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We were thinking of giving a food plot a try this spring. Somewhere around 1/4 to 1/2 an acre. My question is, would using an 8 horse roto-tiller be feasible or would it take forever? Has anyone ever used a tiller for a food plot, and if so what were your experiences??
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Is an 8hp tiller practical? That depends on a number of things.
1. Has your plot been under cultivation as in farming?
2. What is your soil structure? A clay or rockey soil, CANNOT be worked with a tiller, without beating it & yourself to pieces.
3. Will it take forever? YES!!!, unless you can get someone to plow it first.
If you are planting in the valley area of lewisburg, you will have some good soil, however if you are planting near the mountains, most likely there will be a lot of stones and large gravel. Just a 2" stone in hard soil will really knock you around.
If the area is accessable by tractor, I would
strongly urge you to pay a local farmer, or someone who plows garden plots, to at least plow it first. My first plow was planted into wheat stubble, and I plowed it with a 16 hp garden tractor, than used my 8 hp tiller to work it. After tilling the soil fine, I hooked a plain old shipping skid with a few stones on it, to levil & compact the soil. The clover is doing GREAT! I now have an old Ford tractor, plow & disk, which is great for prepairing plots, however Lewisburg is a bit far for me to travel to do a food plot!
As to a tiller "releasing" weed seeds, as stated in a post above, just disking or plowing will do the same! I have had ground that
would not produce till it was worked with a tiller. The tiller will aireate your soil, and make it lay more loosely than any other method of tilling. Yes, you will need compaction before you plant, as most seeds require a firm (but loose) seed bed.
However you till your soil, the hard work will be forgotten once the deer start hitting it!
