cweinste

Hello all,

Next year i'll be moving back to my home state of Pennsylvania, there I have 385 acres of old strip land... 25 yrs reclaimed now. It has plenty of fields with scattered black locust patches and good hardwoods over the high walls. Now the fields are covered in some type of sharp edged grass and mostly crown vetch. We have been managing the land with what we shoot and what not, but have not done much as far as food. So that being said has anyone had any experience with planting food plots on such land?

I know i need a soil test but I'm pretty sure they put down alot of lime stone then covered it with some 2-6 inches of top soil (not much). Lots of rocks to. We have a tiller to get the soil turned over. We have both fields that would get alot of sun and some that would be a sun/shade mix.

So the questions?
1.) What type of plants do you think would work well?
2.) Should I plant something to till under the next year for nutrients?
3.) Fall vs Spring plants?
4.) Go with food plot brands or with your basics (alfalfa, beans?)
5.) you get the idea i'm new to this...

Yep can't find much on QDMA sights about "reclaimed" land. Any help would be great!!

Thanks, CJW

syrupman

i would steer away from the fields and go into the hardwoods and find a good clearing or good spot near a creek or watersource and make a food plot about 2-3 acres and harrow it and plant corn in it but leave a good 2-3 tractor passes to save for some biologic type seed...any local seed mix with peas rye clover. soybeans...you get the idea...i prefer to use a seed blend called buck busters...we have had a huge increse in deer numbers during the season with this rather than anything else...we have seed up to about 14 deer in 2 acres of the corn with the buck busters mix...if you cant get a clearing in hardwoods...go to a secluded area of the feild and do the same....you wont see nearly the results as in the hardwoods though...dont plant the hole field unless you are a meat hunter...otherwise the bucks will go nocturnal

Soilman

I think you are right in taking a soil sample first. Another idea would be to dig some holes in vaious locations to check out the depth of the soil. The deeper the soil, the more nutrients and water the soil can hold, the better plants will grow. I would guess there are areas around the fields where you can see there is thicker and taller growth. These would be the first place to check out, and probably the best places to put in a food plot.

Wait until you get the soil test back before you plant perennials (alfalfa/clover). You may need to add lime to the soil for them to be successful long term.

Winter rye can be planted in August, will tolerate poor soil, is a great green manure crop, deer love it, and its cheap! Winter rye would be a great choice if you want to plant something this fall for the deer and for green manure.

Since you are rather new to food plots, I would suggest you wait until the spring for anything other than winter rye. You can use the time to plan where you will plant, what you will need to get, and where you will get it. Do some research and ask some questions, and you will be happier with you food plots (for example, have you thought about weed control?).

There are a lot of great places to buy individual seeds online, or at a local ag retailer (co-op). They can also help you with variety suggestions for your local area. In general, the seed mixes you see on TV are not worth the extra cash.

Good luck with your project. I am sure you can be successful with some research and work.

J Pike

soil samples than plan winter wheat and rye in early Sept. for a good summer food plot's on stripped land plant buckwheat. Pike

timbercruiser

On the unknown type of grass, it sounds like Cogon grass. I would take a 15 gallon sprayer, add 32 oz of Gly, 8.2 oz of Arsenal and a couple of oz of surfactant and kill the stuff before planting anything. Soil test are a must.

gmil6184

obviously you will need a soil test. If it comes back that the soil is pretty good (6-7 ph) feel free to plant anything, I have had good luck with Biologic blends but you could probably save a little money buy going to a feed store and just buying generic seed. If the soil test comes back and the soil is pretty poor you might want to focus on plantings that will improve the soil while still providing food for the deer. a mix of red clover and cereal grains would be on place to start. cereal grains (rye, wheat, oats) will grow on cement with a little water and sunlight.