Beginner food plot?

[Forest Hunter]

I want to try to make a food plot this spring and i just need the run down on just about everything. I have mybe a 30x30 foot area that i would like to plant somekind of a deer snack.

As far as i know a food plot is not baiting, i thought about buying one of the seed bags you see at gander. I know corn like the back of my hand but besides that im not sure how any of the other food plots works. I have seen other food plots where they just tilled the land and then put the seeds in and hoped for the best. Is making a food plot harder or is it easier then it seems. Its only me and a shovel and im not sure how to go at it. Your help will be greatly apprecited.

Thanks

[G-Man]

a 30 x 30 plot is pretty small... just about anything you plant will be devowered before hunting season. Your best bet will probably be a clover mix. this can be done by raking leaves/debri out of the area and scratching the ground to allow good soil to seed contact. Now before someone jumps in with soil test!!! Antthing you do will be better than nothing. if you spray the area with a round-up type vegitation killer and let it burn down a week or two and remove the dead vegitation"weeds". your plot will last longer. this seed is small and you won't need to till..just scratch well. if you have means to add lime as a liquid or pellet do so in amount recomended by test. almost all soil in nys is acidic. if no test a bag or two spread and raked in will work as a starting point. do not add fertalizer with nitrogen. a 0-10-10 or 0-15-15 will work. n-p-k n being nitrogen should be zero. its the simplist way to start a small food plot i know of.

[First-light]

Forest,

That was you best advice right there from G-Man. We did a small plot like that before we got the machines to do a bigger one. We used Throw and Grow and it really came up nicely. Actually that year we had deer, turkey and bear visiting the food plot. Now this was a staging area before the animals hit a corn field. They had bigger meals in mind but it did draw them to one spot. Good luck!

[Fantail]

If you spray don't use Spectracide! Especially if you think you might add any broadleaf into the mix.

[Forest Hunter]

I had a hunch that clover would be my best bet. I will scratch the little feild up and spray some weed killer and let it set this spring. I hope it will be big enough to make it to maybe the summer.

[Gthphtm]

What ever spray you buy,look at the recommended temp.for spraying.I have not used any spray or weed killer at all and in the last 6 years have planted many acres of conservation and wildlife seeds in areas that were wooded at one time.After clearing out as much of the roots and stone i York raked the areas over and over added the above stated fert, and plenty of lime.The deer go from one spot to another almost every day.Everything grew just fine.Have fun.

[Gthphtm]

Another thing 30' x 30' is not that big,think of it as a garden you also need sunlight for the grasses and clover to grow,I have some small plots like that and the are pretty well shaded most of the day and they are not as good as the ones that get sun most of the day.Also in the fall you have to go in there with a leaf blower or do a lot of raking because the leaves will smother the grass over the winter.

[Big Indian]

I want to try to make a food plot this spring and i just need the run down on just about everything. I have mybe a 30x30 foot area that i would like to plant somekind of a deer snack.

As far as i know a food plot is not baiting, i thought about buying one of the seed bags you see at gander. I know corn like the back of my hand but besides that im not sure how any of the other food plots works. I have seen other food plots where they just tilled the land and then put the seeds in and hoped for the best. Is making a food plot harder or is it easier then it seems. Its only me and a shovel and im not sure how to go at it. Your help will be greatly apprecited.

Thanks

So happy you brought this up, I was planning on doing the same thing, although maybe a bit larger of an area. Does anyone know if you can get clover in Tractor Supply or Agway, and if so is it ok to buy it now and hold until spring. Also when would be a good time to start planting? I know "THEY" always say around mothers day is a good time to begin gardens etc. Thanks in advance for any suggestions and help.

[cbx46]

http://iowawhitetail.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=45

This guy is a wealth of information. But very serious so I am reading all I can and then trying to figure out how I can make it work in my applications. But I was recomended this site on here so I'll pass it along.

[Gthphtm]

Clover can be planted before mothers day,it can be planted around the end of March and early April when the ground starts to thaw out.I buy my seeds from the local feed and grain store.Most of the wildlife seeds have a lot of seed that deer and turkeys do not eat.You can buy seeds and mix what you want.I have 3 different clover seeds mixed with other grass seeds.Clover seed is not cheap.

[growalot]

Welter seed and honey company is agood place for seed....they will sell in small amounts and if you talk to them they make a real effort to reduce shipping charges....I have them pack as many small bags as possible in one US postal box...

www.welterseed.com

[G-Man]

Try and get a white clover, local agway will sell small amounts, as will a lot of local feed mills. 30 x 30 is only a handfull of seed. you might want to see if a friend or farmer has a small amount you can buy. DON'T OVER SEED!! clover is small and if you want to see the seed on the ground you have to look close..if you can see it standing up you put to much down, and it won't grow as well as it should!

[Forest Hunter]

Thanks for the info everybody i really appreciate it i went and bought two different bags of clover seeds for april. I can not wait to try it out.

[dave6x6]

All great advice but i just had one thought G-man. I know clover produces it's own nitrogen but i still think he is better off with a 20-20-20 to start with. The clover needs the nitrogen to get started and then from that time on simply maintain the plot with a zero N blend. I don't think i've ever been given a lab report that didn't require N at planting time for clover.

[dave6x6]

If you spray don't use Spectracide! Especially if you think you might add any broadleaf into the mix.

This could be important because your plot is very small and the deer may totally wipe it out by summer. If you avoid using a spectracide you can go back in late summer and throw down a quick growing annual and be back in business for bow season. Lots of annuals have some sort of broadleaf in them and you may not be able to take advantage of this option if you spray with certain spectracides. Just a thought..

[Dinsdale]

Try and get a white clover, local agway will sell small amounts, as will a lot of local feed mills. 30 x 30 is only a handfull of seed. you might want to see if a friend or farmer has a small amount you can buy. DON'T OVER SEED!! clover is small and if you want to see the seed on the ground you have to look close..if you can see it standing up you put to much down, and it won't grow as well as it should!

+1 on the over seeding! Ask me how I know.

[G-Man]

The boost clover will get from the nitrogen is minimal to the boost it will give dormant weed seed. most clover is innoulated and it starts to fix nitrogen very redially. A lot depends on the soil if it is that poor it might be nessary for a larger planting. 30 x 30 ill try and have the clover as the only plant able to grow weeds grow a lot faster.

[dave6x6]

The boost clover will get from the nitrogen is minimal to the boost it will give dormant weed seed. most clover is innoulated and it starts to fix nitrogen very redially. A lot depends on the soil if it is that poor it might be nessary for a larger planting. 30 x 30 ill try and have the clover as the only plant able to grow weeds grow a lot faster.

Sounds logical G-Man. I'll definetly look in to this a bit more and maybe try it on my next clover spot. Thanks for the advice.

[shenders]

I need some information on the same topic of planting a begginner food plot. I am clearing an acre of property which currently has alot of hardwood trees. All the stumps will be removed and leveled. I am going to have the soil tested once it is cleared. My next step will be putting down weed killer and letting it sit for a couple of weeks. I would like to plant some clover and maybe put a couple of apple trees on the border of the field. Any suggestions or ideas would be appreciated. I will be using an atv to till the land. Any suggestions on what tiller to buy would help as well. Thanks.

[SplitG2]

all good info stated. If I was going to plant 30X30, I would plant an annual grain. Either oats or rye. This is a very small plot and want some food available for hunting season. I would spray the area with gly in mid may, July and mid august if necessary. Plant the rye grain or oats or both first week of september.

[BigPapa]

Hi all, This will be my first post here. Just found the site yesterday. Great to read all the knowledgeable posts and helpful tone on this site! Forest Hunter, I am also working on a small parcel in the rocky acidic soils of the Catskills mountains. I have had some luck with buckwheat, oats, soft wheat and rye grain as well as annual rye grass. These all do better where I have burned a brush pile. While Catskills forest habitat improvers don't have the deep topsoil found elsewhere, we have forest resources to work with. This time of year, you can do a lot to help the deer by doing some hinge cutting of saplings. If your forest is mature and open in the understory, then making patch cuts can provide browse and cover right away. As for foodplots, I agree strongly with the others who have recommended the use of lime. Not much luck without it. If you don't get time for a soil test before you plant, you could test your soil acidity with a simple pH kit available from a garden supply or hardware store. As a source of seed and food plot advice, you could also talk to http://www.mcdowellwalker.com/ They have a couple of locations in the area. If you get hooked on habitat management, then you'll want to read the resources at the QDMA website as well. The foresters at the Catskill Forest Association are helpful in recommending patch cuts and wildlife shrubs that have a chance to survive in this area. Many species that are listed as invasive in more fertile regions are not invasive in small clearings in a large mature forest. Good luck!