OK try not to laugh, but I am trying to get a sanity check. First food plot I will have done. Small woodland meadow. Probably no larger than 1/4 acre. I own no equipment other than an atv and don't want to spend the money on a disc etc for what is an experiment on leased land. So looking to go with a no till mixture like Backwoods Blend from TS. Cheap and allegedly throw and go mixture of red clover, oats, ryegrass and rape. Will mix in some white clover as well. Since it's a small plot and I'll be walking with a hand crank spreader for the lime, fertilizer and seed, I was thinking of getting some lawn aerator spikes to put on my boots and use those to work up the soil as I walk around liming, fertilizing and seeding. Silly and ineffective or worth a shot as an experiment?
Another food plot question
- Thread starter Scioto
- Start date
I would not waste my time, energy and possible injury doing that. Forest ground is typically loose anyways, so just remove the leaf litter. Sunlight penetration to the forest floor will be your limiting factor.
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MickThompson
Well-Known Member
Silly. Spray, leaf blow, and top sow. Ditch the ryegrass. You'll be paying that one off in herbicide for years to come. Plant roots can split rocks, no tillage or silly shoes required. The most important part is to get the seed at the right depth, and all the species you listed will come up fine on top.
i agree with mick! i had a small spot that was not easy to get to a few years ago and sprayed it in mid july and burned it a couple weeks later then sowed clover and used a rake to kinda get it mixed with the dirt and its still coming up with a little 15-15-15 and i have overseeded one time!
As mick said dont do ryegrass trust me deer wont eat it unless thats all they got!
with all that said you gotta have some sunlight for clover!
As mick said dont do ryegrass trust me deer wont eat it unless thats all they got!
with all that said you gotta have some sunlight for clover!
MickThompson
Well-Known Member
Do it and post the video!
And Yokel makes a good point on the light. You definitely will not be happy if there are trees growing in it, as they will beat the clover to the moisture, sun, and nutrients.
And Yokel makes a good point on the light. You definitely will not be happy if there are trees growing in it, as they will beat the clover to the moisture, sun, and nutrients.
The clearing is no larger than 1/4 acre in grasses. It is surrounded by 10 year old (give or take) former clearcut so none of the trees are very tall. Only one tree that I could find that could even accommodate a ladder stand (not a climber stand). Some cedars bordering. I'm not concerned about sunlight. I'll give it a shot and see what happens.
Vermin93
Well-Known Member
The cool thing about small plots like that is that it doesn't take a lot of effort to get your pH and n-p-k to a desirable level.
A really easy thing you can do is a soil test to see what kind of shape your dirt is in. I use BioLogic Labs for my soil tests. Just dig up some dirt from different parts of the plot, mix it up in a bucket, put a little bit in a zip-lock baggie and mail it to Memphis with a check for $7.50 and the completed form below. They will e-mail you a report in just a few days and will include recommendations for how much lime and fertilizer to use. You can buy 40 lb bags of pelletized lime at a co-op or Tractor Supply for about $4 a bag. The co-op will also have fertilizer or Lowe's sells 40 lb bags of 13-13-13 fertilizer for a pretty decent price. Obviously a push spreader would be needed for the lime and fertilizer....or a 5 gallon bucket and a loose arm.
http://www.plantbiologic.com/images/document/soiltest.pdf
A really easy thing you can do is a soil test to see what kind of shape your dirt is in. I use BioLogic Labs for my soil tests. Just dig up some dirt from different parts of the plot, mix it up in a bucket, put a little bit in a zip-lock baggie and mail it to Memphis with a check for $7.50 and the completed form below. They will e-mail you a report in just a few days and will include recommendations for how much lime and fertilizer to use. You can buy 40 lb bags of pelletized lime at a co-op or Tractor Supply for about $4 a bag. The co-op will also have fertilizer or Lowe's sells 40 lb bags of 13-13-13 fertilizer for a pretty decent price. Obviously a push spreader would be needed for the lime and fertilizer....or a 5 gallon bucket and a loose arm.
http://www.plantbiologic.com/images/document/soiltest.pdf
Hunter 257W
Well-Known Member
If it's in grass now, you'll have to kill that completely or the grass will overwhelm whatever you put in there. Also you need full contact with dirt, not piles of dead grass, weeds. I'd say a good treatment of roundup then once it dies, mow it and see if you can tear it out with a hand rake. You'll earn that food plot doing it this way but it should grow any of the various "Throw & Grow" mixes.
Good advice, I do the same thing, but want to be clear who is doing the actual testing (it is not Mossy Oak). The company's official name until recently was A&L Analytical Laboratories, now known as Waypoint Analytical. They have been doing soil test and other related agricultural studies for the last half century. I assume Mossy Oak must have a contract, partnership or memorandum of understanding with them to perform the soil analysis on their behalf. If you are in SW TN, you should drive over and drop your sample off and meet some of the people doing the work. Here is the website for A&L.Vermin93":1wyrs0le said:
http://www.allabs.com/
catman529
Well-Known Member
that sounds like a great spot to deer hunt. Good luck with the food plot. I'd mow it down very short before planting anything. Or spray it allOHVATN":3cmvb7am said:
Lots of great advice and help gentlemen. Much appreciated! Spraying the grass this weekend and to return 2-3 weeks later to prep and plant. Got some Imperial whitetail clover. Decided against a blend in favor of my own. Considering adding winter wheat. Thoughts or suggestions? Thanks.
