Bear with me for the lengthy post, but I will do my best to give you a set of directions here to end up with a beatiful plot.

First of all, how tall is the current growth in this field? If it is low enough now to just get through there with the spreader on the back of the quad then your fine for now.......if not then get it mowed first. Do you have a mower that you can mow it with or do you know someone with a tractor and brush hog that can mow it for a few $$$?

First of all the most important thing you can do now to have a great plot next year is get at least some lime on the ground now. The best time to lime is always yesterday, it takes 90 days for lime to effectively begin changing PH levels, and 6 months to a year to see the full affect from a spreading of lime. A jump start on this now will help you tremendously for a spring planting next year.

First thing I would do and it will be a major chore.......get yoruself a drop spreader from Northern Tool and Supply and get a full ton of lime on that field this fall.

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_41886_41886

This will hook up to the back of your quad and will spread pulverized lime nicely once you get it adjusted right. When you get it, you will need to get the vent on the bottom opened fully to get pulverized lime to flow right, I actually used a bungee cord to hold the handle in the full open position and once I did this I was able to spread almost 3/4 ton in 2 hours or so. In all I put about 1.5 tons of lime through mine this summer in a day and a half of work, but the first day I didn't have it adjusted and flowing right. Get this lime on the ground this fall, then get your soil test done in the springto determine how much more you need then and how much fertilizer for your intended type of seed. My big plot (plot #1 in my thread) is almost 1.5 acres just as yours and I spread 1 ton my first year and it did OK, however an application of a ton now and then some more in the spring would be ideal. Pulverized lime in my neck of the woods is about $70 a ton and comes in 50lb bags from the local feed mill, and the spreader will cost you around $225 shipped to your door.

Next thing your going to need for in the spring iseither a riding lawnmower or tractor with a brush hog. Get that field mowed as short as you can get it early in the spring as soon as it's dry enough to not tear the field up with the tires while mowing it. Once it's mowed super short, immediately (within 24 hours) spray the heck out of it with a generic glyphosate (generic roundup) that you can obtain from a local feed mill for around $50-$60 per jug that will apply to 5 acres. Get it sprayed and let it sit for 10 days or so, then if you missed patches and still have green growth spray again accordingly. I used a hand sprayer from WalMart for mine because I haven't decided to cough up the $$$ to get one to mount on the tractor yet. Once it has had a chance to really rot down, it should be VERY brown. Below are before and after pics of a glyphosate application for reference.





Once you have everything sprayed and dead it is time toread your soil sample test results and apply more lime and the appropriate amount and type of fertilizer for your intended plot, and then turn the ground and disc in the lime and fertilizer and break up the existing dead vegetation from your applications of glyphosate.

My suggestion to you is to split that plot into 3x sections for different seed types in case one doesn't do well in your area for whatever reason. Then you are guaranteed to have at least 2x other types of seed in there that will produce, and if all 3 grow wellI suggest picking seed types that thatwill provide forage during different times of the year from late spring to late winter. With 1.5 acres last year and multiple seed types in different sections I had enough forage that I was able to see deer using my plot from early October to March. I also suggest not mixing seed types but rather planting seperate "strips". Brassicas will get VERY tall when mature and will choke out the sunlight to the clover.

I would suggest 1/3 done in some sort of clover/chicory mix (Tecomate Monster Mix reviews VERY well) with a spring planting, this will provide your turkeys and deer with spring/summer food sources and is a perennial that only needs mowing and will come back for 3+ years. The clover/chicory will require a fertilizer application of something similar to 10/10/10 which is equal parts nitrogen (for the chicory), phosphate (for clover), and potash (for clover).

I would suggest 1/3 in a brassica mix (I love the MO Biologic Maximum), in a late summer planting. This will provide more forage per acre than anything I have seen and the deer seem to target this from the very end of September until the middle of November in my area. This is an annual and will require reseeding every year but the deer LOVE this stuff in my area. This will require a light fertilizer application of 10/10/10 probably as well as an application that is heavy on nitrogen. I use urea which is a 46/0/0.

I would suggest 1/3 in another brassica mix in another late summer planting specifically for late season forage that can potentially be overseeded in a winter wheat mix as well. I have had great luck with the MO Biologic Full Draw because it seems to have a LOT of turnips in it, and the deer eat mine from the middle of October until March. They only eat the tops until about January, but then start to eat the actual turnip roots from then until March once it really get cold. These will help your deer herd in the winter months when those does are carrying fawns and will help keep some extra meat on their bones that time of the year and should result in bigger, healthier,and heavier fawns with a lower mortality rate. This seed will require a fertilizer application pretty much the same as the Maximum I mentioned above with a light application of 10/10/10 and a second application of urea 46/0/0.

One other thing that I figured out this year. Once you have the soil turned, I really feel it is beneficial to get the seed in the ground ASAP to prevent seeds from weeds and other unwanted plants from taking hold. My plots that I did this with turned out MUCH better than the ones that sat around for several weeks before seeding.

After seeding I typically use a drag I made from a simply piece of chain link fence with a weight on top to drag over and slightly cover the seed. Seed depth is critical.If you can get someone with a tractor and york rake on the plot after discing to smooth things out you will get a better seed bed, however this isn't critical. After seeding then drive over with the quad with the drag behind it to just barely cover the seed and then go home and pray for rain. You can make one of these drags for cheap, below is a pic of mine all hooked up behind the lawn tractor I use for spreading fertilizer/lime.



Also, I use a hand held crank seeder when applying all my seed, you can buy these for $20 or so and I feel I have better control over where how much seed is broadcasted and where the seed goes with this.

Hope this helps, I'll add more later if there is anything I think is important. Also qdmaforums.com has a wealth of info over there and lots of people that have more experience than I do, I've learned a lot from them and from Farm Hunter here as well.