bigwhitetailbuck

How should I level out and prepare my field for a food plot? It has a bunch of little mounds and ruts in it. I have very very limited equipment, no tractor. I have an atv, but have no atachments for it, nor can i afford it. There are trees in the field, which I will cut down. And it is all tall grass and weeds. Any suggestions on a food plot as well? Im thinking powerplant from whitetail institute since it is very low maintence and seems like you dont need the best preparage to plant.
Thanks for the advice! Glad to be posting again!

haystack

The only way you are going to able to fix the problems you describe is tilling the soil enough that you will have some loose soil to work with. Once that is done some sort of "drag" will do the trick. You mentioned some trees that need to be cut, if you can find the right size "log" will work good. It will need to be heavy enough to collect soil in front of it, but not to heavy that your atv can not pull it WITH soil built up in front of it. Also it will need to "squared" on the side that will be in contact with the soil. Attach a chain,cable or heavy rope to both ends of the drag equally.

Depending on where you are located, will have allot to do with what will make the best food plot. Based on what you described, I would get a soil test first. Then some glyposphate to kill the weeds and grass as soon as the weather warms up. I personally prefer generic ag seeds for food plots, lots to chose from and usually much cheaper.
Hope that helps some, its just my opinion and these other guys could have more/better options.

BuckAlley

Let me tell you one thing right off, if your thinking of a cheap & easy food plot you mights well not even attempt it. You'll just be wasting your time. But if you truly want a nice food plot, plan on doing it right, and spending a few bucks to do so. Like mentioned first off get a soil test, so you know what your soil will need for lime & fertilizer. That will give you a good idea of its expense. 2nd if your have a deep rooted sod. One thats been tall grass & weeds for yrs & yrs. More than likely your going to have to plow the soil, turning over that thick sod. No atv is capable of doing that. To check your sods thickness simply dig into it with a shovel, and see how deep you have to go before get good dirt minus all the roots. If your sods only few inches than you can probably get away with a disc setup. Which you can often rent from places like Gander Mtn, to tow behind your atv. If its several inches thick, your going to need a tractor.
Also like mentioned you'll also need to weed kill the area.
So you could be looking at couple seasons to get this all done. Preparation is everything to get a good food plot.
1st I'd weed kill, 2nd turn the sod, or disc if can, let the sod rot if thick a season.3rd applyproper amount of lime. If you need several tons, you can buy in bulk cheaper, and have it spread. The lime will then need several months to work down into the soil. I like to spread in late summer- early fall, and let it sit over winter. 4th following spring spread proper amount of fertilizer, re-disc it in. 5th apply seed, and roller pack it into soil. Then watch it grow. Also note you'll need some sort of a mower to cut the plot as well. I use a pull behind bushog w/ my atv.
I hope this helps.

hossdaniels

Call in some help if its over a 1/4-1/2 acre. You could probably get a acre done(plowed, fertilized,and seeded, lime is extra)forunder $1000 if you can find a farmer close by to help. The lime truck will come for three acres or more around here,smaller thanthat you will have to bagged lime which much more expensive.You could spend $2000 on a "food plot atv planter/plow and still not have anything that can do what you need.

What size are the trees? Anything over afew inches is going to need to be cleared by a backhoe or a dozer.

Or, if its real small scale you could rent a walk-behind tiller andpullthe drag with your atv. Not sure about the cost, probably around $50 and some sweat.

bigwhitetailbuck

wow... I had no idea it was going to cost that much. I appreciate the help.


I think I'm going to just do a small 1/2 acre plot for the fall.. I will weed kill it then rake it and clear everything by hand as much as possible. What do you think I should do for a spring or fall plot that the deer wont eat up to fast?

hossdaniels

I knew a guy that did a 1/3 acre plot with a walk-behind tiller. It can be done but plan on a day. You will still need a spreader for fertilizer and lime, and some sort of drag to lightly cover the seed. A half acre is going to cost $25-$75 seed, $100 lime, $50 fertilzer. If you already had all the equipment its still going to cost you a couple hundred bucks.

I like a mix of clover and chicory in the fall. Oats are cheap and easy andthe deer love them through winter here(NC). For a spring plot tryiron clay peas mixed with lab lab. Or, you can find a old bush type soybean(like laredo) that can take grazing pretty well. My spring favorite is corn, but it is expensive to raise and a half acre probably isnt big enough to try it.

bigwhitetailbuck

Ok, thanks for the help.

I just started8 new apple trees in little pots today. Is it safe to plant these in a few months in Ny with little fences around them?

bowmanaj

x2 on looking into generic seeds. I'm wanting to go that route, I have used popular brand name seeds and did this year,but in the future I want to save money on seed and put more effort into soil fertility.

You could go to your local seed/feed store, or seedland.com has a good variety ofgeneric seeds like, clovers, alfalfa, ryes, wheats, lablab, grasses, oats,different legumes, etc.. You could always use a seed coat type product with generic seed and still save a lot of money.

have fun

haystack

On those apple trees, NY definitely has some apple trees and your local Extension office would be a good place to find the correct planting dates. I'm thinking it would be real soon.

One question though, did you plant apple seeds?

bowmanaj

Yea protect saplings, I've learned that lesson the hard way.