Too Late To Lime After Planting

[bhdpal]

I am 68 years old, a life time bow & gun deer hunter.  However, I am new to planting deer forage crops.
 
On August 17, 2009 I planted 5 pounds Evolved Harvest Throw & Grow around a hand cleared level area down to bare soil (50'x50') out in front of my homemade tower deer box stand.
 
I read the planting instructions but did not do a pH test nor did I fertilize and lime the soil as recommended. I used a hand spreader to broadcast the seed evenly. I then lightly raked the seed into the soil, covering it with a thin layer of dirt.
 
On August 29, 2009 I saw the first signs of Throw & Grow forage growth in front of my stand.
 
My stand sits on the edge of a wild grass power line just inside the edge among a few trees for cover. The other side of the blind overlooks a large cutover that has 3 to 6 foot unevenly spaced pine trees.
 
My food plot gets direct sunlight about 4 hours a day.
The first 4" of soil is rich & black near the surface but then gets loomy and sandy further down. The soil appear rich from decomposing ground cover and has not been planted. The area gets good rainfall.
 
September 5, 2009 I fertilized the area with 20 pounds of WalMart 13-0-13. Surprisingly, my Throw & Grow is growing. I would like to know if it is too late to do a soil test and if needed can I spread some lime over the growing Forage & if so when & how much ?  
 
The only equipment I have are my bare hands, rake, shovel, ATV & WalMart hand crank spreader. I would also like to know if I can apply another 5 pound bag of the Throw & Grow over the existing food plot and should I fertilize & lime beforehand ?

 
Joe

[Goose]

Where are you located?
 
As the old saying goes, its better late than never.
 
Unless you use pellitized lime, the lime will have little effect for this growing season. However, it will help the soil for the following spring or fall. 
 
You will have to see what the results are to determine the proper amount of fertilizer and lime.
 
Without a soil test I would recommend 300lbs/acre of triple 19 fertilizer. (1 acre is 43,560 square ft)
You are gonna want a Ph level of 6.0+ for best results.
Your Ph level is the most important because that helps the plants use the available nutrients in the soil.
 
Does that help?

[buckhunter21]

I agree with Goose...Never too late!  One thing to mention though, depending on where you are located, you may want to hold off on the overseeding if you are in the north.  Frost is just around the corner so it won't grow that much if at all.  I'd save it for next year, as I think Throw and Grow is an annual, correct?

[bhdpal]

Sincere Thanks To Buckhunter & Goose for taking the time to respond to my post.  My lease is located very near Delaware/Maryland line on lower half of  DelMar Penninsula across the line from Smyrna DL. I did purchase two 40lb bags of pelletized lime. I will take your advices and spread it out very lightly ontop of the soil.  I won't rake it into soil in fear of damage growing forage.  I just bought a pH meter & will test the soil this weekend.  A little too late but like you say better late than never.
 
Joe 

[buckhunter21]

Best of luck...Keep us posted.  If you have any pics we'd love to see 'em!

[69Viking]

Yes, keep us posted and post some pics if you can. I have a bag of throw & grow I'll be planting in a couple of weeks so I'd love more information on it. I'm planting in SW Alabama two hours away from the Gulf of Mexico so my growing season is later than yours.

[hunt4fun]

From what I have read, I would test your pH tester to make sure it works properly.  One way to do this is to stick to probe in an orange.  It should be very acidic and show a very low pH.  I have heard a lot of people say that the testers will just register around 6 to 7 no matter what, so be sure to check it out.