no plow food plot
 

hi
the land i hunt on has a 1 acre clearing that I have always wanted to try and grow a food plot on.
the only problem is there is no way to get a tractor or an ATV in to till the soil.
so I am thinking of trying a no plow seed.
but I am not sure where to start.
any help would be greatly appreciated.

-max

RE: no plow food plot
 

Depends on what you want to plant. I have done this and it can work. Only thing is can you burn off what is there without starting a forest fire. This is the best way to get rid of the matted grasses. Then after a rain when the ground is softer broadcast your seed and try to do it when rain is in the forecast

RE: no plow food plot
 

yeah not too sure about burning the leafs away
the land owner hopes to clear cut the trees sometime the the future and last thing i want to do is make him mad.
the price of corn went sky high this year and i've had it.
I could have bought some carbon arrows with the money i spent.
if the season starts around september 8th when should i plant? and how long will it last?

RE: no plow food plot
 

throw-n-grow is great all ya need is a rake i found that you can kill out all veg just as if ya wa going to plow then burn then rake then use throw-n gro

RE: no plow food plot
 

Food plots aren't magic, and good ones aren't cheap to make.

A good 1-2 acre plot is a commitment in time, money and energy - and will run you $200 to $600 before you are done depending on the soil type and preparation required.

You need to weigh the pros and cons for your situation. Lets just say - you cannot just toss out a $25 bag of seed and expect any realistic results for deer hunting.

FH

RE: no plow food plot
 

Dont know where you are but you can frost seed.

RE: no plow food plot
 

You need but the videos whitetail paridise maybe you can lower you cost thats way to much for a 1-2 ac

RE: no plow food plot
 

Okay I'm changing my mind about this.
that plan might not work so well for me.

now I'm thinking i might plant several plots that might be about the size of a garden if not smaller.
the main reason for this is I am refusing to put any more corn out. I burnt a hole in my pocket this season paying $7 for a 50 pound bag and I bought two or three bags a week.
take that number times the ten weeks i put corn out last season and it comes to over 150 bucks a season and for me that is way to much for lousy corn.
so i hope that by growing a small area around four stands i might be able to save myself the workout of carrying a bag over 700 yards and maybe a buck.

my question now is what can i grow that will attract the deer as well as acorns or corn but will benefit the deer?
nobody grows crops in the area, just cattle farms and hay fields.

I'm starting to second guess if i should have put this in the deer forums.

RE: no plow food plot
 

A one acre food plot is a pretty big hunk of land (about 208 ft by 208 feet). Especially to do by hand. Something you can do is use Round Up to kill the weeds. Get a back pack sprayer and go to it. You'll want to wait til first green up in spring for the first spray, and probably a couple more times into early summer. Go with a higher concentration of Round Up and spray lightly. This way you won't have to haul as much water to your spot. After everything is dead it would be nice to burn it off if you can. I would suggest a brassica mix of rape and purple top turnips planted in late July or early August.

What kind of soil and weather do you have?

RE: no plow food plot
 

"my question now is what can i grow that will attract the deer as well as acorns or corn but will benefit the deer?
nobody grows crops in the area, just cattle farms and hay fields."

Deer prefer white oat acorns to nearly anything that man can grow but they do not hit every year. You can save a lot of timeand money by waiting until the predominant grass goes dormant before planting.In this part of OKmost of us do not plant until the Johnson grass turns blue.

Oats should work well in your area. Do not pay big bucks for oat seed.Go to the Co-Op and buy race horse oats, they grow just as well as the high priced stuff.Buy some turnip seed to plant with the oats. At one of our places there are very few oak trees and the deer are hitting our oats patches hard. At another place there is a bumper crop of acorns and the deer are not coming into the oats as frequently.

Good luck on your game plots.