Each year I prepare, plant and shoot a 24 acre field of sunflowers for doves. A close friend owns the field, and I prepare and plant it with my equipment. We have planted this field each of the past 5 or 6 years for doves. It is dedicated to that use. We have sons and daughters (and grandsons in my case), and friends and neighbors each fall. We eat well, and shoot (I'd like to say "well" but will maintain a modicum of honesty in this thread
). The field is exceptional for the number of doves it attracts each year. It is not uncommon for us to bag 1200 to 1500 each year in this field, on 5 or 6 shoots.
I have considered doing this for several years, while I prepared our dove field each year, but decided this year to go ahead with it. With the thought that some of you might find it interesting, I decided this year to chronicle the steps necessary to prepare a sunflower dove field, properly, in our neck of the woods. It will be updated periodically throughout the summer, with pictures and narratives, so that the nuts and bolts of it all can be understood, and hopefully enjoyed, by those interested, right up through opening day. Dave, if you find that this belongs in another forum, please move it. I post it here so that more doublegun dove shooters might see it, but submit to your wisdom.
We begin with the preparation of the field in early April. Last years' sunflower cadavers have been left in the field all winter so that game can glean the leftovers from last years crop. First step is to disc the field, to cut up last years' residue. This was done a couple weeks ago and, now, we see the disc coming back through for a second trip, and applying the grass herbicide trifluralin (Treflan) and incorporating it into the top few inches of the soil profile with a 26' disc harrow.
This took about two hours to do.
Next, we see the frontal view looking out from the driver's seat of the JD 8400 as we begin subsoiling and bedding the field. On the left you can see the tracks from the fertilizer spreader, which broadcast a blended fertilizer which had the analysis 80-20-80-10S. This gives 80# of nitrogen, 20# of phosphorous, 80# of potash and 10# sulfur per acre. As I do this trip I mix the fertilizer in the top profile of the soil, pull 8 ripper shanks which go about 18" deep each and shatter the hardpan layer directly under each row, throw up a bed over the ripper slot, and drag the top off the bed leaving it ready for planting. To the right you can see the flat topped beds from the previous pass.
Next photo is the rear view from the tractor seat, showing the subsoiler/bedder stopped. The ripper/subsoiler shanks are in the ground and can't be seen.
Next contribution will show the planting operation. We will try to get the field planted early next week. It is important to get this done in a timely manner, as the sunflowers need to dry down after maturity, so that there is a few weeks time for the doves to begin to really home in on the field and feed heavily prior to the season opening.
Spring is heah' in the "Souf". Hallelujah!
SRH
