Anyone ever try Plotsaver?

[meatmuzzy]

I am new to food plots but ive done enough research to know how to put them in.  This year i will be planting my first ever food plot.  I plan on using imperial power plant in the spring/summer and pure attraction in the fall within the same plot.  Have any of you ever tried the plotsaver system?  The field I will be planting will be almost an acre in size and I want to try and give the food plot a chance to grow before the deer mow it down as soon as it starts to come up.  Any input would be greatly appreciated as I am a total greenhorn when it comes to this stuff.

[meatmuzzy]

I just looked on a michigan forum and a guy who had success with it posted pics. Looks like the stuff works pretty good.  They said the ingredients were eggs, rosemary and mint.  Sounds like I could make a homemade brew of some sort.

[G-Man]

I have a friend who has used it with success a bit pricy for me. with a plot that small it will be  grazed unless you do something.. i gave up trying to save mine and plant bigger and more plots and will not plant soybeans or sunflowers due to the deer eating them all before they get a chance to grow(in a 3 acre plot) got 3 sunflowers one year ate all the heads off.. course deer food is what i had planted them for.....

[SplitG2]

MeatMuzzy, some questions for ya....what's your ph? How will you prepare seed bed? What's your deer density?  What's your goal, Nutritional or harvest plot?  Like Gman said, it's hard to get soybeans or sunflowers established on 1 acre.  The plotsaver works but you need to apply every 2 weeks.

[meatmuzzy]

the ph is perfect - right at 7.  Our deer density is pretty high.  I own a tractor with a disk so i will be able to prepare a pretty good seedbed.  My main goal here is to provide nutrition for the deer.  I wanted to get some feedback on the plotsaver because id like to see the powerplant reach its full potential before I "unleash the hounds" so to speak.  I would do the same for the pure attraction in the fall.  I know the size of the plot is an issue and i plan on expanding every year but i really want to get something established before i bite off more than I can chew.  there are areas on my property that are basically wasted space and i eventually want to convert some of these areas into "hunting plots."  Have any of you ever hired someone to clear the land of stumps and rocks for a food plot?  Im curious to see the cost involved in having it done.

[G-Man]

If you have a tractor you should be able to clear most everything you need with that. You could hire a dozer at least 60 an hour or more with gas prices going up. For that price you could buy a rear blade and york rake. Leaving stumps high let's you tear them out with a chain. With a high population of deer it will be tough to keep deer out, I had a big population and tried hanging bars of scented soap around plots human hair,scarecrows and a bug zapper with a short that would just snap intermittently. Finally just had to reduce the herd and plant more. I tried powerplant 2 years ago as did a friend of mine. Was not happy with results this was on good ph and well fertalized plot I see its more advertized as a southern planting now.. if you want a 2 season plot buckwheat followed by turnips would be good.  Glad to hear u have a tractor rather than an atv...they are made for this kind of stuff!

[meatmuzzy]

Gman what is a rear blade and york rake?  Ive never heard of them before.  You think I could tear stumps out with the tractor?  I wonder up to what diameter? That sucks about the powerplant because I just ordered this crap and the guy at the whitetail institute said it would fit my needs i.e. massive protein and heavy browse tolerance.  I think i have no choice at this point but to get the plotsaver and see if it works.  I already have a lot of money invested in this thing i might as well get something to deter them from eating it as soon as it comes up.

[G-Man]

A rear blade is a grader blade that is attached to the 3 pt hitch on the rear of a tractor. It can be used to grade soil,push brush,stone,rocks,snow ect. It is adjustable in angle. A york rake is also adjustable but its blade is made up of springs space about 3/4 in apart. It is used to remove larger stone,sticks ect from the worked soil as smaller partcle will go thru and the large are caught. Also useful for grading out a stone driveway or removing leaves off a trail to your stand.... I do like and use imperial whitail products I really hope it will work for you it didn't for me but I have a large deer population. You can try tractor supply or northern tool to find rear blades ond york rakes as well as auctions used equipment listings. There are a lot of other pieces of equipmet you will want brushhogs for mowing trails and maintaining food plots, broadcaster for seeding sperading lime and fertilizer. Ect ect.  The most important thing is to get the proper size for your hp tractor.  What kind of tractor do you have? You will find you can do so much more with a tractor than an atv or utv they have the weight and gearing to get things done! As for size of stumps depends on tree type and hp of tractor. I like to leave my stumps 3 ft and attach the chain to the top(use a good hardend high stregnth chain and lever them out. My 35hp tractor can do most 8to10 in trees this way bigger stumps might take a little digging and chopping a root or two to get them out but it can be done. Northern tool has a brush grubber for pulling smaller stuff(a big set of pincers on a chain) that a friend bought and liknes to use.

[growalot]

I've had good luck with this........www.deer-departed.com/milorganite.html ...

Well I see that link didn't work so....either type that in the bar...or Google milorganite and find that link....it's a fertilizer and studies at Cornell and Georgia have shown it really helps repel deer during critical point...when first growth starts

[meatmuzzy]

A rear blade is a grader blade that is attached to the 3 pt hitch on the rear of a tractor. It can be used to grade soil,push brush,stone,rocks,snow ect. It is adjustable in angle. A york rake is also adjustable but its blade is made up of springs space about 3/4 in apart. It is used to remove larger stone,sticks ect from the worked soil as smaller partcle will go thru and the large are caught. Also useful for grading out a stone driveway or removing leaves off a trail to your stand.... I do like and use imperial whitail products I really hope it will work for you it didn't for me but I have a large deer population. You can try tractor supply or northern tool to find rear blades ond york rakes as well as auctions used equipment listings. There are a lot of other pieces of equipmet you will want brushhogs for mowing trails and maintaining food plots, broadcaster for seeding sperading lime and fertilizer. Ect ect.  The most important thing is to get the proper size for your hp tractor.  What kind of tractor do you have? You will find you can do so much more with a tractor than an atv or utv they have the weight and gearing to get things done! As for size of stumps depends on tree type and hp of tractor. I like to leave my stumps 3 ft and attach the chain to the top(use a good hardend high stregnth chain and lever them out. My 35hp tractor can do most 8to10 in trees this way bigger stumps might take a little digging and chopping a root or two to get them out but it can be done. Northern tool has a brush grubber for pulling smaller stuff(a big set of pincers on a chain) that a friend bought and liknes to use.

I think I have the rear blade.  The york rake I do not.  I also have a plow, disk, and a brush hog.  My tractor is a 1978 Ford 1600.  Its good to know the tractor can be used for pulling stumps because that was one of my major concerns with breaking new ground.  Not too sure on the hp though.  Looking into a spreader for the atv as we speak!

[G-Man]

For the about same price you can get a combiination spreader for that will also spread lime (if you plan on doing more plots eventually you will need it. A 1600 is about 20hp on drawbar. it will do a most of your work though larger trees stumps will require some digging and root chopping. the others just make sure to leave them high so they can lever out.. when buying equipment for your tractor keep in mind it is under 30 hp as most equipment is rated for over or under that.

[Geno C]

i have used it before... i think it does work. although i do not have any solid evidence on that. i did plant a few strip plots utilizing plot saver and the plots did flourish great! i would think with smaller plots the deer would nail it before the seed got a chance to really root but much to my surprise the seed was able to germinate and become very lush

[meatmuzzy]

i have used it before... i think it does work. although i do not have any solid evidence on that. i did plant a few strip plots utilizing plot saver and the plots did flourish great! i would think with smaller plots the deer would nail it before the seed got a chance to really root but much to my surprise the seed was able to germinate and become very lush

geno thats all i needed to hear!  I just want to give the sprouts a chance to mature a bit so they can withstand the grazing pressure.  thanks!