doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com The Dove Field Chronicles (Pic heavy)

Well, I apologize for my tardiness, but here is the latest "installment" on the dove field. These pics will show a progression of the sunflowers as they grew and matured, with short explanatory captions above each.


Here is a view of the field in early June. Good stand, and receiving ample rain to progress well.



Next two views are what began to happen next. Deer damage, the worst we have ever experienced at this location. Notice how they ate the tops out of all the plants. The terminal (bud) is there, and once it is gone the plant has no chance of producing a bloom and head of seed.



Sad looking isn't it?



Here is a representative photo of the same field last summer, showing what it looked like in full bloom.



Now we fast forward to the present. What the deer left matured and are drying down. Soon the field will be all brown. I'd say the deer ate half the field, around the edges, and inward for quite aways. Fortunately for us the doves like the middle of the field better, so all is not lost.



You may notice that the heads are smaller than usual, and wonder why that is, given the tremendous amounts of rain we have had here this summer. (Some places near here have already recorded 58" in 2013. The average annual total for the whole year here is only about 46-48 inches.) What happened is too much of a good thing, the excessive rainfall leached out the fertilizers we applied, mostly the nitrogen and potasssium, causing smaller than usual heads.

Here is one average sized head, drying down, as the old bloom sheds away from each kernel.



Doves have already begun hanging around the field in
pretty good numbers, an-ti-ci-pa-a-ting as Carly Simon crooned, being able to pack their crop twice a day. Me, too!

More to come soon.

All my best, Stan

Stan, good on you for bringing this topic back onto the front burner. We've already begun turning up the strips between the corn and sunflower strips. Birds are showing up in force. Good luck on your opening day!...Geo

Stan, looks like you got a great crop of sunflowers. Our field came up gangbusters. We had temporary electric fencing so the deer damage was minimal before installation. We have a ton of birds wire sitting on the "dummy" power line which runs down the middle of the field. We expanded the field to about 30 acres from last year's 18. Looking forward to a barn burner in 27 days. Gil

That is sure some sandy soil. I thought all Georgia had was red clay. Are you using Clear Field hybrid seed? I've never seen such a clean field with no weeds. If you need a couple extra guns.....

Georgia is divided, geographically, into three sections- the mountains, the piedmont and the coastal plain. The soil types differ vastly between the three, and even within the coastal plain, where I farm. Sandy loam soil predominates the coastal plain, but even that varies from excellent to poor soil. What you see in the pictures is considered by farmers in this area to be on the poor side, droughty and unable to hold very much in the way of nutrients. That makes it less profitable for row cropping and more desirable for recreation, growing pine trees or hay fields.

I have always used ClearField seed, but may quit and save the money. Cadre, which is the herbicide that is able to be sprayed over the top of CF sunflowers, has become almost completely ineffective in controlling Palmer Amaranth pigweed, our biggest nemesis. I began this year using a new herbicide, Zidua, just recently released and labeled for sunflower. It is absolutely awesome on broadleaf weeds. Of course, for grasses I still use either Trifluralin or Prowl, preplant. OBTW, the Zidua absolutely must be sprayed pre-emergence, that means even before the sunflower crack the ground. Have been using Spartan for broadleaves, but Zidua is better, and at $14/acre it's $11/acre cheaper. Win/win.

SRH

Thanks, George. Good luck to you and Gil, too.

Gil, we will most likely use this for the field next year.

http://www.gemplers.com/product/145520/Deer-Stopper-Plotsaver-Deer-Barrier-System-Kit

I have some friends in the Statesboro area who swear by it. They say it is 100% if you refresh it with solution every two or three weeks. We've got to do something, I know that. You can buy it locally, too.

SRH

Stan, Gempler looks a heckuva lot cheaper than ole Sparky.
Looking forward with anticipation to the Glorious, but Hot, First Saturday in September.

I've had some requests for the recipe for the tomato/cheese grits, to be eaten with game killed ONLY with a doublegun of course, so here goes:

Two 32 oz. containers Swanson' chicken broth
One package bacon
One 10 oz. can Rotel
One 10 oz. can petite diced tomatoes
One 16 oz. package extra sharp shredded cheddar cheese
Grits (quick cooking grits is okay)

Cook your bacon until just barely crispy and drain on paper towels. Do not let scorch, scorched bacon is a sure sign of an amateur .

In a medium sized pot begin heating your chicken broth, tomatoes and Rotel. When it comes to a boil begin adding grits very slowly, while stirring, so as not to let them lump up. According to the consistency you like, you will need from 1 1/2 to 2 cups of grits.

Turn down heat until grits just simmer. Stir frequently while cooking, making certain to keep heat low so they don't stick to bottom. Cook until smooth, or consistency that you prefer, but at least 30 minutes. If you add too much grits and they get too thick you can always add water sparingly to get the proper consistency.

When grits are done crumble all your bacon and stir into the grits, then add all the cheese to them, stirring slowly, so as to allow it to completely melt. Thank the good Lord for his providence, and serve.

No salt needs to be added, as the chicken broth provides all necessary. This is a pretty hefty cooking and will serve about 15-20 hungry bird hunters, or more lesser men . Takes about an hour from start to finish.

SRH

Stan,
I never shot over sunflowers before, do you bushhog strips in the field to open up bare ground for the birds to feed from?
Mike

We do, Mike, but they are more for access for the hunters, and to make it easier to mark down birds, than for attracting doves. Doves really like to light on top of the sunflower heads and peck seeds out. Many will alight between the rows as well. The most important thing, IMO, in preparing a sunflower field for doves, or most any field for that matter, is having the ground clean and free of weeds. Even though doves feed on the seed of many species of weeds, they prefer clean ground to light on. They have short little legs and really are much better suited to the air than the ground.

I'll take some photos after I spray the field next week to dessicate everything, and the strips are mowed for the first shoot.

21 days and a wake-up!! I'm worse than a kid waiting on Christmas day.

SRH