Dove field preparation basics

**Carolina Counsel** · 03-01-2017, 05:37 PM

Would someone mind giving me a quick tutorial of how to plant a dove field, including general time frames? My take on it is plow, lime, fertilizer, spray and plant. If someone would post specifics for me, I'd be appreciative. We will be doing about 8 acres in sunflowers. Thanks, CC

**Gut_Pile** · 03-01-2017, 05:52 PM

3rd weekend in April to Middle of May

**nitro5x6's** · 03-01-2017, 06:17 PM

The best ones I have shot on had a mix of dove food- Corn, ( for cover to shoot from) sunflowers, millet, benne..

Planted in your choice of alternating strips.. Leave the corn standing .. and for a late season food source.

**DMP** · 03-01-2017, 06:58 PM

Do you have a way to keep the deer out of the sunflowers?

**Carolina Counsel** · 03-01-2017, 07:48 PM

Had a plot saver fence last two seasons. Worked great first year. Disaster last year- 100% loss. Putting up e fence this year.

**Duck cutter** · 03-01-2017, 08:37 PM

Originally Posted by Carolina Counsel

Had a plot saver fence last two seasons. Worked great first year. Disaster last year- 100% loss. Putting up e fence this year.

I may have told you this when we were squirrel hunting, I don't remember, but we planted a section of sunflowers around the perimeter of our field with a grain drill this past year. It laid them in really thick and seemed to keep the deer at the edges and they never made their way to the middle.

**rrconductor** · 03-01-2017, 08:52 PM

We plant 6 rows of corn skip 5-6 rows and then plant 6 rows of sunflowers. This field is 40 plus yrs old and has always been productive until this yr . With 2 hurricanes we lost everything standing and had the worse season we ever had. Field is about 12 acres planted and outside of Greelyville and I have hunted it for 34 yrs. I have killed a limit with a single bbl many times, it just sucked this yr because of Mother Nature.

**walt4dun** · 03-01-2017, 09:18 PM

Soil test now and lime accordingly. Plant in May.

**Two Barrels** · 03-01-2017, 09:36 PM

We bush hogged the remaining standing stalks in our field this past weekend. With this early warm up and the rain tonight, our field is only going to get greener faster. We will probably spray it as soon as we can with round up and then plow it once it's brown and plow again around mid April. We'll plant sunflowers in early May if the weather cooperates and then spray with a pre emergent. Once the flowers are up about 3 to 5 inches, it will be sprayed again. We only plant five acres and the electric fence goes up immediately after the first spraying.

**smallwater** · 03-01-2017, 09:45 PM

If you're turkey hunting, wait until season is over to plant. There is no agricultural practice exception in the turkey baiting regs.

Also, I've had good success with Milorganite as a deer deterrent.

**Southernduck** · 03-01-2017, 10:46 PM

Sunflowers are king. Unless the drain tile in my field miraculously gets fixed in the next 30 days and the 10ac dries up enough by 4/10, my field will be 90% sunflowers 10% corn just for cover. Every field I hunted last year the birds used the flowers almost exclusively.

I mow stalks as low as I can then burndown. I then apply 50% of my N and 100% of P and K. Around 2-3 weeks after burndown I plant (no-till) and come back with my pre-emerge (atrazine on corn, a number of different things on flowers) + roundup to catch any fresh weeds. 30 days later I will spray corn again with atrazine + round-up and anything else I may need, sunflowers will get Poast if grass is a problem. Shortly after the other 50% of my N will be topdressed. I have a cultivator for the sunflowers if need be. Have thought about picking up a hooded sprayer as well and trying some gramoxone or aim under it and may do it this year. Once the sunflowers are made and weeds start coming up (Sept 1) I will cut a path through the sunflowers to spray and follow that path spraying as often as needed.

**Carolina Counsel** · 03-02-2017, 08:41 AM

Originally Posted by Duck cutter

I may have told you this when we were squirrel hunting, I don't remember, but we planted a section of sunflowers around the perimeter of our field with a grain drill this past year. It laid them in really thick and seemed to keep the deer at the edges and they never made their way to the middle.

Good advice- thanks.

**Carolina Counsel** · 03-02-2017, 08:43 AM

Southernduck- thanks for the details. That's exactly what I was looking for. Good luck with your field. Mine will be dependent on how quickly I can get this tractor and whether I can figure out how to use the dang thing!

**Highstrung** · 03-02-2017, 08:46 AM

That won't work for long. Once the deer have found sunflowers and got a taste for them it's on. Give me a few, I'll type up something. I need to do some work so I can make a tee time..

**fuzzy** · 03-02-2017, 08:51 AM

Originally Posted by smallwater

If you're turkey hunting, wait until season is over to plant. There is no agricultural practice exception in the turkey baiting regs.

Also, I've had good success with Milorganite as a deer deterrent.

Unless it is broadcast on top of the ground, it is legal to hunt.

**Southernduck** · 03-02-2017, 09:09 AM

teo fences staggered are pretty effective in keeping the deer out. I plant a foodplot at one end of my field and they tend to stay in that and my dogs keep them out the other end. Hot lead would be most effective but they won't give you a depredation permit for a dove field.

**Highstrung** · 03-02-2017, 02:59 PM

Save some room for discing, I wouldn't touch the flowers. If they're standing and with food..only cut enough for standards to walk. Saving room for a later date is good for too sowing wheat. Corn is good cover. Pigweed is nasty. Clean fields help with less lost birds for inept people. Less loss birds means getting out of the field quicker which is good, plus less lost helps out with the crop of birds. If they can't find it, then they'll probably shoot another. Getting out of the field quicker will allow the birds to feed.

**SC quacker2** · 03-02-2017, 03:03 PM

Originally Posted by Southernduck

teo fences staggered are pretty effective in keeping the deer out. I plant a foodplot at one end of my field and they tend to stay in that and my dogs keep them out the other end. Hot lead would be most effective but they won't give you a depredation permit for a dove field.

I had good success using the Miller's Hot Sauce last year.