[{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/blog\/how-to-prep-your-food-plots-for-planting\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/blog\/how-to-prep-your-food-plots-for-planting\/","headline":"How to Prep Food Plots for Planting","name":"How to Prep Food Plots for Planting","description":"Successful food plots, no matter what size, start with proper site preparation.\u00a0 Far too many deer managers get caught up...","datePublished":"2016-05-03","dateModified":"2018-11-15","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/author\/hagosto\/#Person","name":"Hector Agosto","url":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/author\/hagosto\/","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7bfedbdc5ef3ed8f8df91eb37e1ffbe?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7bfedbdc5ef3ed8f8df91eb37e1ffbe?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Legendary Whitetails","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"http:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/logo-legendary-whitetails.png","url":"http:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/logo-legendary-whitetails.png","width":522,"height":226}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Planting-plot-with-ATV-e1461941295121.jpg","url":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Planting-plot-with-ATV-e1461941295121.jpg","height":496,"width":960},"url":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/blog\/how-to-prep-your-food-plots-for-planting\/","about":["News"],"wordCount":1901,"keywords":["Land & Habitat","Tips"],"articleBody":"Successful food plots, no matter what size, start with proper site preparation.\u00a0 Far too many deer managers get caught up in what seed to select, rather than understanding what exactly needs to be done to the anticipated food plot site prior to planting.\u00a0 It\u2019s easy to do, especially when you\u2019re a first time food plotter.\u00a0 Let\u2019s face it, planting food plots is exciting stuff and it\u2019s easy to get ahead of ourselves, but do yourself (and the deer) a favor and prep it right.In this part of the small food plot mini-series, we\u2019ll be addressing site preparation and maintenance of food plots. \u00a0Site preparation and maintenance is largely the same for food plots big and small.Site Prep for New or First Year Food PlotsWe all wish we had a bulldozer at our disposal for creating new food plots.Brand new food plots are obviously going to require the most time and work.\u00a0 Small food plots, also known as kill plots, hidey-hole plots, or poor-man\u2019s plots are a lot of times chosen based upon some sort of pre-existing site condition \u2013 usually an opening with no trees.\u00a0 These little open pockets of brush and grass are fairly common, and often trigger us whitetail hunters to immediately think \u201cfood plot\u201d when we come across one.\u00a0 It can\u2019t be that hard, right? After all, there\u2019s no trees to bulldoze.\u00a0 \u201cWith a little help from a hunting buddy, we could turn this unproductive pocket of fescue into a lush green food plot in just a day or two\u201d, we tell ourselves.Let\u2019s get to work!Your first step should be to collect a soil sample from your plot and send it to a lab for analyzing. Don\u2019t just think that because the soil looks good it is good.\u00a0 There\u2019s probably a soil related reason why there is no trees growing in that pocket.\u00a0 A simple treatment of 10-10-10 won\u2019t do, so get a soil test done before spending time and money on the plot.\u00a0 You want to do this first so you can get to work on clearing while you wait for the results.HOW TO CONDUCT A SOIL TEST FOR YOUR FOOD PLOTSNext, you\u2019ll want to clear the site of any brushy or woody stems.\u00a0 If it\u2019s grass, you can either mow it down or burn it off depending upon equipment availability and accessibility.\u00a0 The timing of this process will also play a crucial role in taking the right steps.\u00a0 If the vegetation is growing and green, you\u2019ll want to treat with glyphosate (active ingredient in Roundup) to get a good kill of the weeds and their root systems before you expose the ground.\u00a0 The bullets\u00a0below details the steps depending upon the season or time of clearing:Before spring green up > 1. burn off residual or mow and wait for green up to occur > treat with glyphosate once vegetation is roughly 4\u201d-6\u201d in height > work up or broadcast clover 1-2 weeks after die-off if burnedAfter spring green up through summer > mow to reduce veg. height > wait for new growth to reach 6\u201d and spray with glyphosate > work up or burn off thatch layer prior to plantingEarly fall > treat with glyphosate to get a good kill going into winter > work up and plant next springTiming is everything with proper site preparation of food plots.\u00a0 As a rule of thumb, figure it will take roughly a month to obtain a weed controlled\u00a0site because you\u2019ll have to wait 1-2 weeks for the glyphosate to kill everything.Here is a first year food plot planted with Roundup Ready soybeans to control the weeds. \u00a0This year it will be planted with Eagle Seed Broadside which is a brassica\/winter wheat mix.One trick I\u2019ve learned over the years on first year food plots is to plant them with Roundup Ready soybeans or other Roundup Ready\u00a0seed.\u00a0 If seed is Roundup Ready (RR), it simply implies that it will be unaffected by Roundup or glyphosate if sprayed with the appropriate ratio.\u00a0 This means you can spray the area after the food plot has begun to grow and knock the weeds back.\u00a0 By using this technique during the first year or two, you\u2019ll really put a hurting on the future weed problem, which is critical.\u00a0 However, depending on the size of the plot and deer population, just know that the plots may get wiped out before deer season starts (especially soybeans).Breaking GroundOnce the weeds are knocked back, it\u2019s time to work or expose the soil to get ready for planting.\u00a0 How you do this largely depends on what type of equipment you have available and if you can physically get it to the location of the food plot.\u00a0 For this section, we\u2019ll concentrate on small equipment and garden tools since that\u2019s what most of us are limited to on these small scale food plots.\u00a0 Without a doubt, breaking ground on a new plot is the toughest part of the equation and will likely require the most time and hard labor.First off, the type of seed you want to plant (click here for suggestions) will play a role in how vigorously the land needs to be worked.\u00a0 Small, hardy seeds, like clovers and brassicas, can do quite well with as little as a bit of ground scraping with a steel rake.\u00a0 Of course, the better a seed bed is worked, the better seed-to-soil contact you will achieve.\u00a0 Again, the biggest thing is making sure the weeds are killed and plant just before a decent rain.In the past, I\u2019ve used everything from a garden rototiller to a full blown 100hp tractor with a 15\u2019 disc to break ground on food plots.\u00a0 While we would all prefer the latter, there have also been plenty of hunters who\u2019ve simply broadcasted seed onto barren ground following a burn and had terrific results\u2026no tillage needed!\u00a0 Figure out what you have access to and how you are going to do it.\u00a0 A little bit of sweat will be good for you.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t need to look as pretty as a freshly cultivated ag field to get great results.\u00a0 Just make sure the majority of seeds will come in contact with soil and the competing vegetation is dead or gone.Liming and Fertilizing Food PlotsSpreading fertilizer in a food plot with a shoulder spin seeder.Liming and fertilizing goes hand in hand with soil sampling, and like soil sampling, it is a step often skipped by first time food plotters.\u00a0 Liming should be done based upon soil analysis and should be spread before planting.Fertilizing, in most cases, should wait until plants begin to grow.\u00a0 If you fertilize before seeding, the nutrients will have largely leached away before the roots ever had a chance to suck them up.\u00a0 Thus, you\u2019ll only be wasting money and helping the weeds.\u00a0 Fertilizing should also be done based upon crop type and soil analysis recommendations.Seeding Your Food PlotI use an ATV 12-Volt powered spin seeder to broadcast soybeans in all my food plots.Finally, the fun part!\u00a0 \u2026or at least the part where you\u2019re finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.\u00a0 There\u2019s really not much to this other than making sure you put the right amount of seed down.\u00a0 Believe me, there is such a thing as \u201ctoo much seed\u201d, and it\u2019s often quite tempting when seeding brassicas because it seems like there\u2019s barely enough seed to plant 1 square foot much less the \u00bd acre the bag tells you it will plant.\u00a0 I\u2019ve been there and I\u2019ve over seeded more than I care to admit.\u00a0 DON\u2019T DO IT! Unless you\u2019re looking for a carpet of green brassicas that reach a max height of 2 inches and never grow bulbs, follow the recommended seeding rates on the bag.\u00a0 If broadcasting (rather than drilling) seed at a rate 1.5 times the recommendation, as germination rates will be lower.Don’t know what to plant? Click Here!Any type of spin seeder will work fine for seeding the small area.\u00a0 Typically, a small hand crank seeder works the best.\u00a0 When figuring out how far\u00a0to open the seeder holes, start small.\u00a0 I always prefer to cover my plots 2 or 3 times over rather than running out to soon.\u00a0 Once the seed is down, give it a quick rake or drag it to promote better germination.Wait until just before a rain to seed your food plots.\u00a0 This is really important when broadcast seeding food plots.MaintenanceAfter you\u2019ve planted, there\u2019s not much to do other than wait and watch it grow.\u00a0 As stated earlier, give it a top dressing of fertilizer per recommendation once the plants have established roots or are about 4 inches tall.\u00a0 Aside from fertilizing, maintaining weeds is the main goal.\u00a0 Use selective herbicides to treat the plot if weeds become a problem.\u00a0 Use broadleaf and grass specific herbicides to help you manage specific weed types.\u00a0\u00a0 If you use a Roundup Ready product like I mentioned before, spray the entire plot with glyphosate when needed.Well, that was quite the journey my friends, do it right and it will be worth it!Next Up: Tools for a Low Budget Food Plot"},{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/#breadcrumbitem","name":"Legendary Whitetail's Blog"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/blog\/how-to-prep-your-food-plots-for-planting\/#breadcrumbitem","name":"How to Prep Food Plots for Planting"}}]}]