5.31.2011 Disked the ground without plowing. After 8 passes or so it worked up real nice. I like to plow the ground first, but like most everyone else we got behind with all the rain (no complaints though) and so just got things in the ground as quickly as possible. Planted 4 separate plots. One large one, did 1 pass of Buck Forage clover, then 1 pass of WhiteTail Institute Clover, 1 pass WTI Premium Blend, then finished out with BF clover. 3 smaller plots - 1 got WTI Extreme (made for rough ground.. ha!), 1 got WTI No-Plow, and the third got Buck Forage Chicory.

The chicory is usually planted in the fall, which we'll do as well, but can be spring planted. Right now we're experimenting to see which plots grow the best under the weather conditions we usually get - you know, hot, dry, and hot.

You'll notice we planted WhiteTail Institute seeds as well, even though we don't sell those. We want to see what works the best for our area. I don't want to sell anything unless I think it really is the best, or at the least as good as comparably priced products.

Updated 6/6/11 Got a little shower of rain Saturday night (6/4) but haven't had time to see if anything is sprouted yet. I think it was enough rain to get 'em germinated though.

Updated 6/16/11 Had a thunderstorm roll through Thursday evening, the 9th. Had been out bush hogging in the heat, so sat on the porch and drank a Pabst that was left over from a party last summer, and watched it rain. The beer tasted better than it had any right to.

Got a sprinkle Saturday night (6/11)and a better shower this morning; enough to settle the dust plus a little. Things are germinating out there, not sure if it's weeds or seeds! I do notice a dark, thick patch where my farm help musta not been paying attention to the slide gate on the spinner. My oh my.

Updated 7/22/11 Well, not much new news, but we have had a few much-needed storms roll through, which are always a gift this time of year. Everything is looking really nice and green, even though the rain has been scant. (as usual) Just took delivery of the oats yesterday, so we're ready to roll now!

Updated 12/3/2011(finally) Been busy with my real job, so this is lacking. Anyway, none of the spring planted seeds did well. A combination of late planting and then our usual drought wasn't a good combo. Next spring I intend to plant all kinds of seed again in March/April, especially the clover.

However, the fall planted oats are doing great! Even with the recent frost they are, as promised, staying green. Now that the soybeans have been harvested, I expect to see deer grazing the oats. Will keep this updated.

Updated JULY 2012 (good grief) Okay, so here I am with my up-to-minute reporting. All 3 seeds that were fall planted did great. The oats and clover especially impressed us with their weed suppression. Both of them came in very thick and nice and choked out quite a few of the problem weeds we have. The chicory also did well duking it out with God knows what in the little plot where we tried it, and it's worth noting that the soil is just about as poor as it can be where it was planted. It's only one year but so far we are very happy.

Updated Jan. 2013 Fall planted the oats, clover and chicory again, using leftover seed from 2011. I can't tell the difference. It all came up beautifully. I also planted a plot that had oats in it last year to see if there's any carryover fungus, blight or whatever and so far no. As of this date (the 15th) the oats are still green, not dormant. A few weeks back we had cold temps at night, down in the lower 20's and they did get pale. This week we've had warmer temps and they greened right back up.