I just got this hunting property. It has a creek that runs through it and years ago it had cow that roamed the woods. The woods is mostly oak and scrub brush. My question is what kind of food plot should I start and do you think the ground is fertile because of all the cows poop over the last 50 years
15 cows are put down there for 3 months out of the year. So they do do a number on the ground foliage. So there is a lot of open spots to with 6 different funnels and pitch points and farm fields on 2 sides
before you decide on a plot forage .....DO A SOIL TEST! you may be surprised at the results you get. the soil may not be as good as you think. the nitrogen from cow manure will evaporate fairly quickly....that is why farmers must add nitrogen to their fields every year. a soil test will tell you the phosphorus and potassium levels in the soil as well as the ph. if you want to plant clover, you want a ph of 7.0, but you need at least a 6.5....you also need to look at the organic matter level in the soil...anything under 3.5 is likely too light of a soil for clover to do well. clover needs a heavy soil that holds moisture. if the ph or organic matter is low, then i would lean towards a brassica plot. hope this helps.
Absolutley do a soil test as stated above. I was just throwing a simple legume out there that would last for a couple years. I would do a soil test or at least test the ph, but go out soon and spread lime reguardless on new ground. You've got alot of work ahead of you before you plant anyway so taking the time to test the soil is a must unless you wanna waste money finding things out the hard way. Best of luck man!
yes...it should tell you how much lime to add to get it to 7.0...but you can go ahead and plant it since it's over 6.5.
Planted my foodplot early this morning after the rain had passed through. I planted red and white clover. Also planted brassica, rye grass and a couple other annual clovers. I also been reading other threads about thorn bushes. I have lots of thorned bush that, grow in clumps. The food plot is in the center of area that has clumps of these bushes. Are these that beneficial for deer? It is going to rain again today so the plot should get plenty of water to start germination. I'll take pics in a couple weeks to show the progress
the brassicas wont be eaten until the first frost normally, so that plant in your blend may be useless.
The brassica is was just something I got from a sport show for free to try, so I figured I would try it out and see what would grow at this point. I'm a beginner food plotter so its really to see what works. I have a pretty big deer herd on my 80 acres of all creek bottom with lots of revense and pinch points. The property is in a huge bowl, ridge all the way around. All together with neighbors land its about 500 acres of creek bottom and its the same as my land. No one hunts the neighbors so I am working to hunt a small part that connections to the two properties
I have 3 trail cams out right and I will be taking pics of the food plot as it starts grow over the nexted few weeks
here is my 80 acres (woods and fields), my family owns both the houses in this pic above (only own whats on the side of the street with houses nothing across the street) here is mine and the neighbors in the back above (all creek bottom)
Hopefully all the rain we got here in Minnesota last night did more good than it did harm to my new food plot. I planted the seeds say yesterday morning and looking forward to seeing what grows in the next few weeks.
