HI. My grandfather has some land and i was wondering if its worth my time for me to put a small food plot in for the deer and other animals. The land is located in massachusetts and is dense with a lot of trees. The land is plenty big for one and it also has a stream that runs down funneling into a marsh. My main question is...Is it worth my time and effort to put a foodplot in with no large equipment? Is it possible to make a plot successfully by hand? If so how.

definiately. food plots don't need to be big to be effective.. first, obviously- get a ph test. take it to your local co-op.. they can usually recommend a good seed for you. if you have a hand-walk behind roter-tiller, you will be good to go for breaking soil. I would recommend spraying whatever clearing you have with round-up a week or so in advance of your planting time to eliminate the competition of plants. Then rake up all the dead grasses and you can then rotertill the soil. Then throw your seed and whatever lime or fertilizers needed for your seed.. you should be good to go..

It depends on a lot of factors. You need to ask yourself several questions, which includes: What food sources are around the property? Is food a limiting factor? If food is a limiting factor, what times of the year is it a limiting factor? If certain times of the year, forage is a limiting factor, what can be planted to make a difference? How many deer and other animals will be utilizing the plot? Will the plot be of sufficient size and produce sufficient quantities of forage to make a difference?

How you answer those questions will determine if planting a food plot will be worth your time and expense. I know food plots are the "in" thing in deer management right now, but a lot of people are spending time and money that doing them that aren't getting much of a return.

Yes, put in a food plot especially if there are no agricultral plots nearby. Even if there are some, the deer like variety and maybe they will like yours better than the other. Try and plant something that will be at it's peak during your hunting season.

Thanks alot guys. I appreciate the input and with your advice I will get to work on this project to Hopefully better the health of the deer and other animals on the land.