
i,m now planting 4 or5 difference plants now.. i wish i could fine a old grain drill.. but un till then ill have to keep tilling 2 to 3 inches... my garden i,v been for 2 years growing it with hay all over it... the results is far more veg.
Patrick - Sounds like you have a great garden!
Can quail and pheasant chicks still move through the field with the mulch layer? Thanks!
Patrick - they prefer the bare ground associated with native grasses and forbs.
Grant. I’m converting my farm to the Release System using Green Cover blend summer release. But how can I plant corn without tilling the soil? I cannot afford a no till drill yet.
So last year I overseeded rye in my soybeans last year and tilled it in green this year to plant corn. I cringe as I see dust and heat go to work. But not sure what else to do when I don’t have a drill. And the county no longer has one to rent. HELP! Love the videos.
Thanks Neil! Sounds like you are making progress! However, it's tough to plant corn without either using a no till or plowing. Sorry - corn is a tough one.
It appears you don’t use corn as a food plot. Will soybeans have the same volume and attraction? I could get 8 ac of beans in.
Could you do this same process with a ATV?
Greg - Yes! RTPOutdoors.com has a 3' no-till drill and a crimper to be used with ATVs!
I learned about this from Gabe Brown. Regenerative agriculture is the way of the future.
Penny - Gabe has been a leader!
Would this be a good strategy for elevating low spots in central FL?
P. - I don't believe this will build enough soil to "elevate low spots".
You guys are very far ahead of michigan! At least 3 weeks
Travis - Thanks for sharing the observation!
Watching you walk through all that high grass, all I can think of is ticks and chiggers.
Jonathan - Ha! They can be ugly.
whats a good seed blend to restore native plants , central MN WI ?
Often native seeds are in the seed bank and the non native vegetation needs to be controlled and prescribed fire used!
Very helpful vids
Thanks Jerry!
Anytime
Off topic, but are buck usually perimeter travelers? I am in North West Ohio, and notice most deer trails are within about 10 yards of the edges of the woods most of the time. And do does do the same?
Mr. Phillips - It depends on the amount of hunting pressure, quality of cover, etc. Often times mature bucks and does will hang back!
Truly beautiful plots. I can't afford a no-till drill, and I understand the benefits of what you're doing, but for me now with the equipment I can afford, I'm doing pretty well. I too have not fertilized my fields. I rotate legumes with corn and have successful plots year after year. I turn the cereal grains into the soil deep. It also seems to help keep moisture where the roots can get to it.
Keith - Thanks for sharing!
Can you roller crimp that clover for a fall plot?
Brandon - That's a very strong annual clover. It's flowering now. I'll crimp it soon and it will be terminated. If I don't crimp it it would make way too much seed for a good stand next year.
Is there a way to do this without a crimper? I started last summer with beans and then drilled in the fall blend (elbow rye, crimson clover, brassicas) over the beans. Now it’s time to drill in my beans again but can’t bring myself to buy a crimper. What other options do I have?
Jeff - You can terminate the standing crop with a herbicide. However, planting green - planting into a living crop and then terminiting it has many advantages.
We tried doing a no-till garden this spring. We tilled it last spring and the garden was mediocre. This year we didn't till to protect the soil like is discussed in your Buffalo system seminar video. We mulched and planted directly without tilling. Now our plants are doing amazing this year. Cucumbers and tomatoes will be ready to pick in about 2 weeks. Thanks GrowingDeer.
Jonathan Simmons - Excellent! Nice work!!
Brilliant!
It's always a breath of fresh air to come here after some others provide information overload regarding habitat improvements. I enjoy all of it and all of the different perspectives. Definitely more than one way to provide benefits to your property and wildlife in general. I love the way Grant breaks everything down into much simpler terms and shows how simple processes can make a huge impact, even when at times it doesn't feel like you are doing much to benefit your property.
Thanks Dylan!
Without access to a roller crimper. What would be the next option? I am renting a no till drill from local ag extension and plan on planting this weekend. Any help would be appreciated! Thank you for the great content and helpful tips.
Joel - You can drill through the standing crop and then rapidly spray a herbicide or spray before you plant. Most herbicides harm the soil and life in the soil less than disking. Certainly there will be less erosion.
Love this. From a farming standpoint, what can be used in michigan and northern states to no-till farm standard crops? Rye doesn’t get that tall here until august
Jeremy - Some of the northern projects use crops like oats that are killed by the winter conditions so they can plant earlier - and others use cereal rye, brassicas, and clovers for all of the benefits such blends produce.
Great video. Would another video on the diversity of plants as you expressed at about minute 2.
Check out their channel. There are several videos with that content.
John - We'll be sharing more about this subject soon!
One I haven't watched and to think I've watched them all.
Love this system and would like to know the blends you use when in the soil building phase. And how many times you cycle that in a single growing season.
Needs More Toys - I only plant during the spring and late summer growing seasons and the blend I prefer can be studied at GreenCoverFoodPlots.com
How would you recommend I plant a seed blend into a waist high, overgrown thicket, with minimal tools (disc, harrow, rake)?
I intend to spray gly this weekend to terminate and come back the following weekend to broadcast seed and knock down/push over the old tall grass/thicket over the seed. However, I'm worried the thatch layer might be too thick for my seeds to get good soil contact.
Would a burn be a better option or just heavily overseed to compensate the loss?
Jase - if you use a herbicide the existing vegetation will decrease in volume a bunch as the water will leave the plant. Then you should be able to broadcast the seed unless there's duff covering the soil from past years. If that's the case, using prescribed fire is a good option to make a seedbed!
@@GrowingDeerTV thanks Doc!
As starting the release process can you no till drill and use hay for the cover crop? If you have a small (hide away) plot and you are just using a hand spreader can you use hay as a cover crop?
Just to get everything started?
Tommy - if a crop of hay is removed, many nutrients will be remove and the mulch for weed suppression. This will decrease the results of the Release Process. It's probably better to get hay somewhere other than from a food plot.
@@GrowingDeerTV thanks that’s why I was asking. Some of it’s red clay (or something close) and there is no grass. We planted it last year with (what I thought amazing results) and the soil seems to be changing. However there wasn’t enough to cover the ground. So my thought was to throw hay out and use it as mulch like you do by not bush hogging and tilling. I’m new to this and hunting and not sure if that approach would help. Thanks for the advice and videos.
What are your thoughts on adding peanuts to a mix? Seems it would help with compaction.
Alan - Where the soil and weather conditions are favorable, peanuts make quality forage. However, they are very tough to plant as part of a blend.
Long time viewer here, I’ve seen all episodes, and it’s absolutely wonderful to see how your techniques have grown over the years. I remember the old techniques used and to see you guys apply techniques that mimic mother natures techniques is great to see. It’s all about the soils and thanks for teaching people those techniques.
Marc - Wow. Actually I've never tilled here - haven't in 20+ years. I've only drilled or broadcast. I'm amazed at how much the soils at The Proving Grounds have improved through the years - and the quality and quantity of critters!
@@GrowingDeerTV your right about the tilling. My bad on that. Either way I really love what your are doing.
So, what seed Mix is this with the clover?
Ryan - The Fall Release blend from GreenCoverFoodPlots.com
@@GrowingDeerTV Perfect, thank you!
I'd love to be able to vastly improve the habitat of my hunting grounds for the turkeys, (only heard one gobbler this year, and turkey numbers aren't getting any better), and deer, because lord knows it needs it, I just have no idea where to start or how to go about it.
2nd Amendment - I'm saddened by the decline in turkey populations in most areas. We'll be releasing a video about this soon!
@@GrowingDeerTV I'm glad to hear yall will be releasing a video discussing it! I'm afraid the turkeys will be wiped out on my grounds before I ever figure out where to get started on trying to improve their livelihood.
@@2ndamendment1776 my opinion, the first thing you should do is go after the predators, especially raccoon and opossum!!
Great video keep them coming 👍🏻
Heather - Thanks! We will - we just filmed a video about using hand tools today! The editors are crunching on it now.
Do you plan to terminate the Summer Release before planting in the fall?
Shelby - Pending on the growing conditions this summer, some of it will mature by time to plant the Fall Release blend. I plan to drill the fall crop into the Summer Release about mid August or later and let it germinate while the Summer Release is finishing.
@@GrowingDeerTV Thank you very much! Really appreciate your videos and all the info you share!
If a guy can’t swing a roller crimper, would a brush hog be okay?
Was wondering the same thing.
You dont want to cut it....you want to break it and lay it over like mulch....
When you cut it, it just typically makes the plant come back harder. Especially grasses.
@@rydaddy2867 thank you for that explanation. That is what I needed to hear. I’m gonna have to just roll it with my tractor tires, I guess. I’ve considered taking my blade, facing backwards and kinda raising a couple inches and dropping it every foot or so. It wouldn’t be as good, but a poor mans crimper
@@jasonc794 I haven't sourced the pieces yet to try to make a roller-crimper, but I have noticed that the steel tracks on the farm Bobcat seems to accomplish the same thing, just in only 2 narrow track widths so it would be painfully slow to cover a whole food plot of a crop to terminate that way. 24 inches at a time, back and forth...
Whew! Was worried it was just rebranding. You abated that fear halfway through. Please make this series it's own playlist on your RUclips channel. That way we can pull up this evolution and see the progression for a very solid approach to ground-up soil improvement. Thanks Dr. Grant!
Thanks Ghillie!
First
Thanks Tank!
Hello
Caleb - Howdy!