Matt/TN

I decided to try to plant my first plot today. Just kinda of an expirament to see how well certain seeds do in the woods. I picked out a spot about 40yds away from the woods edge and cleared all the leaves out. It's about a 30yd by 15yd plot. After clearing the leaves out real good we took a hoe and broke the ground up real good. Then we took a shoulder seed spreader and spreaded the seed. The seeds I'm trying out are as follows; Spring Oats, Ladino Clover, Alfalfa Forage Queen seed, Timothy Derby, and some Imperial No Plow. After spreading the seeds we took a garden rake and worked it into the ground. I'm going monday and buying some more seed because I want to put out a tad bit more. The seeds will get pretty good sun, mainly afternoon and plenty of water. What results should I expect? Also, when i go Monday what seeds if any should I leave out? They also had a Crimson Clover but they said the Ladino would have more benefit.

Matt/TN

Also, I got the mixture to see what all will react the best. So I'd like to hear from you guys what I should take out of the mixture. Also, what should I plant around August or September?

Matt/TN

what about no plow, ladino clover, and crimson clover. Need some idea's. Was thinking about maybe some Secret Spot XL.

IL-Cornfed

Generally in an area where you haven't conducted a proper soil test and applied the suggested amount of lime and fertilizer than you're best bet is going with something "grassy" and fast growing like Wheat and/or Oats. Clovers can be very picky as to where and when they grow. Another forage that I've found that does well in poor soil and without a lot of light is any Brassica blend and when Fall planted they become very attractive later in the season. For as small of an area as you're talking about, I'd be more apt to try one of the products like Extreme or Hot Spot, something that is formulated to grow fast and nearly anywhere. Try not to simply throw down a ton of seed, over seeding is a waste and if anything, can impeed your results, not improve them. Also, you want to get just a select number of seeds so when something does come up you can easily indentify as a forage species and not a weed. Good luck

Matt/TN

Here is a picture of it from this afternoon. It's hard to see the boundaries but it goes on about 10-15yds on past the tree with the leaves piled up around it straight ahead. There is also a spot about 15yds in diameter that we planted about 5yds from the end of it because there was a good opening in the trees. As you can see it gets pretty decent sun, I didn't use flash or anything. I'll keep you guys posted as to how it does. I'm not ecpecting much because it's just kind of an "expirament"

Matt/TN

theres a blue seed in the "no plow" that is starting to sprout already. maybe 1/4"

North Texan

From the pic, it looks like you are on a fairly decent slope. That is probably not a good place to try and develop a food plot. You don't want exposed mineral soil on a hillside. One heavy rain will wash away the topsoil and ruin the ground for generations.

farm hunter

My initial feeling is that there is not near enough Sun for a viable plot based on the picture.

Maybe enough for a small "desert plot" - but not a nutritional Food Plot.

You'll know soon enough - nothing like learning from experience to make decisions in the next several years. Keep an open mind, and don't let any predispostioned thoughts let you reach conclusions about the effectivenss of the plot.


Thanks for posting

FH

chucker34

Cougars, I am in a similar setup and tried Biologic Hotspot last year and the buckheat, oats, and peas (I believe) came up pretty well receiving only a few hours of sunlight a day. It came in full around late August and was pretty much gone, eaten down to dirt by the beginning of October. Good luck. BTW, not endorsing Biologic but am on board with Il-Cornfed. I consider my backwoods plots more experimenting and "farting around" to see what will come up with minimal effort, how strong, and what the deer seem to like. This year, I cut some more trees down to get some full sun and planted some sweet corn and pumpkins in addition to the hotspot plots I'll be putting in. Will be interesting. Coming in good so far but plenty of time for things to go wrong.