We tried a few food plots when we first bought our acreage in northern Michigan, but we were inconsistent. We would try one year and get a decent result, try the next year and get a very poor result. Then we would take a few years off. Then we decided to get serious about it and have been planting plots consistently for the last four years.
If I had to pick one key to good plots I would say soil, soil, soil. If the soil isn’t correct then you are simply a seed suppliers dream, planting and re-planting hoping to get a good result. There is more to it than that, but the soil is the key. A close second would be weed control, the weeds and grass can choke out a very promising plot quickly.
Here is a short list of what I’ve learned the last four years:
Clear the Plot
Clear the plot of all leaves and sticks. Then turn the soil over and use RoundUp or other weed control. You should do this about a week or so after you turn the soil and the weeds and grasses have started to grow. This will help eliminate any competition and help your seed grow, grow, grow.
It continues to get easier and easier to test your soil. A lot of the seed suppliers now have their own instant soil tests, get a tester and get to fixing that soil. You can test the soil as soon as you turn it over. If your pH is low you need to fix it. We use pelletized lime to balance the pH in our soil, it takes longer to work than the powder but you can lime and plant at the same time. The lime will be released into the soil as your seed grows and we have seen reasonable results. Once you get the soil right the rate of lime application will drop dramatically.
In the first year as you are trying to get the soil balanced you can improve success by utilizing a seed that is enhanced to grow in poorer pH soil. The seed companies market these as “Throw n Grow”, “Hot Plot”, or “No Till” seeds.
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| Photo By Elizabeth Lies, The Split |
Seed Likes Rain
A few weeks after you have killed off the competition with the weed control you can plant. If you are like us you don’t have any expensive farm implements at your disposal. We use a tractor and an ATV to plow and drag our plots and don’t have a way to drill the seed into the soil. So we broadcast the seed and drive our vehicles on the plot. A good rain helps in two ways. First, it helps to drive the seed further into the soil. Second, seeds love to be watered. So, if you have the flexibility, plan to plant just before a rain.
Fertilize and Mow
By properly eliminating the competition with weed control and balancing the pH in our soil we are now able to grow good plots. We are now at the point with our plots where we can focus on the health and output of the plot. By fertilizing the plots once a year and mowing (if the crop can be mowed) we are able to grow fuller and healthier plots. I like to use a weaker fertilizer like a 19-19-19 spread thinner than the recommended broadcast, we don’t want to burn up what we worked so hard to achieve.
The last step in all of this is to now enjoy the fruits of your labor and the animals that travel to and stay on your property because there is good food, cover, and water. We only had a few faint deer trails on our place when we first bought it and for years after. The trails were few and light even after our initial, sporadic flirtations with plots. In the four years since, with consistently better plots each year, the trails are now numerous and the width of trails is measured in feet instead of inches. Trail camera pictures also confirm that more and bigger bucks are frequenting the property.
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