josh36530

I was lucky enough to be given some land in south alabama, about 40 acres, by family friends to hunt on. The land was untouched when I got it and is surrounded on 2 sides by woods and 1 side is open field. The north side is bordered by the family owned clay pit that has its share of deer. One of the friends offered to use his bush hog if i needed some land cleared, of course I accepted and next thing I know he had mowed about 5 acres in the middle of the 40. I do not own a tractor or an atv, spent my money on a boat. I was greatful for the land being cleared so I could see, but of course it was not ready to be planted on. I hunted last year and saw nothing. I cleared a small spot with some hand tools and hand spread some throw and grow, not sure how great it is. My brother in law just bought a tractor with a bush hog and I made a deal with him to help me so we can both have a nice set up. We still have no plow or anything else. I read in a magazing about putting nails in a pallet and pulling it behind a tractor to make a good cultivating tool. Has anyone tried this? Also what are your thoughts/experience with store bought throw and grow. I am not sure of the brand I used it came from my local co op. Thanks

Big10Hunter

I've had decent luck with thro and grow by Evolved Habitats for remote micro food plots in the woods. It was a mix of about 80% forage rye, 10% forage rape, and 10% clovers. I doctored it up with some additional clover, turnips and radishes from the local agway. Planted the will remote plots with just working the land with rakes and hand cultivators (garden weasel) . It worked pretty good. Just make sure you get all the leaves and duff off the top and scratch into the dirt. I think a pallet with nails a few big rocks on top pulled by a quad or tractor would work OK. I found the best trick to be to sow the seeds a day or so before it rains as this helps to seat the seeds and give them a good start.

We also planted a few plots that were also close to the road using a walk behind garden tiller which also worked pretty good. The plots worked by hand tools came up about 80% with rye and about 50% with the clovers and other stuff. The plots made with the tiller came up about 80% with all the forage. I lost a few plots few due to planting right before a week or two dry spell.

Hoyt63

Check out this link..These will all work on a garden tractor. http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/...tgry=SearchAll

MZS

This all depends on your soil. If you have heavy clay soil, you will either need a large tractor (farming) if you want to go big (several acres) or you can go small (plots 1000-3000 sq ft) with even a garden tiller. If you have light soil, you can probably work it up pull-behind tools and an ATV or heavy duty lawn tractor. Sounds like you have heavy soil.

Small pull-behind tools and a garden tractor and ATV won't get far on heavy clay soil although a pull-behind disk and ATV can break up and level heavy soil after it has been plowed or bull-disced by a farming tractor. Perhaps rent or borrow a bull disk for your brother's tractor. Ask around - some farmer may have an old plow they will sell.

I would start small and do it right. Work up a small plot and then get a soil sample and add fertilizer as recommended. Staying small allows you to afford all the fertilizer and lime you may need. If needed, protect your small plot if the deer are mowing it down. Where you are, you still have time for a variety of fall plots - see http://www.aonmag.com/article.php?id=1853&cid=195 . See http://www.deerhuntingbasics.com/foo...alculators.php for the basics of getting a soil sample, finding a testing center (costs only about $10), and figuring out how to add recommended rates of fertilizer. After you get a small plot established, perhaps work on additional plots in future years.

Another alternative would be to have a larger plot of perhaps 1/2 acre and within this plot do a small quality plot that is properly tested, fertilized, and limed.

270sniper

We did two fall plots this year by just mowing and round up the plots twice before we planted seed around the end of July. Look at my photos on qdma

Tundra10

agree!

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SpikeShpigel

Oh, I've got a story about creating a food plot using hand tools! I remember when I decided to grow my own veggies in the backyard. I got my hands dirty with a spade, hoe, and rake, prepping the soil for planting. I wanted to make it look nice, so I thought about adding a wooden border.

A mate of mine told me about this wood planer he found online (https://www.ukplanettools.co.uk/wood...-tools/planer/), so I decided to check it out. I grabbed some old pallets and put the planer to work. It was a game changer, I tell you! I managed to make a neat border that gave the food plot a cozy, rustic vibe.

Now my little backyard garden is thriving, and I can't help but feel proud of it. Plus, using hand tools made the whole thing a lot more personal and rewarding. If you're thinking about starting your own food plot, I say go for it! It's a fantastic experience.

Oldtimr

They are talking about a "food plot" for deer and wildlife to keep them animals on their property, not a back yard garden.