Hey folks,
I just returned from finally planting a food plot on some land that's in the middle of nowhere & well off the beaten path. I started 7+ weeks ago clearing a fairly level area that's just off two intersecting deer trails.

In the picture below, I'm standing right in the middle of the intersection of the trails when taking the photo. After clearing everything away, I hit the entire area with Round Up, waited two weeks, then hit it with Round Up again. I then waited two more weeks, went in with 20 bags of topsoil & 6 bags of munure/humus and spread out the soil/munure/humus in the back 1/3 of this plot which is basically a 17 yard circle. I then sprayed 2.5 gallons of Liquid Lime in the entire plot and let it sit one month. For those of you who think the 2.5 gallons of Liquid Lime is overkill, mind you- the pH in the soil was 4 when I started this project. Whitetail Institute Imperial Clover & Alfa Rack Plus need a soil pH of 6.5 & 6 respectively in order to produce optimal results.

I returned two days ago and cut a few small trees by hand & raked up any debris which had blown in over the last 30 days. I also took a soil sample & dropped it off to my buddy that afternoon so as to find out what the pH levels were (I expected the soil/munure/humus area to be higher than the other 2/3's of the plot). My buddy called last night to tell me that my pH numbers were 7 (in the soil/munure/humus area) and 6 in the rest of the plot! Needless to say, I went in there this morning, whacked a few big trees with a chainsaw on the far (southwest) side to open it up to some afternoon sun, put down the Imperial Clover & Alpha Rack Plus where the pH was 7 and put down a combination of No-Plow, Extreme & Secret Spot in the other 2/3's where the pH is 6.

I then put down some 13-13-13 Fertilizer, executed a "poor man's harrow" on the ground where the Imperial Clover & Alfa Rack Plus were, and then sprayed the entire area with 5 gallons of water.

Here is the result. It doesn't look like much right now, but the picture doesn't do it any justice. I'll update this thread with pictures every 3 weeks or so to keep you all "in the know" regarding the progress of this plot.

A prize to anyone who can spot my trailcam!

Rob