Sir, I wish I had that tractor and you had a better one. Nice set up.
I appreciate that! I'm happy with the size, but wish you had one too!
I've been a bit busy on the ranch, but wanted to update this post with some photos. I've only irrigated the plots once, putting about an 1" of water on them a week after the fertilizer. In this photo you can see where the tractor/spreader passed a week earlier and the exclusion cage shows how much of the WI Pure Attraction has been browsed.
It has rained three times since planting for a total of 5.15". We did get about 4" of snow and that is not included in the participation total.
The following pictures were taken last week. The plots are being heavily browsed but the growth is keeping up with it.
Above, the plants on the left side of the pecan row are Pure Attraction and it is NOT irrigated. On the right side of the pecan row, is WI's No Plow. It came up but did not have the density or growth to sustain the initial browsing.
Last year I planted a test strip of the Pure Attraction that did as well as this without irrigation. I gave a bunch of fence materials I had stockpiled, next to the plot, to a couple that depends on their gardening and animal husbandry. The wife asked if she could "harvest" some of the food plot crop, enough for dinner salads while it was fresh. I watched what she took and did the same this year, made me a salad from my food plot. It tasted great! What is wierd is my two dogs love the plot as well. Every morning when I let them out they go to the non-irrigated plot and eat their fill! Here is what is in the plot.
As a note, the plots planted with WI's Extreme and Oats Plus failed just like the No Plow. I don't think I get enough rainfall to support the No Plow or Oats Plus, and I'm not talking about rainfall after planting but through the entire year. I practice dryland farming techniques and work the plots to capture any rainfall throughout the year. The Extreme should make it, but it hasn't. It has failed two out of three plantings so I won't be using it again. The first time I planted it went into the summer but failed as the grass took it over despite using the WI products to control the grass growth. It never made it to the perennial stage.
I've documented 25 different bucks using the plots here at the house! I've had 17 in it at the same time.
