Secrets to Early Green Field Planting for Deer
Day 3: The Whitetail Institute’s Steve Scott Reports the Importance of Not Evaluating the Amount of Moisture in the Soil When Planting Green Field Planting for Deer
Editor’s Note: If you'll get your green field crops in the ground early, then they'll come up in your green field prior to deer-hunting season. Let's look at some of the advantages you can enjoy by planting your green fields early, fertilizing natural plants and creating unconventional green fields.
 Besides a soil test, you need to evaluate the amount of moisture in the soil before you plant, which also impacts the success or the failure to your green field plantings. "If you plant seeds and not enough moisture is in the soil for those seeds to germinate, you very easily can have crop failure," Steve Scott, the president of the Whitetail Institute, emphasizes. "If you plant your seeds during a drought, and the area doesn't receive rain for a long time, and those seeds bake in the sun, then more than likely, you'll experience crop failure. A problem many hunters encounter is when a club sets up a date and a time for a workday, which will be when the members of a hunting club plow and plant their green fields. If someone sets that date but doesn't consider the weather, those green fields are subject to crop failure. Instead, watch the Weather Channel on TV, listen to your weather radio, and plan to plant just before a rain for the best results.
 "Then when you arrive at your club's plowed, turned and ready-for-planting green fields, reach down, get a handful of soil, and squeeze it into a ball. Stand up with that ball, hold that ball of soil waist-high, and drop it. If the ball of soil stays together when it hits the ground, the ground probably has enough moisture in it to germinate the seeds you plant. But if that ball of soil breaks-open and shatters, there's probably not enough moisture in the soil to germinate the seed. So, don't plant at that time.”
Scott also suggests that you remember when planting a green field crop the importance of the depth at which you plant the seeds affecting whether the seeds come up or don't. "Don't forget that the smaller the seeds that you’re planting, the closer they need to be to the top of the ground for them to germinate and grow. For example, clover seeds are really tiny, so they need to be planted or broadcast right on top of the ground and not covered. Oats are big seeds. Since they need to be planted 1- to 1-1/2 inch deep, make sure you plant your seeds at the depth that's appropriate for that seed to grow."
 In September, Scott recommends you plant Whitetail Institute's No Plow, depending on where you live. "Use whatever you can to expose the soil either with an ATV pulling some type of farm implement or some type of device to scratch-up or scrape-up the ground. Next put your lime and fertilizer out, and plant the seeds.  This no-till product has brassicas in it. We put brassicas in our No Plow product, because brassicas will grow early but don't become palatable to the deer until later in the season. We've also got ingredients in this No Plow that will attract deer in the early part of the season - some cereal grains and some early-season clovers. Also our Imperial Whitetail Clover, a perennial, will provide food for your green fields for several years. Therefore this product is another one to consider for your green-field planting in the early season. Two other products that work well by planting them in September are Alpha Rack+ or Extreme, both perennials that will last in a green field for several years. All three products have high-protein levels. Usually soil types and pH determine which product you need to use."
Tomorrow: The Bowhunting Deer Season Special with Bobby Cole of Mossy Oak’s BioLogic
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