good advice needed

C

captaincoot

Banned
Got some bags of millet and wanted to seed some in the pond in my crp. When is a good time to do this and how much? Pond is drained down to a couple acres and I'm hoping in sept we get the rain to get it to 5 acres. Do you seed in the standing water or just the muddy edges? Thanks for the help guys:)
 
Coot,

Hopefully you can control the water level, meaning if you plant the pond edges and you get a good rain and the water goes over the planting you are wasting your time.

Ruff up the edges, nock down the weeds clean updead foilage etc. An ATV with chainlink fence with some weight on it works pretty well.

I would suggest a mixture of Millet, Sorgham and maybe a little Buckwheat. Millet 25-30lb an acre when broadcasting. Hopefully when it get about 16" tall you get a good rain and it floods the planted area.

Good luck
 
We are doing it now. Wild Millet, Japanese millet, will sprout and grow on about 4" of water. Get it in now. It will take 60plus -90 days to mature. with Iowa duck season early, you need the time. Broadcast is O.K. seed liberally, the seed left will sprout next year. A little discing or soil disturbance will make it better, but be sure you don't perforate the pond pan, or all your water will be gone. If you have water, use sago pond weed, or use wapato. or arrowhead in the late fall. All puddle ducks love sago!
 
You didn't state what variety of millet you have. It makes a big difference. If you have German or Proso millet, the poundage Okie listed is ok. If it is Japanese millet, you need to go lighter, say 10-15 pounds per acre. Japanese has a tendency to not produce heads when planted too thickly. Also, the Japanese is best planted into soupy substrate. It doesn't sprout as well if the soil is dry. Further, you will have more competing vegetation if planted dry and some of those plants have a competitive advantage over the millet. If you are stuck with a dry seedbed, you should disturb it before planting and again after. A small harrow behind the ATV works well, though I have used a cattle panel or bed spring in a pinch. O&N is right, it will take about 75 days depending on your variety to mature. We do plant as late as August and get by, but if you're dependant upon rainfall for filling, you may want to err on the side of early. Japanese millet will do fine with some flooding as long as part of the plant is above water. Other varieties will not.
 
I got jap millet. It's really wet so can't disc in. but will it grow if you put it on top of ground. I can control water and rain in forcast i'm thinking I should try now. Whats a good crop for dove? Tons of them out there. I was thinking sorgum. Thanks guys:thumbsup:
 
Sunflowers are probably best for dove, but it's too late to plant them. Right now I would go with German Millet. You can have them baled and shatter the heads doing so. That operation will bare the ground like you need for doves to use the area and it will pay for your efforts as well. Proso millet would also work well.

Getting the Jap millet on the wet soil will be excellent! If you can control the water, you could irrigate it some should it show drought stress down the road.
 
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