What type of Perenials?

[shadow]

The power company is moving lines and poles off my land and I will have an area that is about 400 yards long and 40 feet wide that will be bare to the earth. I don't have nor am I able to rent any equipment to plow or till the soil but I believe that after they leave the soil in that area will be void of most grass and weeds.
 
I am looking to put down a seed that will grow and last for years with little or no help from me. If needed I can spray for weeds first but thats about it.
 
Originally this area was tall grasses which deer bedded and hid in. Should I attempt to grow this into a food plot without having the equipment needed to do it right or would I be better off letting it grow back in.
What type of seed would be good if I should attempt this?

[dtrain56]

clover will be your best bet..and if yu get it going it will last forever with selective herbicides..that kill grass

[Goose]

If your going to plant something I would recommend a white clover. It would be best to work the soil up a little some way or another. If you can work it up: Try to get the ph above 6.0 and if you dont do a soil sample put down 300lbs/acre of triple 19.Work it up and then cultipack it or go over it with a roller of some type seed it then go over it again with the roller.
If you cant work it up you might get lucky by seeding it before a rain or frost seeding it in the spring.
 

[buckhunter21]

I guess it all depends on what kind of equipment you have.  If you have absolutely nothing to use, I'd wait for the ground to be a little damp (after a rain), go out and spread your seed then take a hand rake and rake it in.  Probably use clover like has been said.  There is a no-plow product that from the whitetail institute that works pretty well too, but it's an annual.  You'd have to apply it every year...GOOD LUCK!  Let us know how it goes!

[GTOHunter]

If you had an ATV and could rent a small ATV disc to break up the soil that would help a great deal!I would have to agree with planting any white clover,ladino clover does well too and I can highly reccomend the "Clover-Trio" from Pennington,I have had good luck with it and it has grown very well where I frost seeded it on our Farm.

[shadow]

Well I do have an ATV and could most likely get a disc cultivator very cheaply. So I may just go this route and plant the clover.
Do you feel I should spray the area first to kill off any existing weeds and grasses fisrt?

[Goose]

That would be best. You could plant in the fall and have the frost help with the weeds if you guys get frost?
You will probably need to mow it back...can you get at it with some type of mower that will cut it at about 5 inches?
 
By the dimensions you gave in your op you have just over 1 acre if you plant white clover alone you will need about 4 lbs if broadcasting.

[buckhunter21]

What Goose said....Anytime you can take care of competing plants (weeds) it's best!

[sagittarius]

ORIGINAL: shadow   I am looking to put down a seed that will grow and last for years with little or no help from me. If needed I can spray for weeds first but thats about it. 

Do that, spray the area with glyphosate(roundup) and/or 2-4,D two or three times this summer.   Consentrate on killing weeds and tree seedlings.    End of August broadcast white clovers (Ladino, dutch white),  Birdsfoot trefoil, Kura clover.    The clovers will sprout on a clean plot, and have a head start next spring on the weeds and grasses.   Nature will eventually reclaim the plot without annual mowing and/or spraying maintenance.   The key is killing weeds and grass this year, that will flower and produce the seeds to over take the plot next year.

[ranwin33]

Clover is your best bet.  40x400 yards would be a killer to rake by hand well, so let's assume that isn't going to happen.  Wait for a forecast of rain and spread the seed just prior to, but double the recommended rate per acre as you will be broadcasting on bare ground with no real incorporation of the seed into the soil - germination will not be as great with the lack of soil incorporation. 
 
Come back in February or so and re-seed again and let frost help you get the seeds into the soil.  By next Spring you should have a nice plot going.  You might want to purchase a back pack sprayer, or at the very least a 2 gallon hand sprayer to help with grass control since you may not be able to mow. 
 
Without equipment you've got your work cut out for you, but it can be done, it will just take more time and effort on your part. 
 
Best of luck.