When To Plant?????
 

I have 3 small areas cleared for plots this year. I just need to put some lime down then plant the seed. My question is after I put the lime down do I need to give the soil some time to soak up the lime or can i plant right away. This is my first year doing this so I'm trying to do it as right as possible.

Get the lime down as soon as possible. It can take 6 months or more to work it's way down into the root zone and raise the pH of the soil. If you are able to till or disc the area after you spread the lime that will speed up the process.

Did you have a soil test done?

What are you planning on planting?

If you have a way to till or disc the plots, this should be done before you apply lime. It allows the lime to get deeper into soil and be better utilized more quickly.

If you can't disc, try a chain drag or something similar, anything to break up the soil a little.

you can for sure plant and add lime at the same time, BUT that lime will NOT be doing its job till it has time to alter PH, and for lime to work , each particle of lime must contact a particle of dirt,
once that happens the lime will actually alter that particle of dirts Ph
its why its often best to add lime , MIX it by discing in lightly, and then WAITING a few months for lime to work , or liming in winter time , so it can leak its way into soil before spring time plantings!
your food plot seeds will need "X" PH for them to grow, if the soil test showed "X" ph and not ideal for "X" seed, just a dding lime NOW< and seeding, will most likely result in a VERY poor take
as soil ph will not be where it needs to be for the seeds to strive
they MIGHt start off well, and then peter out, or vise versa
depends on what the soil PH is currently at, and the seeds needs, as each stage of the plants growth!
so honestly the best thing you can do, is lime ASAP< and then try and work it into the soil BEFORE seeding!
LIEM works VERY SLOWLY too, don't exoect magicto happen fast with it
and liming soil is not a once and done deal, its a task of doing as often as needed to maintain the PH you desire/or plantings need!

I recommend the following:

1) If not done so already, get the current soil pH. If you got the pH on the ground while it was covered by native plants, note that clearing it will generally result in dropping pH further (clearing typically results in increasing acidity unless you burned it, and then you may see a slight increase).

2) It's August - after getting the current pH, skip the lime and plant the crop that matches the soil type and pH.

3) Contact your local QDMA, or contact the Ohio State U extension office, and get a list of possible crops you can plant immediately. You'll be surprised at how many choices you'll have available.

I'm also assuming you want to plant a killing plot for this fall or an over-winter plot, and in that case you should really get either planted now. You're at the time when you need to plant, and I say this because (at least in my area of SW Michigan) once the critters find a new late summer food plot they tend to either ignore it or hit it heavy, and hitting it heavy often requires overseeding/replanting to make sure it establishes for late fall and/or winter. If you're doing food plots for next year, then disregard...

4) If you want/need to increase pH (making the soil more basic) for a specific crop you want to try, then add the lime and let it leach over the winter - as other's have said, it will take months to see true effects on soil pH.

Personally, you're in the MIdwest and therefore regardless of the pH or soil type, you probably have an 80% or better chance that you can throw a clover mix on it and grow a decent crop for the late summer/fall. That goes against the specs, and I'm sure a few people on here will tell me I'm crazy, but in my area I've found a good clover mix can grow relatively anywhere (pasture, swamp, light, dark, etc) and the deer and other herbivores will use it heavy...