Going to start a food plot, but bag of seed says use 300 lb. fertilizer per acre.I am wondering do i till ground and spread seed and fertilizer together and then drag .Or am i suppose to wait till seed gets so high befor putting fertilizer on ? thanks for any information
Winter bulbs and sugar beets ... We've had a lot of rain here in southern Ohio and I'm just now being able to get to place that I'm trying. Yes with soil test, if it said to put '' x " amount of fertilizer on , would I put on with seed or wait til seed gets so high . I'm new to food plots so maybe dumb question. Thanks
just giving a quick general idea as I have planted brassicas many different ways from traditional tillage methods to non tillage methods with minimal tools. Spray Round up/clean up your plot from trees/shrubs to get the most light down. Get your lime (if needed) spread and tilled in asap. Wait a few weeks,Spray round up, wait a week ish', broadcast fertilizer, till, culitpack(drag), broadcast seeds, culitpack again and pray for rain. Them little seeds dont need to be too deep or they wont germinate. Or if you are in a time crunch mix your lime and fertilizer in at the same time. Effects wont be had right away, but pellitized lime is a good option as it works a little faster. You could broadcast more fertilizer (nothing meant for your lawn) once the plants are about 6 inches high for a extra boost. Try to time it before a rain. Good luck and keep us updated.
I not much of a farmer, just dabble in a few small food plots. I usually fertilize just before planting. Fertilize, till into soil, then plant. Ill then fertilize again lightly after germination. Not sure if its correct but I'm always afraid of burning up my plots with too much fertilizer once the plots established.
For us and the land we planted we tilled everything real well first, spread our lime and fertilizer (which compacted the soil enough), spread our seed and then pulled a drag over it just enough to partly cover the seed. Some seed needs to be planted deeper than others and some don't. Often brassicas can simply be spread over the plot at then end and the rain will set it.
Thanks for the information, i have already sprayed weeds couple weeks ago ,now going to try a slow burn or something to remove dead weeds.Then should be ready for some lime and fertilizer to til into ground befor spreading seed.thanks again
Jake, You seem to be experienced and possibly an employee of Antler King. Is it possible to create a successful plot doing everything in a day? I have equipment but no time. I was going to take a skid loader and skim off the top layer of weeds/grass. Till the area, Lime, Fertilize, Seed, and Pray in the same day or weekend. Is this even feasible or a waste of time? I am going to plant Antler King Honey Hole.
I am a prostaff guy. Doing a plot in a day is doable but my main concern is after you break the ground you release a whole new seed bank of weeds. Are you planning on having a food plot in this spot in the years to come? I dont think it is a waste of time though. I would go for it.The brassicas are fast growing and hopefully with some rain they will out grow the weeds.. The plot wont be picture perfect, but better then tall grass. By doing it this year you have started the process of making the plot for the future years. The lime wont be useable really till next spring. But the initial ground breaking work will be done. Please keep me updated and if you have any other ?'s post back here or drop me a PM. Thanks!
Jake, Thank you for the response. I will be using this area for a plot in future years so I guess you have a good point, it will be a good start for next year if nothing else. Do you think it would make a difference for this year if I used the powder hydrated lime that is supposed to be fast acting or should I stick with the pellatized lime and save myself the agony of of trying to spread the powder stuff. Again thanks for your help.
I use both powdered and pellitized. Pellitized is easier to spread for sure and faster acting then powdered, but doesnt last as long as powdered lime. 2 ways of going about this and I am not sure on your budget/ future plans. A. Do a soil test, add the proper amount of lime now as like takes a while to take effect. That way if you get it worked in now, and then some again next spring you will be headed in the right direction. B. OR seeing in how you only have a weekend. Get the plot cleaned off/up.Spread a bunch of pellitized lime out, some 19-19-19 fertilizer,till, CULTIPACK, broadcast seeds,cultipack and pray for rain. Next spring do a soil test, kill off the new growth and get your soil's pH up to snuff and make a food plot plan. (Also if you want to quick see what your soils PH is, Antler King sells a PH test kit(litmus strips). It will get you a quick idea of what your soil PH is. ) As you can see many ways of going about this and I can run down alot of options.. I am always thinking a year ahead when it comes to food plotting. Need anything else just drop me a personal message and we can talk more in detail.
Thanks for your advice. I told myself last year I need to get on top of this earlier but here I am again.
