Guest TNBuck Slayer Posted August 29, 2007 Report Share Posted August 29, 2007 I've been wanting to put up a food plot for several years now and this year I'm going to do the best I can.I'm planting 2, possibly a third food plot later.I got a bag of "Evolved Habitats Harvest Throw and Grow Game Seed" at wally world and plan on planting that on one food plot I'm fixing up.The food plot I'm needing help with is the one I'm really going to be hunting alot this season.It's a field that we've hunted near my house since we've lived there and deer come out there every night and just about everyday in daylight.I wouldnt have any idea how many acres it is but my dad doesnt want me to take up his(my neighbor owns it) whole field so for this year I'm probably only going to plant an acre.Maybe a little more it just depends on some other stuff.But anyway to get to my question, what should I plant? I thought about clover,rape brassica,and winter wheat.I'll be bowhunting in a different area and on a few weekends I'll be going to my uncles but other than that I'm going to be in a ladderstand watching that field.If it helps any I live in north east Tennessee.I'd like to plant something that will be huntable all season long.Is the forage that I mentioned grow well enough that it can keep growing well even if its being harassed by deer?How many lbs of the seed that you recommend should I get?One other thing, what about spraying for weeds/grasses?The grass in that field is thick, I'm sure I'll need to spray something to keep it from taking over my food plot.Can I start spraying now and wait a week.Then plant?I'm sorry for making this long and full questions I'm totally new to this stuff.Thanks for ANY help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted August 29, 2007 Report Share Posted August 29, 2007 Welcome to the forums. To be honest with you, time is not really on your side this late in the year with not having gotten any prep work done yet. First thing I would do is mow the grass, then come back and spray it with roundup. Once it browns up, disc it, then I usually will spray again when it starts to get any green in the plot, then disc it again or til it, drag it off and plant and fertilize. Wait a week after the last spraying before planting. I am assuming too that you have not gotten a soil test and dont know what your soil ph is? Some plants are kind of picky, would check into that before spending a lot of money on seed. The plot is only going to be as good as the prep work you put into it. Have great results with fall plantings of clover and grains here. One mix I like a lot is pennington's clover and rye supreme. Have had good results from hamann farms clover trefoil blends as well. Brassicas here last year were not really hit quite like I would have expected. Afraid with the drought this year over here on the other end of the state, the deer will eat whatever they can find, food will be short. After first frost here the brassicas last year saw some action, the deer ate the greens, but then they quit hitting them all together, I am not sold on brassicas mixes at this point. Never saw any evidence that any turnips were dug up and eaten either. Grains like wheat and rye grain are good. Have had great results here with penningtons wintergrazer rye, which is in the clover and rye supreme mix I mentioned above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravin R10 man Posted August 29, 2007 Report Share Posted August 29, 2007 Id go with what William said here..you need to spray, possibly twice, work that ground up, fertilize and lime...then you can plant. Do you have equipment to do all the work needed, or can you get a local farmer to hire out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TNBuck Slayer Posted August 30, 2007 Report Share Posted August 30, 2007 No unfortunately I have been busy this year and haven't been able to do the proper measurements of my soil. I figured planting anything in this drought would be worthless so I havent attempted to sow any seeds.I have a sprayer,an atv with a log attached to ensure seed to soil contact,a tiller.I could get one of my neighbors(farmers) to help out.We have a couple acres in our garden so I have the basics to ge it done.Thanks again for the help.Nice to see a fellow Tennessean on the forums:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted August 30, 2007 Report Share Posted August 30, 2007 I figured planting anything in this drought would be worthless so I havent attempted to sow any seeds. The drought here this year has been the worst I have seen in the time I have been here. We did manage to get a couple spring/summer plots in here, they have done fair despite the lack of moisture. For fall plantings, you can get away with planting in this part of the state until about the middle of September or so depending on the weather. We have three plots to plant over the next two weeks or so here. I started my prep work a bit later than I wanted too, but I was kind of hoping for some rain to loosen the ground or at least settle the dust some before starting. My ground is just about ready now, sprayed a second application of roundup over this past weekend, will be tilling the ground again this weekend. Will be planting a clover/trefoil mix from hamann farms along with a perennial high sugar content rye grass. Picked up a pound of chickory to go along in those plots too. Will also be trying a brassicas mix again too with either wintergrazer rye from pennington or winter wheat mixed in with that, think it will get hit hard this year with the likely shortage of food due to the late hard freezes we had and the severe drought. You could still get away with planting this year, but I would not wait. Get started on prepping your ground as soon as you can. If you have any questions, there are quite a few members here who are very knowledgeable and more than willing to help out with advice. Best of luck with your plots and season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TNBuck Slayer Posted August 31, 2007 Report Share Posted August 31, 2007 Thanks alot for the help.I started working the soil yesterday.Tennessee is seeing some relief with the rain lately but it really needs to keep it up to make up for this drought.And best of luck with your plots and season too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted August 31, 2007 Report Share Posted August 31, 2007 Tennessee is seeing some relieve with the rain lately but it really needs to keep it up to make up for this drought. Been rain all around us in west Tennessee, but unfortunately we have not gotten but maybe a 1/4 of an inch here on our property. My wife has been in Murfreesboro the past couple days, when I talked to her earlier this evening she said it has rained quite a bit over there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buffett1 Posted September 26, 2007 Report Share Posted September 26, 2007 If you want to start planning on a plot for next year, would it be best to start this work now in the fall or next spring? Our land is in southern Indiana if that makes a difference. We are currently getting some soil samples to send off and have checked, so I thought I would see what you guys had to say about when to start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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