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Old 05-30-2013, 11:08 AM
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Dampland
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Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: N.W. Wisconsin
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I too prefer rectangular or even better kidney shaped plots. I'm in N.E. Polk county, and am able to grow great clover/brassica plots in most parts of the property. I'm not a farmer, and only have access to my ATV and a small ATV disc.

I recommend discing up an area right after the snow melts and then wait until it greens up a bit, and then spraying it to kill everything. Then you can LIGHTLY disc it up again, and plant the clover/chicory. Try to have that done by the end of May each year, but this year is late, so you still can get it done.

If I have a plot I want for late season hunting, I recommend brassicas/turnips. But no need to plant them until mid July.

All of the seeds for brassicas, turnips, clover and chicory are very small, so you don't need to disc the seeds under. Just broadcast on your freshly disced ground and then lightly cultipack ... or drive over it with your ATV to make good soil contact.

Buck oats and winter wheat do well in fall also, but you need to cover the seed a bit deeper. and you can wait until September to plant.

With the deer density so high in Polk county you are wasting your time planting corn, soybeans, Lablab or anything similar unless you plant at least 10 acres per plot. Which is hard to do unless you have a tractor available.

I have approximately 12 ATV made food plots, with the largest being about 200 yards long, by 20 yards wide. It runs north to south in a snake pattern, as it was the logging road put in by the loggers 2 years ago. I immediately seeded it in clover the spring after the logging (last MAY) and this year it already looks amazing. I over seeded in a few bare spots, but basically it is a great looking plot, and right next to the poplar re-growth, so the deer can feed easily.

All my other plots are no bigger than 50 yards by 30 yards, and usually have a bit of a curve to them. I feel that if a buck can't see the entire plot from the woods, then he is more likely to step into the plot to check out the whole thing.

As always ..... soil tests are very important, but if you don't have the time/money for soil test and fertilizers, then I'd just go with Clovers.
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