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.

RE: no plow food plot
 

I don't know the terrain, but it seems that there would be some way to open up a trail to get a 4-wheeler in there. The size bushes and small stunted trees that would be taken out are going to be torn up anyway when they cut the timber, even if it is 10 or more years down the road.

RE: no plow food plot
 

I think i could get an ATV in there if i cleared out a few areas, but I do not own one. I do own a tractor but i think it might get stuck or even tip trying to cross one of the two creeks i have to cross to get to my stands.

I'm thinking about planting in late July or early August that way i can hunt over them during bow season.
but my plan is to go in the woods and clear the areas i plan to plant some time in the next month or two that way all I'll have to go is go in and kill off any grass or whatever might sprout in the spring and just get done with it in one day.

out side of the seed selection do you think i might be on the right path?

RE: no plow food plot
 

I have used Whitetail Institute's Secret Spot this year. It ended up being in an area that was ill-prepared because of a last minute decision. I did however, clean the area real well by raking up the leafs and debris to help ensure good soil contact. It didn't come up the best but that was all my fault. However there are tracks that show the deer are visiting.

We also used Secret Spot mixed with AWP and BFO on most of foodplots. These have come up real good. The difference is the liming and fertilizing that was done in preparing the plot for planting.

I went with Secret Spot for two reasons: 1) Was most recommended of the no-plow seed mixtures and 2) I live in Alabama where WI is located and wanted to help the state's economy.