Look at the root system up close….. See how all the little soil particles are being glued to the roots. This happens through interaction with a vibrant microbial community in the soil. The microbes are what create those glues. That right there is the point of contact where water and nutrients are exchanged.

A short video........

What is the reason for the green strip in the middle of your field?

Visual barrier....screening. My house is actually visible to this field and it makes it tough sometimes to keep wildlife using it when you constantly spook them coming and going. I'm trying to make the back end feel more secure to the deer. The dog fennel will grow taller next year. I've got nuttal oaks planted around the top end now that will eventually close everything in more.

You could probably use strips like this to manipulate deer movement as well. They tend to follow vegetation lines such as that.

So I’ve been doing some pondering over the early patches of cereal rye……..It seems almost impossible that it sprouted and grew that fast since the rain on Monday. I think what actually has happened is that some of the seed started the germination process last Saturday when I dragged it in due to there already being some soil moisture present. That’s still pretty awesome though to see the plants growing roots like that so quickly. Talk about drought tolerance……….

How much of a difference is cereal rye and winter wheat? What is the benefit of planting cereal rye instead of wheat?

Harold, if you remember from our QDMA days, there was a thread about cereal rye sprouting in 3 days after a rain.

I think im going to use triticale, elbon rye and wheat with my clover turnip mix this year. What do yall think about that mixture?

Unfortunately it looks like the pics have been lost due to photobucket. This was written by a guy named Paul Knox. Happy reading!

http://www.outreachoutdoors.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=505

I'm still amazed to see some areas jumping up this quick with that kind of root growth. Makes me wonder why those areas are so far ahead of the rest of the field. That's some serious microbial activity going on around those roots.



That should work......

Cereal rye is a nitrogen scavenger, has an allopathic effect on weeds and will actively grow as long as temps are above 34 degree's. Wheat is none of that, plus loves nitrogen. They both have their place. I use both and oats.

Getting sho nuff lift off from the rest of the field this morning. You can see the early jumpers toward the back. We should be seeing a tinge of green across the field in a few days.

Yea, yours is a little ahead of mine. I checked mine and its sprouting, but not thru the thatch yet. Seems like the clover and rape were the first to sprout at my place.

My soil should be pretty getting pretty dang fertile at this point. I think we’re in year five now. I’m excited about this go-round. I feel like I’ve reached another milestone in my soil management now that everything is falling in line …….OM%......pH….calcium…..organic N……microbial activity…..etc…..The engine is much more finely tuned now than it’s ever been. There’s still more progress to be made but I think she’s about to start really purring this year. There’s so many things we don’t see that make a difference. Things like the root growth I showed. You know how big of a deal that really is if you have seedlings reaching down 4-5 inches within 10 days of planting…..with microbes dancing wild around the roots exchanging water and nutrients…..There’s so much more going on than what we have traditionally been taught on the back of a seed bag……There’s so much more to it than plow it up and apply 300 lbs of 13-13-13…….


Anyone know what these things are called??? Dgallow talked about how tilled fields became very bacterial dominated and when we went to a more natural system it would eventually swing to a more balanced system of bacteria and fungi. I see these things here and there across the field now and I assume it’s fungal….right?

Definitely a fungus. I see a lot of it growing in grass clippings.

I planted one of my fields on sep 8. I had natural summer growth that had not been cut or sprayed all year. I spread my seed and fertilizer, then mowed everything down. We got rain from the hurricane on Monday sep 11. I checked fields yesterday Friday sep 15 and almost every seed I found has a 3 inch chute on it. I am beyond excited to have so much growth this early, I should have some consistent deer traffic in there by the time youth opener rolls around for my son. I have been managing this place for 4 years, 2nd year throw n mow. I keep year round minerals and this one food plot, I hunt it only during opening season, rut, or when I take a friend to hunt. I have pictures now of 7 different bucks using this field. 3 shooters, and 1 that is exceptional for the area. Hard work pays off.

That awesome!....Let us know when you knock down one of those shooters. We'll be waiting for pics.

Well, the rain chances yesterday went ker-flop…...It’s all good though for now. Everything is still jumping out of the ground real nice this morning as we approach the one week mark since planting……..



Some little clover seedlings starting to show themselves this morning……

The new heavy clay area planting where Shelby was pooping is doing pretty good so far. Not quite as much cereal grain coming up as my big field but I'm not complaining. I think it'll eventually fill on in. I’ll have to get a shovel and show the layer of OM across the top of the clay. You can see the old grass I terminated. I believe the root structure of that grass and the OM are playing a vital roles in this clay.



From what I can see from the clay areas of my property is that you better not let it see sunshine. The field is in the background. This is the kind of clay I’m dealing with in this spot and what happens when you destroy the existing roots structre and expose it to the sun. It turns to concrete. Even though sand and clay are completely different beasts…..I still think keeping them covered with OM is a big key to management….Probably even more so with the clay. I’m gonna have to do some pampering to this spot to ever get it back to being productive.

CNC have you ever thought of adding "outside" OM, say bring in a few bales of grass that have been sitting a year or two?
I have a couple areas I have thought of doing this, bring in and spread the bales, then turn into the ground.

Thank
Chad