If you wanted to have a shoot in late December or early January in south Alabama, what would you plant and when? Is there anything?

Sorghum

Best I can tell it's about 60 days to maturity, and supposed to plant it before July 1 so it will be mature on Sept 1. Think it will provide seed another 3 months after maturity?

I’d throw some brown top millet out. Quick maturation, tons of seed, easy to run fire through and get clean ground with exposed seed.

My sorghum seed stayed on for a long time. Problem I saw was that it would mold. You could push your planting date to end of July and still be ok. I planted mine in April and was good and dry by September 1. Mature just describes the seed, I like to allow for an additional 3-4 weeks for it to dry out.

Thanks for the help Yella

Anytime.

I think the best thing would be a tropical variety of corn. It will stand until then without a problem, IF you can keep the deer out of it. If you have deer, you would likely have to fence it. I've thought of building a high fence around one of my fields, but we have so few doves in the area now it just wouldn't be worth it. An electric fence would be a lot cheaper, but a lot of trouble.

I don't think I hate dove bad enough to build a fence.

Takes a little longer than 60 to mature in N bama. At least it did for mine. More like 90 days.

This or prepare a seed bed and spread wheat a couple weeks before. So much easier.

You can plant cracked corn pwyse it does real good late season😂😂😂

Oh Lawd. Be huntin in runnin shoes again.

The problem with using wheat is that November 30 is the latest that you can spread it and hunt over it. The late season starts 12/14, and we are usually getting regular rain by that time of year, making it unlikely you will still have wheat available by the time the season starts. The problem with browntop for the last season is that the first frost for central AL averages around November 8, so the millet will have been dead for 5 weeks by the time the season starts, and again it's not likely food will still be available. You might have a better chance with this in extreme south AL.

I have tried several strategies to have a late season hunt and corn is the only thing that has ever worked for me. I've found that the first year that I grow it, the deer don't seem to know what it is and some of it will still be standing in December. The second year, they are ready for it and will wipe it out quickly. Wait about 3 years and most of those deer will be dead and you can grow it again.

I have been on some great last season shoots over harvested soybeans, but that was big Agricultural fields and beyond what I could do. I have never tried late grain sorghum, so I hope someone will try that and post about it.

late standing corn is all I have ever had any luck hunting over.

I get to shoot over our corn in the late season. It’ll have been cut for several months but some of it is still around. Problem is those late season dove are spooky. I usually kill a few while duck hunting and one will fly over. Kinda expensive with bismuth though. Farmer to the north usually has some good late season hunts I’ve his cornfields too.

I wonder if brown top would fill out. Up here I’d imagine soil temps will work against you. Down south it might work out.

I can’t bushog corn down or anything I planted since it goes against waterfowl hunting laws.

Might be worth taking a look at sesame seed

I tried that 3 years ago and the doves preferred it to everything else I had. But by December, the seed was mostly gone. My uncle has a good sesame seed this season and is going to try to let it stand until December. I'll post back if he has any luck.

Thanks buddy