brandonxc

alright so i am wanting to build a food plot, and i have questions.

first off i dont have any farming equipment, its all gonna have to be done by hand, im fairly young, and some hard work for some deer is worth it to me.

what size plot would be sufficient?

what should i plant?

when should i plant it?

what do i need to do so its ready come bow and rifle season?

the cheaper the better!

anything im leaving out please fill me in

thanks

salukipv1

personally I think my first food plot would be for some kind of winter feed...least if I owned the land, or was gonna hunt/lease it for a # of years...least around us here it seems winter comes and all there is to eat is picked corn left in the fields....vs. the rest of the year there's tons of feed....acorns, corn, beans, etc...

I think if you're the only field around with feed in the winter, you'd attract the deer and hopefully they'd stick around the rest of the year too, but then I'd move to food plots for during the season....

brandonxc

its hard to say if i have the only one around. mine would be placed in the back corner of about 250 acres, the front 100 has been developed. I have permission to hunt the 2000 acres to the south of it, but its all practically pasture. Plus some one could buy the portion of land at any time on the 2000 acres, the back corner of the 250 is safe for a few years. ive seen deer in this corner, it would back right up to about 5 acres of timber with a creek down the hill about 150 yards away.

habitat

You will need to kill the existing grass first and the hopefully break the ground some how at least a little,it will probably need lime and fertilizer also.Check out qdma.com alot of guys there do exactly what you are doing.There are some throw and grow type seeds but you will still need to do the kill and get seed to soil contact

Soilman

You will need to kill the grass and weeds. The absolute cheapest way would be to spray glyphosate over the plot area (1 qt/a actual glyphosate). Get a sprayer and roundup from a local lawn & garden retailer. Gander mountain here rents out disks, I would rent that to break up the sod. Check with local lawn & garden rental companies as well, or borrow a roto tiller from someone. Buy 1 50 pound bag of winter rye from a local agricultural supplier. A 50 pound bag will plant about 3/4 acres. Buy 1 bag of 25-0-6 type lawn fertilizer for the plot. Winter rye is cheap, grows on poor soil, and you have all summer to work on your plot and gather supplies.

Karverind

Which Springfield are you in?

GTOHunter

If there are any logging roads or mowed pathways/roads You could frost-seed some clover,that would be an easy thing to get started on,I usually buy a few pounds of ladino clover,red clover and white clover and I mix them together and I frost-seed around the end of Feb or the first of March by slowly walking the area's and hand broadcasting the seeds.There is also some seed on the Market from several different Companies that require little to no ground breaking like Thro & Gro,Shot Plot,and Secret Spot. For any Fall planting I like the Brassicas,Rape and turnip seeds and any wheat will green up and last a long time too.

GTOHunter

P.S.,like Karverind mentioned...You in Springfield Missouri or Illinois?

brandonxc

springfield MO

brandonxc

ive been reading alot about ph levels. does the ph level differ for different types of seeds? also where do i get a ph test? and waht do they cost?