when to do it?

[JohnWester]

when is the best time to plant food plots?  the ground at my dad's is still semi frozen, and there is snow on the ground(with more coming)  when is it time?  and when is it too late in the year to get anything out of it?

[LandDr]

When to plant will be determined by the following...

1. What seed are you planting...cool season or warm season.  Cool season seeds such as clovers, alfalfa, chicory, etc. can be planted early spring or even in the fall as a dormant seeding.  It is also effective to simply boradcast seed onto snow cover and let the seed work in with frost/thaw action...only recommended if you can't plant any other way. 

Warm season seeds should be planted later when the soil temps reach 60 to 65 degrees or when the lilacs just start blooming.  Warm season seeds such as brassicas (rape, turnips, beats, etc.) prefer the warm soils and there is less weed competition at this time of the year as well.

2. When do you want your plants to be available...planting your brassicas later will allow the plant to be at a desirable height when a killing frost stops growth.  This will releave you from having to mow it...ie, if you plant early, it will get to a flower stage before frost and you will need to cut it back for fresh growth.

Soybeans, oats, wheat, etc. can be planted late to allow young fresh growth to be available during the early archery season and can provide some great results...they love the tender young shoots at that time of the year when most other plants are more mature and woody.

I had one person this week tell me that someone told them to plant his brassicas in August.  That is too late and they just won't amount to much more than 4 or 6 inches of growth.  Also, don't dormant seed brassicas.

Kyle, PLM