Cleared land, now what?

[HawkinsHollow]

So here is my dilemma. I rented a bobcat with XTREME duty brush cutter and bush hogged about 5 acres that was in small brush/trees, vines and other undesirables. I would like to make 2 or 3 smaller (1/4 to 1/2 acre each) plots in that area. I am going to use my box blade to clean it up a little to get rid of some of the chunks of wood left in the wake of the bush hogging and even some stuff out. In the process I will be getting a soil test in preparation to lime and fertilize. I figured I would want to work the line into the soil, thus disturbing the existing vegetation even more than I already have. My problem is I will probably wait until September to plant as I will plant mostly Duranna clover and a few sections of annuals. What do I do with these areas until September comes? Do I plant some sort of cover crop? This is a flood plain, I don't want all my good dirt to go away while I wait for September to get here. What would you do?

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

Contact your local ag dept and find out what a good cover crop is in your area. You're going to have a weed factory (not the cash crop kind) if you don't get something on it.

 

[nybirdman]

Plant buckwheat;helps build the soil and prevent erosion.Put it on heavy,seed is fairly cheap.Fall plantings could include winter wheat or rye(good cold season crop).

 

[Thomas]

Maybe highway mix...clover rye grass etc.,or just winter rye.

 

[HawkinsHollow]

Did a little research on buckwheat, sounds like the winner. Cheap, fast germination and helps condition the soil. Plant early May and till under mid August for a mid September food plot planting. Thanks for your help gentlemen!

 

[coolbrze]

Yep, what they said. But why not plant your Durana now, worried about it not surviving the summer heat/drought?

 

[HawkinsHollow]

Yep, what they said. But why not plant your Durana now, worried about it not surviving the summer heat/drought?

Yessir! They say the ideal planting time for Durana in the south is February. More then likely I will not have my plots ready until around May, maybe later if this rainy pattern persists. That on top of the fact I have not amended the soil with lime yet, and they say a few months for that to work is never a bad thing. I am hoping to do this right one time and have a nice stand of clover for numerous years. No need to rush it. A crop of buckwheat can't hurt.