food plots

[msbadger]

Oh......Well the tomato plants are in and the buck wheat is up and we are going down to 30 degrees tonite and have a frost warning....[8|]...June 1 .....nice[&o]....lol Glad I'm not a real farmer

[reeper0697]

Oh Msbadger I had a skunk encounter while deer hunting before. A few years ago on opening day I went out waaayyy before the sun came up and it was absolutely pouring out. I sat for a while and said the heck with this I was cold and soaked to the bone (didn't have good rain gear)
On my way back out I looked up and probably 5 yards infront of me was a skunk on the trail by a spot where we put animal carcasses. I stopped and backed up, he started to follow me. Then he started coming after me for probably about 15-20 yards. Let me tell you what, I dont know how fast a skunk can run, but there was no way he was catching me. After that he just went back up the trail, and then wandered off somewhere. Ever since then I am always worried of a skunk encounter.
 
No luck turkey hunting here either. On the 30th I heard a ton of gobbles on the roost but nothing ever happened of it. On the 31st I thought I heard one gobble but I really wasnt sure. One of my friends saw some turkeys over to his place but nothing ever happened of that either. We got together and hunted until noon but no luck. Did see a bunch of hens and then saw 2 gobblers in a field driving though.

[Hawgnman]

Check out http://www.whitetailinstitute.com/info/planting/ Even If you don't use their products click on

Perennial Maintenance - Setting up a Schedule!

If alfalfa does well in your area, try Alfa_Rack; other wise I would select Imperial Clover.

[gcgarner]

Here's about everything you need to know. Have fun!

http://www.utextension.utk.edu/publicat ... pb1743.pdf

[foxman]

looking for any advice on food plots in alleghany county just bought 80 acres all wooded near large chunk of land not alot of food source around . dont know much about food plots or planting  thanks

[msbadger]

So many ? to ask....in the hills or a valley...is it wet or dry....what direction...ie...N/S/E or W?
 We have a camp near Alfred...its on top of or rather starts on top of a S/W facing hill.....but there is water top to bottom and under turf running streams..

Food plots there are difficult at best and a lot of lime and minerals are needed...potassium and phosphorous...so get a soil test...what we do have are great apples....and wild blue berries and wht oak grow very well in the area as well as the reds....consider getting some fast growing hybrid wht oak and tubing them....clovers grow well...but Allegheny is a big county so your land scape could be VERY different than ours...have Family that own a big dairy farm and they grow hundreds of acres of corn... oats...alfalfas...ect down there...lots of good ppl with great ideas on this forum...

[SwampLife]

maybe have a local farmer with the proper equipment and knowledge do it for a fee. or at least prepare the soil for you.

just a thought.

good luck m8.

[SHKYBoonie]

ghosthunter, I use to plant alot back when I was young and I too had no access to any farm equipment. This worked for me on several occasions and it is very simple. The deer will use it as well as any small plot I have put out.
 
Find an area that you want to put your plot that has grasses in it now. Buy you a bag of regular old seed wheat (also works well with rye and oats) from the farmers supply. A 50 lbs. bag of wheat seed is pretty cheap and I usually seed at about 85 lbs. per acre, so 50 lbs. will do quite a bit. Get about 100 lbs. of 15-15-15 fertilizer and a weed eater. Take a hand spreader and broadcast your seed right over the top of the grasses, then broadcast your fertilizer over that same area. Then take the weed eater and cut the grass down as low as you can over the top of the seed/fertilizer. Do this in about late August or early September and you will have a nice stand of young wheat to hunt over in just a few weeks. The grass you cut down over the seed will help hold moisture and heat which will make the seeds germinate as well as if they were in the ground. It also helps protect the seeds from birds. The wheat will normally out grow the grass and the grass usually goes dormant when the weather turns cooler. It's not as good as breaking ground, getting soil test and all the other things that make a great food plot, but it will attract deer at the right time for hunting. This is a great plot for the young hunters that don't have the $$$ or the equipment. Hope this helps!

[ranwin33]

ORIGINAL: ghosthunter31193

i don't have access to alot of farming equipment to plant food plots. and im still in school so i was wondering how well do the plots work if i shake the seed out? and what do i need to do to make it work well?

Get down to bare dirt, rough it up some, and pray for rain.  That's the minimum and don't expect anything like you see on TV.  You'd do just as well with some Ladino clover, red clover and winter wheat/oats - it would be cheaper most likely.

[Powell1120]

I have not had the pleasure of getting to grow food plots myself but hopefully will soon. I will say in regards to the winter wheat/oats, I have known guys that have done this in small patches just to get their work eaten up by the local Turkeys. But if it survives them its great hunting.