I can remember my first foodplotting attempt like it was yesterday, when in fact its been almost a decade ago. Like many first-time foodplotters, I made my share of mistakes and ended up with more of a tall weed patch than a lush green clover or soybean foodplot like I had etched in the back of my mind. The first foodplotting mistake I made was a very common one, even today! I figured lime can't really be that important and besides I was in a big hurry to get those seeds spread as fast as possible. The fact of the matter is that the pH of your soil is one of the most common and overlooked steps that people fail to take into consideration when planting a foodplot. When the pH of your soil is in the low 6's or lower,your plants cannot readily put to use all of that expensive fertilizer that you put down for the plants to absorb. The closer you can get to that magical number of 7.0 or neutral, thats when your foodplots begin to click and take off. Properly limed foodplots perform better, look healthier, and most importantly produce more tons of high quality forage for your deerherd. By simply collecting a few small samples from several locations on your foodplot, mixing all the samples together, and sending them in to be tested is where the process starts. Not only will the results show the pH of your soil, but also will contain a detailed analysis of what available nutrients are present in your soil structure and also what needs to be added in terms of nitrogen,phosphorous,or potassium.
Once you've received the results back from your soil test, the fun begins. One of my favorite parts of foodplotting is getting to pick out which Antler King foodplot seed blend is going to be planted where. Antler King is an industry leader in foodplot products and boasts some of the most proven and productive foodplot seed choices in the industry today. Whether you are a serious foodplotter devoted to providing a 365 day footplot program for your whitetails or just a backyard feeder, Antler King has a foodplot seed blend suited for every application. Once you've made your Antler King foodplot seed choice, its time to stir up a little dirt. When I first started foodplotting, I couldn't justify owning a large tractor or fancy tiller or disc. With the abundance of Atv foodplot implements on the market today, a person can easily find just about any foodplot planter or disc. Over the years I've had the opportunity to try out almost every atv foodplot implement out there. There are countless atv discs on the market and while many seem to be priced very reasonable, I always say, you get what you pay for. The sodbuster disc by Antler King outperforms all other atv discs. No need to stack hundreds of pounds of weight on the frame to get the disc to cut sod. The Antler King Sodbuster disc's name says it all! This atv disc will cut and performs very well. With any disc, whether it be a small atv disc or a large 30ft wide disc used for farming, tall vegetation causes problems for both. Alot of times, in virgin foodplots, its best to either mow, burn, or use a herbicide to knock down the vegetation before trying to work up the soil. During the actual discing process and especially on brand new plots, I find it very beneficial to just get the soil worked up on one day without actually planting at this time. This will enable the sod to get turned over and broke up to allow the vegetation to die off. After the intial breakup of the new plot, in most instances I will usually wait a minimum of a week to 10 days before I get in a big rush to plant. Another factor that I feel is extremely important and must be closely monitored before planting takes place is rainfall shortly after and preferably the night after a new foodplot planting takes place. I also learned this lesson the hard way on one of my first foodplot attemps. As I recall, the soil moisture was decent, but definately not enough to effectively germinate small seeded plants such as clover, or chicory. I failed to check the extended weather forecast which I found out later had a very little or no chance of rain for the next week, which spelled bad news for me which was the beginning of a whole long list of mistakes. With small seeded foodplot blends, the challenge starts with keeping that 1/2in of topsoil where all the seeds are located moist enough for several days to ensure a quick germination process. Since soil dries out fastest from the top, I feel the extended rainfall forecast should be closely examined before a person ever decides to plant. I know this is why my first attempt at a beautiful clover plot turned into a weed patch many years ago. Without adequate topsoil moisture, my foodplot seed layed dormant in the soil for close to two weeks before germinating, meanwhile the weed seeds which were down lower in the soil where moisture was prevalent thrived and had a head start. At this time I would also like to add a very important and beneficial note. I would say that 80% of my Antler King perennial foodplots are planted in the fall of the year. By fall planting perennials, you are giving yourself a distinct advantage over competition from weeds and grasses which are nearing their dormancy for the year. Also the cooler fall temps and normally abundant rainfall is great for starting a new Antler King perennial planting. Another great advantage for fall planting perennial foodplots is that come spring, your newly planted Antler King Trophy Clover Mix from the fall before will begin greening up by mid-March giving it almost a months headstart over the weeds and grasses thus choking them out and eliminating much of the competition.
Now the day we all look forward to, planting time. The weatherman is predicting rain for the next 2 days and you've done your pre-planting homework. Soil test has been preformed and lime has been spread (if needed) and worked into the soil at initial ground breakup. The first thing that I will usually do when I arrive at the foodplot location is spread my fertilizer according to what my soil sample requires. This is why a soil sample is so important, reason is your soil may not need any or very little fertilizer or it may need quite a bit. If you guess you may be wasting alot of money on something that you don't even need, and they don't give fertilizer away these days! One of my favorite fertilizer spreaders is one that I pull behind my atv and it does a wonderful job. The spreader will hold roughly 200lbs of fertilizer and in many places this is enough to do a whole acre. I will usually spread half of the required fertilizer on my foodplot in one direction working back and forth and then spread the other half across the opposite direction just like a checkerboard. This ensures even coverage over the whole foodplot. I have enclosed a few pics of my fertilizer spreader below. It is a very affordable foodplot spreader for a person just getting started and has held up quite well for me. I made a few upgrades to suit my needs better including a taller set of tires with a higher ply rating. The agitator that stirs the material around in the bottom was made out of cheap wire and I welded on a heavier piece of rod to bust up some of the larger clumps better.
Now that your fertilizer is spread, its time to stir up a little dirt and most importantly get the fertilizer worked into the soil before it evaporates into the air and you lose it. Urea or pure nitrogen is especially bad at evaporating rapidly. Alot of my smaller 1/4 acre kill plots are in such secluded areas that I have to rely mainly on my Antler King Sodbuster disc to get the job done. However today, tractor access was feasible and I was running short of time when photographing for this article so I had to bring out the big gun and get the soil worked up quickly. Another tool I use on a regular basis is a 3-point rear tine tiller. A tiller does a wonderful also of working up the ground and mixing in lime and fertilizer into the soil. You will notice that after you disc and especially after tilling, how much fluff the soil has too it. Walk out into the soil that you just worked up and your boots will literally sink several inches down into the powder. Whether you choose to use a tiller or a disc to work up the soil in your foodplot brings up another very important point. The #1 reason I see why beginner foodplots fail is seed depth. Seed depth is so critical and when your planting seeds like clover,chicory,turnips,or even rape, we're talking a fine line of no more than 1/2in deep. This is the part of the planting procedure where a good cultipacker is worth its weight in gold and also I might add is the most overlooked piece of foodplot equipment. Immediately after working up the ground, I will pull my cultipacker over the foodplot to smooth it out and most importantly firm up the seedbed. Another advantage of firming up the seed bed soon after discing is to conserve soil moisture. Firmed up soil looses moisture slower than soil that is fluffed up and powdery. I added a picture below indicating about how well I want my soil firmed up before I spread my Antler King seed. Notice how my boot doesn't sink in more than 1/2in.
While we're on the subject of cultipackers, I'd like to talk briefly about the advantages of using them. My very first cultipacker wasn't really a cultipacker at all. It was more of a homemade lawn roller that weighed a ton and was a pain to move around. I think I still have it somewhere out back in the weeds. I remember building it back in gradeschool. The roller was actually a piece of 14in diameter pipe with caps welded on each end filled with concrete with a piece of rod running through the center out both ends to act as my bearing assembly. It was a very crude looking piece of equipment and the constant squealing of metal to metal contact drove me crazy. Nonetheless it served its purpose of firming up the soil, maybe too well? The only problem with using a smooth sided roller is in the event of a gulley washer rainstorm that dumps over an inch of rain in just a short period of time. This particular predicament also happened to me. A completely smooth seedbed has no rainfall holding capabilities. Unlike a conventional cultipacker that has notched wheels that create small depressions that will actually control and hold water runoff, a smooth roller has none of these properties and after a heavy rainfall on a newly planted foodplot, you will notice how many of your seeds will get washed into the lowspots where water pools up.
Now we're making progress on our soon to be Antler King foodplot. The foodplot seedbed is firmed up nicely, and now its time to spread your premium Antler King Foodplot Seed. On smaller foodplots 1/2 acre or less, a small handcrank spreader can't be beat. One of my favorites and the best I have found is a Solo brand handspreader. Ive enclosed a picture below for reference. Now, before the actual seed spreading takes place, be sure to adjust your door opening so that the seed drops down through before being spread. On the smaller Antler King seed blends, no more than 1/8in door opening is sufficient. During the actual spreading process, alot of people will think that not enough seed is being spread and open the sliding gate way open and within a fews steps, they've used up all their seed. In most instances, less is better than too much!
I will pour half of the required amount of seed into the spreader and spread that over the entire foodplot walking back in forth in a set direction. Next I will pour the remainder of the seed which should be close to half into the spreader and spread that over the entire foodplot except working back and forth in the opposite direction than I previously seeded basically again in a sort of checkerboard fashion much like when I spread fertilizer. This ensure equal coverage of seed with very minimal bald spots.
Now that my Antler King seed has been properly spread on my foodplot, I have one more very important step before loading up the equipment. I will my cultipacker again over the foodplot which will lightly press the seed down into the soil to ensure good seed to soil contact. Many times, once I run over the entire foodplot, I will repeat the process again going over the entire foodplot in the opposite direction much like when I spread my seed and fertilizer. I feel the second passover presses any missed seed in contact with the soil. Don't worry if you still see a few seeds here and there laying on top of the soil, if the weatherman was correct and a nice gentle shower occurs, the raindrops will lightly press the seeds down into the soil enough for proper germination. The last photo shows how I like a properly completed Antler King foodplot to look after planting.
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