gil1 said:
deerchaser007 said:
Go to your county UT extension office and ask for a soil test kit. It will tell you what to do. Send your dirt in for testing and they wil tell you exactly what you need as far as lime and fertilizer. No step is more important than the soil test and applying the correct amount of lime and fertilizer. Without it,.. you are throwing money away in seeds and working up alot of sweat for nothing!!
Yeah, but what's the point if it's too late to apply lime before fall planting? If it takes 6 months for lime to work and in turn kick off the fertilization process, you're throwing all that money away anyway. You're 3 months too late. I'm asking, not telling.
It depends on if your planting for hunting purposes only or if your planting for management purposes and high nutrition plots for the future. If your planting for just hunting purposes,( attraction plot only), yep this fall is a bust if you want something with a high ph level required for planting. Such as oats. BUT,.. if your goal is overall management for the future and establishment of high nutrition plot,. you will be fine. As long as you do it smart. Go ahead and get the lime and fertilizer in as soon as possible. In september,.. don't plant forages that require high ph levels. Stick with annuals that have a lower ph requirement. In a situation such as above, if i were in his shoes i would give up on white clover this fall. I would plant annual clovers such as crimson and arrowleaf. These can perform in low ph levels. Also , dwarf essex rape and winter wheat or annual rye is better for lower ph. Using these seeds will provide a great forage while the lime and fertilizer are working into soil. AND,. by the time spring comes in,.. your lime will have took place in the soil,.. and this plot will provide high forage til it dies out in july. THEN,.. he can plant in buckwheat to help the soil til september planting again. By this time,.. he can plant anything he wishes.
I had the food plot pictured below cleared by a dozer in mid august. At the first of september i went in and applied 2000 lbs of pelletized lime and the appropriate amount of fertilizer from my soil test. PH level was 5.3 at that time. The same day i sowed crimson clover, arrowleaf clover, winter wheat,DER, and austrian winter peas. That pic was taken the 2nd weekend in october. Those seeds will work in lower ph soils. I've done it. Hambone, another tndeer member has done it. These seeds will perform while lime and fertilizer take effects. And produce great results. Heck,. these seeds work well in high ph soil levels also. I still use them. :grin:
Another note. Some soil specialist will tell you that pelletized lime will act faster. Some say it don't. I don't know for sure,. i have to use pelletized because of terrain. BUT,.. i have read in numerous food plot articles were they apply ag lime , then apply a top coat of pelletized lime on top of the soil to react in the soil faster for quicker germination in food plot establishments. I feel it has merit simply because many seed manufacturers use a coating on their seed that consist of lime.
You can have successful food plots while you develop appropriate ph levels. Alot of managers have to manage their property with money stresses. Sometimes a manager must establish ph alittle at a time every year. The key is not waste your money on seed that will not work.
