Hey Guys, So this year i'm looking at doing a small (approx. 1/4 acre) food plot just in the woods at our cabin here in Wisconsin. This is my plan so far. Let me know what you guys think and was hoping to get your feedback. I plan raking out the area to expose the dirt early this spring as soon as you can see the ground (hoping the snow melts soon.) and then I was going to spread a bunch of Lime on the area as the soil acidic so that will help with that. I'm hoping to have this completed Mid-April. End of June -ish I plan on going there on a weekend and Roto Tilling the first few inches of soil to break things up a bit and spraying some round up to kill weeds. I'll probably go back and spray round up again after a couple weeks to make sure I got the Weeds killed. My plan is to be able to plant around August 1st as the Bowhunting season opens 2nd weekend of September I believe. The seed I was looking to plant is is called Rack Maker Plus with Chicory from Heartland Wildlife Institute. I believe its Mainly Alfalfa, Clover and Chicory. Do you guys think i'm going about this the right way for me to be able to hunt it for early season hunting and then also through the deer season? Should I be using a different crop? Any suggestions/help would be appreciated.
I would hit the area with some round up first thing in the spring about the same time you cut your lawn. After you break the soil I would wait at least a week to see what new growth comes up. Round up is your friend . But yes you are on the right general track. Ideally a soil test to see what you are working with. This mix should last you a few years. I would frost seed the plot on year two March/April when the ground is thawing/freezing to fill it in, throw a bag of 0-0-60 fertilizer at it and keep it mowed here a few times over the summer. If you are looking for something to hunt over asap. I would plant some sort of brassicas or winter rye.
Thanks Jake, I'm really only looking for something to hunt from Sept through November and thats it. But I also want something that will grow back each year for a few years. Heres another Idea I though of. Do 50% of the Plot with a mix of Oats, Clover, Winter Rye (or some type of grass) and then the other 50% of the plot would be Chicory/ turnip or radish. If I did something like this, When do you think i should be doing my planting. Some other guy said i should be planting by may. but If i do that, I really wont have some time to let the Lime settle in before I till and roundup. Any suggestions on that?
Sounds like a good general plan just tweek it a little bit. Clear the plot and spray as soon as everything greens up this spring. Dont forget about a leafblower for leaf removal it works pretty slick. Spray it several times with a couple week gaps as weeds will most likely be an issue. Your mix sounds ok but I would add a couple pounds of oats or winter rye to give a cover crop and help control weeds while your clover establishes. Where will this plot be in WI we might be able to point you to a seed dealer where u can make that mix for half the price of the magical "rackmaker" bag.
Get the lime on it asap wether u can til it in or not. I spread lime in january two years ago and jumped ph on a small plot from 5.5. To 6.9 in a season. Just needs time. How much sunlight will this plot get?
This plot will get Ok sunlight as its going to be just up from a Pothole that has water in it. Theres a few dead trees that i'm going to cut down as well so it should be Mediocre for sun light. This is going to be in the Waupaca area. The thing i'm struggling with the most is the time at which I should do everything. I understand its best to lime like 6 monthes prior but i figure If i can leave it sit for even 2 months it should help dramatically. I figured I'd go to our local fleet farm or something and get like 6 bags of pelletized lime is what a guy told me to do and just spread it all over and rake it in a bit after clearing the area of leaves ect. Like i mentioned before, I want something to draw deer in from opening of bow season till gun season. Thank you guys for all your help I really appreciate it
Also, Its hard to lime right now due to us having like 2 feet of snow on the ground LOL. I usually dont have access to the ground till mid-April or so
If you plan on planting this year you probably won't have anything to do hunt over until 2015 as clover/chicory mixes don't germinate well the first year (my experience) especially if there is not a lot of sunlight throughout the day. So I would mix in some brassica to get some greens in the plot which will get the deer coming to it. When you spread the seed, mix it with Milorganite which is low in nitrogen but the key is it is about the same size as the brassica or clover side so mixing it 4 parts Milorganite with 1 part side makes for a great spread (you don't over seed). While it does not have much nitrogen every little bit helps to jump start the plot.
I have to disagree with the previous statement to some degree. To me if your looking for a failproof first year plot going with clover, winter rye and oats will be much higher percentage of success than brassicas. This is a 1/4 acre clover, oats, daikon radish, and winter rye plot planted July 15th of last year on a deep woods low light spot. There is plenty to eat there in its first few months of growth. The deer pounded this plot and it stook up well to browsing and foot traffic. Do to the summer drough I did overseed and extra 5 pounds of rye October 1 just before a 2 inch soaker and it filled in nicely. My experience with brassica on the same semi shaded spot were terrible. Brassicas in less than idea sun are a recipe for dissapointment in my book. I would not be scared to mix in a 1/2 pound of brassicas to your mix but I would not rely on them to be the big draw in a poor sunlight spot. You can barely find the radish in this plot and where they did come up they did not thrive. Now on a spot with good sun the same mix pumped out this product and the radish did very well. Again in 3rd spot this is ladino clover planted in may with a little oats throw in. Plenty to eat there just months after planting.
Kurveball, you are in about an hour from me in WI I feel your pain on the snow melting issue. I am just saying to get it on there as soon as you can when the snow is gone. I cant get to my land by vehicle or on foot right now either. Get a soil test, it will be the best 10 dollars you ever put into that plot. Odds are you will want a bag or two of triple 19 as your soil will be lacking all the major nutrients right off the bat. Do it big the first year and you will get the benefits right away and have little to do with it the following years.
Thank you. From talking with friends, most of them tell me to plant clover and oats as they both do pretty good in shady areas. I think i'm going forget about getting the Rack maker mix. Any suggestions on where I can get a mix of Clover, Oats, and a Rye ?? I'd think i'd have good success doing something with those on a good portion of the plot. And then on the other portion I'll see which part gets the most sun and maybe i'll plant some chicory or radishs. I'm thinking this sounds like a good plan? Also, while were on the subject. I've read about fast acting Lime like liquid lime. Ever use that before? Since I have limited time to sit and wait full time for lime I thought maybe something like that. Can lime be applied again after this archery season so it can sit for the winter.
I cant think of a mix that has all of those ingredients in it as I dont buy pre mixed seeds anymore. There has to be a feedmill co op or other location somewhere in your area that sells seeds. I get most of my stuff from Pulaski Warehouse but that is probably an hour from you. If you have to get a pre mixed seed blend from some big company just read the seed tag on the bottom and pick the best one that fits your needs. The biggest problem with mixes is different sized seeds that should be planted different ways. For what I said, you would need to lightly work the plot and then spread rye and oats and lightly drag again. Then spread your clover and pack it with something if you can or just wait for rain to do that part. Oats and rye should be buried just a bit and clover doesnt need it honestly. Never really a bad time to lime. If you want to dump a bunch on that plot in December when your done hunting go for it. I have no knowledge on the liquid lime.
I heard Jay Mar has some food plot seed,i never been there yet. I am also in Waupaca Cty. Tons of options as you can see the more you get into it. I would go the winter rye/little bit of brassica and clover route early August. Lime- watch Menards too for some pelletized lime on sale. Fleet Farm too has good stuff.
Where in Wisco are you? I'd love to come help and give you pointers. I have a lot of experience planting small plots, and harvesting booners off them!
