Food Plots Need some advice.

UnlistMe
Inventry
Tennessee Deer Sporting & Deer Hunting Community Forum

Help Support TNDeer | Tennessee Deer:

T

The Buoy-Master

Member
Joined
Nov 16, 2013
Messages
7
City & State/Province
Tennessee
Sorta new here and have been reading through a few good threads.Great site loaded with info!

I just started hunting 3 seasons ago and recently have had my daughter take a huge intrest. Unfortunately, the land I have been hunting is free yet we can hunt the field areas. Once the acorns are done...its all over for us.

I recently got a sweet deal on 100 acres and have permission to do what I want other than drive nails in trees. :) Money is EXTREMELY tight and I'm trying to kick around a way to food plot in a few small areas. In order for my daughter to hunt, i gotta buy her Bow, Muzzle and maybe a rifle...Not to mention ladder stands x4. Ugh. All I have is a small 125 2 wheel ATV. Its isnt much but it runs and its currently used to haul what deer we do get out of the property we've been on in the past.

After doing some research, I want to grow some winter wheat grass next season...maybe mix it up with some rye, clover and radish. I know I need to kill weeds all summer and maybe pick up limbs etc...So, My question is...What is out there that I can pull behind this 4 wheeler and break the ground up enough to get some roots going. A chisel type attachment or disc?
 
Going to be a challenge to do much with a 125cc wheeler. Most ATV implements require at least 300cc to pull. I suggest that you find someone who has equipment or services for hire to break ground up when you get to that stage. There are some on this forum who do this type work.

When killing the weeds you need to plan for multiple applications of GLY4 (Roundup), and may have to break out the weedeater to beat them back between sprayings too. Please note that you need to plan to spray before & after soil is broken up. There will be a ton of weed seeds that get "planted" when working the soil for the first time that will germinate a few weeks later.

Be sure and get soil samples done, and apply the correct amount of lime, otherwise you'll be waisting seed and/or fertilizer. With small plots you'll probably be using pellatized lime in which you need to apply 4-6 months before planting date. It can be spread with a push/pull type yard fertilizer spreader, or even broadcast by hand. IMO lime is more important than fertilizer for food plots.

As far as seeds, clover needs a good soil ph to be productive and is not a great choice for first year plots due to weeds. I suggest a mixture of cereal rye & winter wheat as both will just about grow on a rock. Once you get dirt prepped and seed spread, you can drag a piece of chain link fence, cedar tree top or trailer tailgate over the plot to cover seed. Right in front of a rain, spread a mixture of Dwarf Essex or Athena Rape and Daikon Radishes on top of soil. You do not need to cover these small seed as the rain will do that for you.

Weather permitting, the earlier you can get brassica planted, the better off you are. We usually start getting brassica plots in ground mid to late August if possible. They need about 60 days before first frost to get maximum growth.

Buy the above seed at Co-Op or similar store to save some money. No need to buy the popular name brand deer on a bag stuff.

Please know that food plots are not cheap to do and require quite a bit of work to be successful. However, they are a very self satisfying endeavor. Good luck.
 
Thanks for the reply. I talked to a buddy of mine yesterday and its pretty much the same thing he mentioned. Gonna be some work but I'm sure in the end, it'll pay off. Thanks!!
 

Latest posts

Back
Top