food plots for next year

[stevejedlenski]

i am planning on putting in some plots next year and was wondering a few things.

1. some of the areas are remote and what kind of equipment is best for tilling? right now it has really thick grasses and a lot of mounds

2. if i buy discounted seed now will it last until spring?

3. how important is ph and whatnot of the soil?

4. what kind of seed would do good without irrigation, the areas are small probly 1 acre a piece and some just small 200sq ft. i am thinking about irrigating one of the plots so if a better seed is availible...

5. with the plots being so small, should i use deer off in the spring and early summer so they dont over graze?

any insight will help

          steve

[Cody Gruchow]

a four wheeler is what i use to till my areas. but i have the resources already available to me. uncle farms. if your going to do smaller peices maybe use a garden tiller, that may work good for the small areas. now the ph does affect the growing, but i didnt worry about it to much, maybe thats why my corn plot didnt turn out very well. i dont know about the seed because i dont buy mine till the spring. i would just hold off till early summer to plant, depending on what you are going to plant. some dont plant theres till august. again this comes down to what you want to plant. if its just basic clover then wait till august, because it does grow fast. if your worryed about deer over grazing put up a small patch of chicken wire around a small area of the plot, so you can tell just how hard the deer are hitting it.

i dont know to much about this because i am fairly new at it also. so maybe some other members can put there in opinion...like HUNTERDOWN or DEADEYE

[deadeye]

Ok Cody, now you are putting me on the spot.   
First off there are multiple way to prepare, plant and maintain a food plot depending on equipment availability, site access and type of planting.   For the sizes you indicate, corn and bean would probably be a bust so like Cody said, I would start with clover.  We have always gone the no till route for the following reasons.
1. no special equipment required besides a sprayer. You can use a hand sprayer or for around $100 you can get a 15 gallon one that sits on your wheeler and runs off the battery.
2. minimal time and work.
3. less issue with weeds.
Here is how we do it.
1. Around Memorial day we spray with roundup.  By this time most plants are growing.
2. About two weeks later we spray again to get what was missed the first time and what started later.   At this time we apply about 100 pounds of 20-20-20 fertilizer per acre and broadcast the clover seed directly on the dead and dying vegitation. The dead vegatation is excellent cover for the young clover plants.   
That's just about it for clover.   You may want to cut it (6 inches high) in late July.



   

[stevejedlenski]

thanks, that seems simple enough...
anyone have any experiance with brassicas?

[deadeye]

Below is a picture of a plot.  It got too late in spring for clover so we just waited until August and broadcast a brasica mixture.  Turnips, rape and some chicori.  It was horribly dry and hard but we still got a fairly good plot.

[HD]

Depending on what you want to plant, no tilling does work for your clovers and brasicas as DE has discribed.

If you wish to plant round-up ready corn or beans, you need to some how get them in the ground either by killing the weeds off with round-up and drilling, or completely working the area down to dirt. If you work the area down to dirt, you can either broad cast the corn or beans and drag over or buy a cheap corn planter and make rows. (They sell them at most seed stores for about a 100 bucks) If you broad cast corn or beans, make sure you don't over do it, because you could get a stunted crop from overseeding.

Soil type: It is easier to plant in sand, but you should know your ph if you are planting anything. Clover and brasicas need to have ALOT of lime and some fertilizer added to the soil to get a good crop going. If your soil is clay, just about anything will grow, but it is harder to work with due to the wetness of the soil (clay is slimmy stuff in the spring) and still will require some fertilizer.
And, if you have alot of pine trees in the area, ph is very important, the acidity from the pine needles makes things hard to grow, so I would advise having it tested in that respect. Any co-op does soil testing, not sure on rates, because they may vary.

Discounted seed will last till next season, so that would not be an issue to store over the winter.
Most co-ops have wildlife mixtures that you can purchase, at a cheaper price than what you can buy at the "chain" stores. You get more "bang" for your buck. (Ha Ha! play on words) They have clover mixtures that will grow in your area, as well as brasicas. They also will have the round-up ready corn and beans. They should have on the shelf, by next year, round-up ready alphalfa as well. If you buy from the "chain stores" make sure you check the package, some seeds won't grow in certain areas and should be listed on the package (zones)

Keep in mind the sunlight factor as well, corn NEEDS sun, so if it is a shaded area, corn will not do as well. I would focus more on the clovers and brasicas in those areas.

Yes, small food plots will get over grazed if there is nothing else around for them to eat (farm fields close by) So, if you are planting to hunt them and you plant in the spring, I would put something in place to slow that down. Brasicas and clover can be planted later in the season and will be ready by the time bow season starts.

Equipment: Well a wheeler is prolly the best bet for the remote areas, sprayers are cheap that mount on the racks. They do sell discs for them as well, that are reasonable. Drags: Just about any used impliment business's will have sections of drags that can be pulled behind a wheeler, also a cheaper version, would be a piece if chain link fence attached to a bar, but only works best if the ground is completly tilled up and flat, (because it will just follow the conture of the ground and will not flatten it out) The drag sections will flatten the ground better.

Did I get all of your questions? If not, I'll check back and do my best to answer........

Please forgive the spelling errors........I'm typing this pretty fast, but you'll get the idea...Sorry,

Hunter

[stevejedlenski]

thanks,
our plots will look similar to yours. i think thats gonna cover what i need for now. i just have to go spend a few bucks now. ill probly have some more questions in the spring

[beeker]

one thing I did when I started looking for equipment to do this with was when I walked the fields in SD pheasant hunting I would look on rock piles and around the old abandoned farm steds. I was able to find 2 sections of drag that the farmer didn't even know where there. I asked and once I explained what I was going to do with them he didn't have a problem with me taking them. even pointed out a disk by a slew that he never used... the disk was buried and I passed on it. my cousin had a small tractor disk he traded to me for an old chain saw (love bartering). I've used these with limited success... but I've picked up a sprayer and I'll take the advice that has been offered on these pages and hopefully next spring I'll be able to get some nice food plots in.

even with the limited food plots I saw more deer on my land this year than previous years. it's been gradually getting better each year. since I've started adding things to bring em in and hold em. also the state or county offers bare root trees each spring. you can get apple and berry trees from them for a decent price and they're non invasive species.

also I see implements posted on craigslist .

[dakids]

We took a different route.  It was suggested to me on this site to rent a small utility tracktor with a tiller on the back for the first year. Breaking sod for the first time is prety hard on the smaller equiptment.  We rented it for 4 hours for 140 and tilled up 1.5 acres. We also purchased the hazard insurance for the rental, we have a lot of rocks. Only a few bucks. Next spring we are going to rent it for a whole day and use the bucket on the front to push the downed trees into a stategic row to create a new pinch point for bow hunting.  We will also till up the trails and plant them with a clover mix.  I think the 24 hour rate is less than 200.  We used a little hand crank seeder.   

[stevejedlenski]

what kind of trails are you talking about? if your talking like atv/ 4x4 in the woods, how well does the seed grow without much sunlight?

[HD]

Clover accually does do pretty good on trails, but high traffic by wheelers will kill it off.
And it does grow ok in lower light situations.

[deadeye]

Hunterdown is right.  We often spread some clover on the trails.  We don't use them much in summer and after cutting the trails in mid August, the clover pop out and looks great.

[dakids]

the trails that we are going to add are the ones that are on the tops of the ridges that the does are using right now to get to the food plot.  We do not plan to drive the wheelers on them other than to mow them a few times when needed.  the existing trails are on the edges of the properties and one right down the middle.  they make great shooting lanes.  I tried putting some clover seeds down this spring after only lightly dragging the trails.  most of the seeds did sprout but did not get very tall.  To many weeds and the deer did brouse on it.  Plenty of pictures on the cams with the deer eating.

 Should we start from scratch next spring with poison, or is there a weed killer that will not kill the clover mix?

[stevejedlenski]

ill have to try that as well. if i can plant everything it would be about 10% of our acreage, but we dont own most of it so we will have to ask nice. i think they would love the idea except for one guy. we just tend to hunt and not talk too much on his land he can be cranky sometimes

[HD]

I can tell you, that I heard through the grape vine that they are working on a round-up ready clover seed as we type...But, not ready for release.

They do have a round-up ready alfapha that is just waiting to be released. (When it does...I'll be planting that stuff!) Should be on the shelf by the 2009 planting season.

Yea, if the weeds are thicker than the clover, I would just re-do it. Killer er off and start over. The best thing that I can tell you is.....clover loves lime, it will be thick and full if you have enough.


Hunter

[dakids]

Thanks Hunter.  My brother told me that the round up ready alfalfa is 300 bucks a bag.  That will be a little to much for me to spend.  I will wait a few years until it comes down a bit.