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My Pea Patch may have caught some rain

Posted By: Gringocazador

My Pea Patch may have caught some rain - 05/19/19 01:15 PM

Setting here at my place in the back of Rayburn Country drinking coffee, thought I'd beat our a few word on my weekend away from the big city before I have to head back for work tomorrow.

I went to my lease in East Texas on Saturday, about 30 min from my place at Rayburn. Took my tractor, shredder and box blade. Cleaned up three places, maybe two acres all together. I need a disc but maybe later in the year I'll get one. Like to have a Tiller also, but that is down the road for sure, too many other irons in the fire. One little patch I didn't get planted, ran our of seeds. I didn't realize how many pounds of seeds are needed. I have a lot to learn, guess I should have paid more attention to this stuff instead of riding horses and working cows!!!

I really wanted to get an area cleaned up so It wouldn't be as much work for my fall planting. I've never planted a real plot, other than oats a time or two in south texas with a 4 wheeler but it never rained.

I planted Red Ripper Cowpeas, which are supposed to be good for sandy soil. Also some kind of Cover but I can't spell or say the name. I had a bag of some mixed seads from Academy called 7 Card Stud, threw that out too just for grins.

I bought the cowpeas and clover from Huntington Seed, good place, they have lots of stuff and if you don't want to buy online a real person will answer the phone.

I ran out of time and didn't get my fertilizer out. Maybe a couple of weeks I can catch it right and put some out. It took pretty much all day to get those areas cleaned up to plant. I really needed a couple more hrs. Lots of brush, tree roots, grass you name it. Also had to do a lot of leveling with my box blade.

The ground really needed lime, but as much as I need due to all the pine trees I could't have made a dent, unless I got something to drop it with or lime truck. That and the roads are pretty bad (logging roads), I can barely get my tractor on the trailer in much less a lime truck.

It probably rained 1/4 at most last night, probably a tick less but should be good. I'm kind of on a hill, a big rain could wash my seeds down the hill.

I dropped the rakes on my box blade to bust up the ground, lots of small roots. Stalled my 50 hp Mahindra more than once. I really needed a disc but sometimes you have to do the best you can with what you have. Its a lot of work swapping implements by yourself, shredder to box blade. I have a Quick disconnect that works good for my shredder, but top link on my box blade was to narrow. Had to remove the Quick disconnect to hook it up. I spaced out the top link yesterday and fixed that. Quick disconnect for a tractor is hard to get rigged up but they work great once you do.

The biggest problem I had was trying to cover them. I should have rigged up a cattle panel but thought I could use two heavy chains nailed to a 2x4. Kept pulling my chains off when I hit a root. I have a gate to a stock trailer or cattle trailer in the woods behind my house, its really heavy. I plan to rig it up for 3 point to haul it, then drag it with chains to cover my seeds.

I just need more time, this thing called work keep getting in the way along with my wife that doesn't like tractors!!!, city girl!!!!

For grins I threw out some water melon seeds to see if they would grow so I can take my wife out and there and say all this time you thought this was a pea patch!!!. She has no sense of humor when it comes to my hobbies!!!!

I have three more small places qtr to half acre spots I need to clean up and plant. Maybe Memorial weekend while all the idiots are on the lake (Rayburn). I can fish another weekend. I have about 25 pounds of Iron and Clay Cowpeas I ordered, I need to put those out.

Hunting, Fishing and Dirt bikes take a lot of time and money but sure are fun and other than work pretty much all I have ever known.

Thanks, Billy



Posted By: JDP Ranch

Re: My Pea Patch may have caught some rain - 05/20/19 02:05 PM

Great post Billy!

I am also new to food plot planting. Like you, I used the rippers on my box blade to turn up the soil on my first plot (sunflowers). Worked better than I expected but really strained my 38hp JD 3038e. Ended up getting a cultivator from Tractor Supply on sale for $300 - worked very well in busting up the ground for the rest of my plots.

I do have a set of discs, but with the dry clay soil in the Coleman/Brown County area - the discs barely scratched the surface. They are only about 3.5 ft in width and pretty light. Cultivator did the trick for breaking up the ground and then went over with the discs to break up the clumps. My father was skeptical that a $300 implement would work that well. I proved him wrong grin

My father and I used to hunt a lease several years ago. The rancher would lightly bust up the ground and then use an old chain link fence to drag after spreading seed. Didn't even cultipack. For such a simple process - he had amazing results. Made me realize how you can still have successful food plots with minimal equipment.

I haven't been out to my place in a month. Hoping I'll see some growth with all the rain. I planted 15 acres the last time I was out there. Spent a lot of $$$ on seeds/fertilizer. Looking forward to seeing the results, but a bit nervous i didn't do something right heh.
Posted By: Gringocazador

Re: My Pea Patch may have caught some rain - 05/20/19 06:18 PM

I need to look into other implements to make things go faster. It took me all day and still could have spent longer before I planted. Will look at cultivator prices.

thanks, BD
Posted By: Gringocazador

Re: My Pea Patch may have caught some rain - 06/05/19 08:28 PM

My pea patch may sure enough caught some right this time. Best I can tell it will get between 1/4 and half inch this time.

Hope to get up that way in a couple of weeks and check it out.

thanks, BD
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