CLOUD 9, MN

My food plots are 80 % gone from not having a drop of rain in the last 8 weeks here in Minnesota. Just wondering if anyone has ideas of suggestions on a portable water spraying tank to pull behind a ATV. If it ever gets dry like this again, I' d like to give my plots a drink!!

Thanks!

psandhu

rig something up with 55 gallon drums. i can buy metal ones or polyethylene drums for $5 at a local place called re-con. they refurbish drums. the poly ones have a permanant lid, a 3" screw cap with cap, and a hole (with plug) that will accept a common garden hose (male end). i can put 3 of them in the back of a pickup, 2 on the bottom and one on top, like a pyramid. you can put about 150 gallons in this kind of configuration.

J Pike

We used our 15 gallon sprayer with a 7 ft. boom for the first time a couple of weeks ago and we tried it out just with water in and I think it would work great for you as long as you have a creek or another type of water source like we do. $200.00 at tractor supply you can spray a half an acre in 10 minutes. Pike

NorthJeff

I know this isn' t the option you are asking, but broadcast annual rye at 100 to 150#' s an acre, with your favorite clover blend, and when fall rains come you' ll at least have hunting season draw coupled with an establishment of clover for next spring.

Jeff...U.P. of Michigan

PILOT

Ive got a 500 gallon water tank I put in the pack of my truck and the pump I use is one of those sewage pumps with a 4.5 hp honda. If there is a creek nearby I just throw the hose in the water and set up my sprinklers and I can water them with no problem. If your going to use a 15 gal sprayer you better have a very small plot and a lot of time. For me to sufficiently water an area 90' X150' I figured it will take about 2500 gallons of water.

lunchbucket

With out irrigation it most likely will not happen... It takes inches if water per acre to do any good. Your plot may come back with fall cool weather and rain.

Russ otten

After connecting to the local water system, I use my shallow well pump to water gardens, yard, etc. Figuring that may need this for the long term, I buried 3/4" white pipe to my two gardens from my lake. As one is near the house, I can also water the grass. I have used it out of reach of power some and I use a small generator to power it. If you have a water source near the plots, black plastic pipe can be bought cheaply and will last a few years, especially if you don' t subject it to much pressure. My Honda generator will run 8-12 hours on one fill and you can move a lot of water in that much time.
Russ

Dan O.

Sprayers and drums are OK for giving young trees a drink but won' t do the job on a large food plot. The local fruit farmers use submersible gas operated pumps and pipe the water to their orchards and fields.

Dan O.

buckmine

I gave up. Minnesota doesn' t have to worry about ever losing its ground water but this summer has been different. Hope to never see it again.

NorthJeff

Buckmine,

There is no reason to give up at all! Rain is in the forcast for several days this weekend and all you have to do is spread some annual rye, mixed with clover, on bare dirt. You can still have an excellant stand of rye, which is a better hunting season draw than clover or alfalfa, and then by mixing with some clover, you can establish your perinnial field for the spring. My rye and oats plantings took 1 good rain to germinate, and since that time(8/3), we have had only about 2 rains, but they are both doing great.

You are probably still a few weeks away from needing to give up completely. We' ve already had a frost and I' m going to broadcast some annual rye on an unproductive area Thursday night. Should do very nicely for a hunting season draw.

Rye is a great tool to offset the negative effects of drought with a hardy hunting season draw. I' ve spread close to 700#' s the last few weeks and my fields are looking pretty good. I' d personally go with about 150#' s per acre, along with some clover.

Jeff...U.P. of Michigan