Hope to try a food plot

[Tenpoint]

Hi Guys/Gals,

My plan is to try a food plot this year. I'm hoping to do two areas, each area is about one acre. Right now I'm just gathering info and coming up with a plan. I've bough a soil test kit that does pH, N, P and K and will test the soil as soon as the frost is gone.

The land has previously been used for hay and pasture, and is currently overgrown with weeds (Doc, this is the same property we talked about last year).



I know I first need to get rid of the existing weeds and want to find out the best way to do that. I have access to a tractor with PTO tiller but no plow or disk. The next thing I will want to figure out is the seed mix and planting methods.

I was hoping to get the food plot started this spring, if it makes sense to do so. My objective is to keep deer feeding in that area next hunting season and to provide food through next winter/early spring.

Tenpoint

[1Shot2Kills]

Check out the first site when you Google "food plots", they have some great articles and how-tos that should be real useful to you.

[Tenpoint]

Thanks for the tip. I also got some good tips from Doc a while back.

I took some soil samples a couple days ago and will be analysing them soon.

Right now I'm trying to find a local farmer who will work up a couple acres for us, and spray, fertilize and seed as needed.

Tenpoint

[NYBuckhunter]

Would you be able to burn the area? If you can, do that then spray it down with roundup, wait a couple of weeks and then plow it all under. If you cant burn, do the roundup wait a couple weeks, mow it down and plow it under. For a seed mix, figure out what plants you want, and go to a local farm co-op or seed and supply store and get them. Youll spend a ton less than buying the "food plot" mixes. Also, try to find out what crops are being planted within a mile of you, and plant something different, that way it will peek the deer's interest more than if you had a few fields of it around.

[Tenpoint]

Hi NY,

Thanks for the tips. I'm not sure if we will be able to burn it. I was hoping to get smething planted this spring. It's pretty overgrown right now. Should I mow it before I spray it?

There is a good seed company here that does differernt seed mixes for various applications. They have a turkey and deer mix that sells for about $65/ 25 pound bag. How does that price seem?

Tenpoint

[NYBuckhunter]

If you can get a sprayer above the plants, spray it before you mow it. You want to kill the weed seeds as well as the plants. If you mow it first, you will spread seeds all over and they will be tougher to get rid of.

As far as seed prices go, you need to figure out how much seed/acre you need of a particular blend, they can vary quite a bit. I would shy away from companies that premix the seed blends, you are probably still paying more than if you bought seeds from a co-op. Your best bet is to do a little price shopping first.

Who are you having do your soil testing?

[Tenpoint]

Thanks NY. I bought a kit for pH, N, P and K.

[NYBuckhunter]

No prob Ten

[DocHolladay]

The tip I can give you before I head to work is, mow(bushhog) it now or as soon as you can. This will allow it to start greening up. Round up and such doesnt work on already dead plants. If you mow now, this will let it green up and let the round up do its job before plowing/disking/tilling.

[Tenpoint]

Hmmm... Mow, don't mow. Who should I believe?

No offense NY, but I'm leaning towards following Doc's advice.

Tenpoint

[NYBuckhunter]

No offense taken, Im just telling you what has worked for me.

[DocHolladay]

I think either way you do it, you are gonna have to spray again half way through the growing cycle for weeds again.

The last plot we did, we sprayed the "dead" weeds and then disked the following week(spray said we could disk after 3 days). The weeds came back pretty strong. We sprayed them again since they were about 6" tall and it was still early. We came back a week later to dead weeds and disked it under while adding our lime and seeds. It came up great and was weed free almost to hunting season.

As long as the end result is the same, it is good to go either way. I will say that if you are wanting to have several different plants in the plot, plant the seeds seperately or like sized seeds together. Most large seeds need to be buried at least 1/2" and small seeds can get by on the surface with some cultipacking. You will have better plant growth success than if you just spread them and either disked or cultipacked all of it.

I will say again, to look over the books in the Food Plot info link. They are invaluable and you can adapt them to your location easily. Tons of info!!

[NYBuckhunter]

Great tip on the different sized seeds Doc!

[Tenpoint]

Thanks again boys. I've bee working crazy long hours lately and have not had much time to work on the food plot. But I will keep you posted when I do.

Tenpoint