308BLR

I am new to the food plot world, but after reading everything I could from this site and several others I am in the process of putting one in this year. It's in an ideal location, far from roads and close to lots of cover. Roughly 50x70 yards, about .75 acres I believe. I've takes the soil sample to the ext. office, but couldn't wait to get started. Ran a disk over it a few times and applied 1200# of pellet lime. Just got a few inches of ice/sleet, so that should help it leach down into the soil well. After the ground thaws a little I'll be back up there to really disc it up good while everything is nice and soft. There's still some grass in places, and may have to burn that off at the first opportunity. Found an old box spring on the property that will be perfect for a drag/shed trap, which I'll be rigging up in a few weeks. Right now I'm planning on planting Imperial Whitetail Clover, or possibly their clover/chicory blend...pending results from the soil sample. Any opinions/advice? I want to plant at the earliest possible time, and I'm curious about frost seeding. Also, will thorough disking help reduce the weed/grass problem in this plot? I don't want to wait until it greens up to apply Roundup. I'm looking at other ways to improve the land, but there are several brushpiles, plenty of plum thickets, 2 ponds, briar patches, pasture and woods on the property. Some controlled burns are probably on the agenda before too long. Sorry for rambling, but I'm pumped about this, and would really appreciate any advice or feedback ya'll might have.

USFWC

You probably should have waited until you applied the herbicide before discing, but it's not a big deal, you'll just have to do things a little differently now is all...and if you are going to frost seed, you can forget applying roundup until you plan to plant something else in the plot, otherwise you will kill off what you have planted.

There is nothing wrong with being anxious, but slow down a little and think about your goals...do you want a planting that is going to be available and attract deer during the season, or are you looking to help out their nutrition? Both are fine, but they require slightly different approaches.

Where in N.E. Oklahoma are you located?

308BLR

The property is between Hominy and Skiatook, close to Skiatook Lake. Lots of deer around, and some pretty good ones too. I'm more interested in overall nutrition of the deer, as well as hopefully bringing in some turkeys and helping out the quail and rabbits already on the place. I guess if I want to use the plot during next hunting season I can overseed with something else if necessary? Thanks for the reply!

TEXOMAWILD

Im pumped too.. Theirs lots to tell youabout a project like this . .75 acre is a good food plot to contribute to herd health. it fits land up to 30 acres by the rule of .25 acre to every 10 acres.I dont know the land aroud tulsa ,but i coud look at some satalite images to see.I dont use herbicde .I just let the native seed play out over the seasons. rather than add stuff to the natural habitat and take a chance of running somthing off. Another important thing is dont burn stuff that is the naturalhabitat of the animals you are trying to bring in or hold..Id have no prob if you wanted to pm me. clover is a good choice .You could also mix in some turnips for a protien boosttopromoteantler growth. Also it could take 6 months and a few discings to get the lime to activate. Here in thewichita falls area,We mostly dont need lime becouse our land is at the other end of the scale. the brush piles you have could be used to develope more quail habitat . hope this keeps you stoked

IL-Cornfed

Sounds like you're on your way to making a decent little food plot for your local wildlife. The clover/chicory blend would be an excellent choice. The clover will look beautiful in no time at all IF you can keep the grass out of it with the proper herbicides. The chicory will save the entire plot if dry/drought conditions persist this season. Your clover can turn yellow and go dormant but the chicory (with it's super deep tap root) will be lush green all summer long. I personally believe this combo panting is one of THE best anyone could go with for a quality nutritional plot to helpyour herd during the critical spring/summer stress period. Best of luck to ya.

308BLR

Thanks for the comments. My concern with clover/chicory is that a spring planting may not give enough time for the plants to get established before summer heat arrives. Again, I have no personal knowledge...just going off of what I've read. Now kind of curious about Alfa-Rack too.

IL-Cornfed

Also, the bad thing about any type of clover planting is that generally it doesn't look that good it's first season anyway. It simply takes clover a while to really catch on and grow a thick dense carpet. That's why many establish their clover plots by selecting a different screening planting first. However, if it is a nutrtional plot that you seek, I do strongly suggest that you go with the clover/chicory. Alfalfa is another great choice but it's a lot more critical than clover is so it probably isn't a better choice for ya.

308BLR

Back out at the property w/ the food plot today to do some rabbit hunting. Jumped 7 rabbits, two coveys of quail and about 8 deer. Only shot one rabbit but my beagle pup seems to be getting the hang of things. Posted this here because for the first time I noticed several places where the rabbits had gnawed the bark off of small sumac...like little rubs right at the base of the plants. I had no idea they did that until someone mentioned it in this forum. Anyhow, good day in the field.

USFWC

Yep, those rabbits are very good at knocking the natural succession back.

The brassica and clover mix should do decently, but to retain soil moisture you may try something like iron & clay cowpeas with forage sorghum or pearl millet....with a lower seeding rate than normal for the millet/sorghum.

By the way...check your pm's here in a minute