I am going to try to establish a micro plot this year, this will be the first time I have tried and I am a little unsure of when to plant. I don't have much room to work with, I will be trying to plant some sort of mix on an old grown over atv path in some timber. It doesn't get as much sunlight as a field would (obviously) but it should get enough for something to grow in there, any seed suggestions would be helpful as well. Most of the articles I read on micro plots assumed you would be planting some sort of clover mix in summer, but is there a problem if you start earlier such as this spring? I would like to bring deer in as early as possible, and willing to put in whatever work is necessary, although I only have access to a rake and a weed whacker. I'm not looking for anything fancy here, just trying to get some sort of forage growing around my stand. any suggestions on when/what to plant would be great! I live in Northeast PA
I'm not sure what your earliest date is to plant up there. I'd go with annuals though. They will get going quicker than perennials. The lack of sunlight might hamper some varieties. I understand starting out with just a rake and weed whacker. It is lots of back breaking work.
A soil test is the first place to start. If you need lime, which in most wood's you do, then the sooner you get lime out there the better as it takes up to 6 months for that lime to do the job for you. If your pH is very low, there are less options for what you will plant that will effectively grow. For in the woods micro plots with low sunlight and less than ideal pH, your options are... rape.....if you can't get rape to grow, nothing will. Annual clovers.....berseem tolerates lower pH's, subterranean, handles low sun, and crimson clover High sugar perennial ryegrasses. Tad lower in nutrition but they will grow. oats, rye, triticale.....if your able to get the ground worked up or the seed raked in. Alsike clover, will handle lower pH's than most clovers Yes you can use some ladino or medium red clover but unless your pH's are adequate and there is enough canopy opened up, you won't be quite as happy. I advocate for a product called inner sanctum.
