bigmster127

was thinking about trying to do a food plot. maybe some clover or something else. i was looking for something with not much maintenance and no machinery. i was just going to go in and rake a spot and clear the brush etc. do i rake in the seeds or just throw them on top? im new to this. i live in massachusetts there is snow on the ground now. when do i do this? obviously when snow is gone. if i plant something in march when will i see it? the following year or in fall? any advice would be great and this spot does get alot of sun. also any advice on what to plant alot of people say antler king.

VTBoneCollector

A few years back I used some stuff that they call No-Plow. It seemed to work just fine. Didn't have to do much prep work. Just raked the ground up to loosen the dirt for germination and there was no maintenance. Can't tell u much more about it because I only used once. I'm gonna put a food plot in this spring and I plan on taking a soil sample and having it tested so I can plant the right thing. If No-Plow will be fine for the PH level of the soil, that's probably what I will I use. Every bag of food plot seed tells you when to plant the seed in your region. Just check out the back of the bag. That will answer some of your questions. I haven't planted a lot of food plots, but I've read a lot of articles and they have helped. In fact I just read a great article yesterday in my most recent North American Whitetail magazine. Check it out.

VTBoneCollector

Hey bigmstr127, I just went on Whitetail Institute of North America and read up on some products they have. They will also help you out in choosing the right seed. Good luck. www.whitetailinstitute.com

GTOHunter

I can tell You what we did a few weeks ago when we had a nice warming spell,first thing we did was prepare the area's we planned on Planting,we picked up all the dead limbs,small trees that were cut down for timber improvement,cleaned out a bunch of rocks and cut out a few more scrub trees that made the areas wider and longer.We went back a few weeks later with a 4-Wheeler,small pull behind ATV Disc several Rakes and some granular line and some nice Durana Clover Seed!

We went to each spot in the big woods and raked away years of fallen dead leaves and twigs then ran the ATV disc thru the dirt to break it up and then my Buddy ran the granulated lime on the ground with the spreader on the back of the 4-Wheeler,then we walked the fresh disc-ed area with a hand held seed spreader broadcasting the Durana Clover down in hopes of getting an early start on the planting season.....we were expecting rain and didn't cover up the small clover seed and it was perfect timing with the nice rain we got the following day.Normally we would rake it lightly or drag a mesh wire fence over the dirt to lightly cover the seed in a bigger food plot.

We also mixed a little more regular clover with the Durana Clover and walked a 1-1/2 Acre Food Plot and simply Frost Seeded it over last falls Turnip,Raddish and wheat food plot.It usually takes several weeks to over a month to see results of growth on the Clover.

This Durana Clover is new and suppose to do well in drought conditions and stands up to heavy browsing.....We'll see how well thru out this coming 2013 Deer Season.

You asked how fast You can see the results of Your hard work after planting...depends on what Your Planting,the amount of moisture,tempature,fertilizer etc.I've planted Brassicas,Rape,Turnips,Raddishes and Wheat and seen pretty little green sprouts in just a few days,and nice Sea of Green in a few weeks.Clover,Corn,Soybeans,Milo and other plants/crops take more time to come up and show results!

Hoyt63

Get a soil test and go from there as far as lime and fertilizer. Let the area you are going to plant green up and then spray it with round up. If possible after that burn it with a controlled fire if not get a garden rake and scratch up the surface. clover & chicory work well together and will last 3-5 years. Broadcast whatever you choose and then lightly rake it again. Good luck..