food plot questions?
03-03-2008, 04:42 PM
#1
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Millville, Ohio
Posts: 2,463
food plot questions?
howdy i live in southwest ohio. i have never planted a food plot in my life and this year i have decided to do so. i have 3 fields right next to each other with some trees and bushes in between them but with deer trails connecting all three. in the fields red clover grows there naturally but not very much of it. would it be a good idea to plant red clover up in those fields or will the deer not go after it? i have some cedar trees up in all the fields and i heard that it is a a sign of bad ph or something
so what should i plant in these fields that is easy? and the deer will go after?????
is there a good seed to plant on uneven ground w/ hills in a small spot?
also i have to use is a rototiller and a fertilizer spreader and tractor
so what should i plant in these fields that is easy? and the deer will go after?????
is there a good seed to plant on uneven ground w/ hills in a small spot?
also i have to use is a rototiller and a fertilizer spreader and tractor
03-04-2008, 08:55 AM
#2
Fork Horn
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 166
RE: food plot questions?
Mossbergman, you will have fun doing it. It's a lot of work and quite rewarding. First off get you a book on food plots, it will help tremendously, and save you a boat load of mistakes a lot of us make. I would recommend QDMA Quality Food Plots about $35.00. I promise you it will save a lot more than that.
Bushes and trees will help the deer feel more comfortable in the plots. The cedar are not nessisarly sign of acidic soil, it is that they can grow better in more acidic soils than most plants. The only true way to find out the ph of the soil is to take a sample (another $5-$10 spent).
If you decide to put some clover back in try planting a mix of white, yellow, and red clover, with some chicory. Plant a spring annual like Lab Lab/mix, soybeans and sorghum, just any warm season mix will do. Then plant a fall hunting plot I like a ceral grain mixed with brassica (Purple Top Turnups), and a winter pea (my pref. is WWII peas).
Equipment wise you are doing fine, probably find some type of roller or cultipacker, to firm up the seed bed before and after you plant. Some of your bigger seeds need to driven into the ground. So some kind of drag will normally do that.
Bushes and trees will help the deer feel more comfortable in the plots. The cedar are not nessisarly sign of acidic soil, it is that they can grow better in more acidic soils than most plants. The only true way to find out the ph of the soil is to take a sample (another $5-$10 spent).
If you decide to put some clover back in try planting a mix of white, yellow, and red clover, with some chicory. Plant a spring annual like Lab Lab/mix, soybeans and sorghum, just any warm season mix will do. Then plant a fall hunting plot I like a ceral grain mixed with brassica (Purple Top Turnups), and a winter pea (my pref. is WWII peas).
Equipment wise you are doing fine, probably find some type of roller or cultipacker, to firm up the seed bed before and after you plant. Some of your bigger seeds need to driven into the ground. So some kind of drag will normally do that.
03-04-2008, 05:16 PM
#3
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Millville, Ohio
Posts: 2,463
RE: food plot questions?
a couple of things.................how do i test our soil ph?...........where can i find this book?........ does the book tell you how to plant?.....................if i plant the white, red, yellow clover and the chicory for say how do i plant this?
03-04-2008, 07:04 PM
#4
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Millville, Ohio
Posts: 2,463
RE: food plot questions?
a couple of things.................how do i test our soil ph?...........where can i find this book?........ does the book tell you how to plant?.....................if i plant the white, red, yellow clover and the chicory for say how do i plant this?
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03-04-2008, 07:43 PM
#5
Fork Horn
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Solvay, NY
Posts: 104
RE: food plot questions?
soil test is vital. You can have your county Agricultral coop do it, or there are several places where you can order the tests from. Personally, I use the bioogic test. It is easy, quick and relatively cheap. It doesn't matter who does it for you, but it must be done. As far as the book, go to the QDMA website http://www.qdma.com/ for info. I personally had great success last season with oats as a late season plot. Very easy and the deer hammered it. I will plant it again this year, but sometime around August 1. I planted on Labor Day last season. For a spring planting, I will be doing corn and soybeans, and leave both standing. Good luck, but make sure to get the soil test done. It will save a lot of time and frustration.
03-04-2008, 08:36 PM
#6
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: cazenovia, NY USA
Posts: 2,973
RE: food plot questions?
Red clover growing naturally is generally a good sign that the soil has some merit already. Probably Ph at least close to 6.0. Red clover will grow a little more easily than most white clovers on soils 5.5 - 6.0 ph.
Sometimes you can tell by the plants growing, what parts of a field might be better suited for plots. Use existing weed vegetation as soil indicators.
Acidic loving plants include: Queen Anne Lace, Daiseys,Paintbrushes, plantain .
On "less acidic soils" - you will see more: Milkweed, lambsquarters, chickory, clovers.
I like clovers above all else for "pasture type" plots.Use lime to "up" your Ph.
I like White clover mixes best since they grow lower to the ground - and my deer seem to prefer white clovers. Once established - I mow 2-3 times per year and leave the clippings lay.
FH
Sometimes you can tell by the plants growing, what parts of a field might be better suited for plots. Use existing weed vegetation as soil indicators.
Acidic loving plants include: Queen Anne Lace, Daiseys,Paintbrushes, plantain .
On "less acidic soils" - you will see more: Milkweed, lambsquarters, chickory, clovers.
I like clovers above all else for "pasture type" plots.Use lime to "up" your Ph.
I like White clover mixes best since they grow lower to the ground - and my deer seem to prefer white clovers. Once established - I mow 2-3 times per year and leave the clippings lay.
FH
03-05-2008, 12:47 PM
#7
Fork Horn
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 166
RE: food plot questions?
That book will give you the knowledge. You can pick it up at the QDMA website store. As fare as planting the clover, work your seed bed untill it is as fine as you can, spread your clover with a spreader, and cultipack it. Your county soil office will be the cheapest place to take the sample to. I like to have a sample of each plot each year. Then spread your lime and fert. as needed.
03-05-2008, 04:35 PM
#8
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Millville, Ohio
Posts: 2,463
RE: food plot questions?
ORIGINAL: farm hunter
Red clover growing naturally is generally a good sign that the soil has some merit already. Probably Ph at least close to 6.0. Red clover will grow a little more easily than most white clovers on soils 5.5 - 6.0 ph.
Sometimes you can tell by the plants growing, what parts of a field might be better suited for plots. Use existing weed vegetation as soil indicators.
Acidic loving plants include: Queen Anne Lace, Daiseys,Paintbrushes, plantain .
On "less acidic soils" - you will see more: Milkweed, lambsquarters, chickory, clovers.
I like clovers above all else for "pasture type" plots.Use lime to "up" your Ph.
I like White clover mixes best since they grow lower to the ground - and my deer seem to prefer white clovers. Once established - I mow 2-3 times per year and leave the clippings lay.
FH
Red clover growing naturally is generally a good sign that the soil has some merit already. Probably Ph at least close to 6.0. Red clover will grow a little more easily than most white clovers on soils 5.5 - 6.0 ph.
Sometimes you can tell by the plants growing, what parts of a field might be better suited for plots. Use existing weed vegetation as soil indicators.
Acidic loving plants include: Queen Anne Lace, Daiseys,Paintbrushes, plantain .
On "less acidic soils" - you will see more: Milkweed, lambsquarters, chickory, clovers.
I like clovers above all else for "pasture type" plots.Use lime to "up" your Ph.
I like White clover mixes best since they grow lower to the ground - and my deer seem to prefer white clovers. Once established - I mow 2-3 times per year and leave the clippings lay.
FH
do you think lime in really nessecary if red clover is growing there already? or even a ph test? can i plant a mixture of red and white clover and chicory or is it not a good idea to plant these 3 together????
how do i plant these 3 if they will work together?do those 3 plants require different planting methods?
one more thing (sorry about all these questions) can i mow the chicory if a plant, red clover, white clover, and chicory? also can i just mow the stuff with a bush how or should i use a riding mower with a chute????
03-05-2008, 05:53 PM
#9
Fork Horn
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Saginaw & Houghton Lake, Michigan USA
Posts: 249
RE: food plot questions?
ORIGINAL: mossbergman11
where can i find this book?
where can i find this book?