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Food Plot Question #5911009 09/03/15 02:06 PM
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Shane H. Offline OP
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I am hunting in North East Texas. Rusk County to be exact. I am about to plant some oats and wheat, but was wondering do I really need to disc the land before doing it? Can I mow it down real close and throw the seeds out before it rains and get the close to the same results?
I don't have a tractor and would have to hire someone to come disc for me and was wondering if it's worth the extra cost. I am planning on either doing a disc or mowing this weekend and getting the soil ready. Then waiting till before a good rain to throw the seeds out. Thoughts please.

Thanks in advance for your advice.

Shane

Re: Food Plot Question [Re: Shane H.] #5911015 09/03/15 02:09 PM
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It might come up if you seed before you mow, doubt it'll yield as much as discing though.

Re: Food Plot Question [Re: Shane H.] #5911031 09/03/15 02:19 PM
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We have hand seeded areas with oats that were not plowed and had good results. If it rained it did great if not nothing.

We have very loose sandy soil though, I would expect harder soils with more clay to not do as well.


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Re: Food Plot Question [Re: Shane H.] #5911046 09/03/15 02:23 PM
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If you have to do it that way, throw seed before you mow so the ground will hold more moisture.

Re: Food Plot Question [Re: Shane H.] #5911061 09/03/15 02:30 PM
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The soil is very sandy. 2-3 foot deep before you hit clay. I could rent a tiller for pretty cheap. Just trying to figure out the best way to do it.

Last edited by Shane H.; 09/03/15 02:32 PM.
Re: Food Plot Question [Re: Shane H.] #5911082 09/03/15 02:42 PM
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If you could figure out a way to drag it after you seed it, that will help a little. An old gate with some weight on it works pretty good.


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Re: Food Plot Question [Re: Shane H.] #5911162 09/03/15 03:26 PM
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We planted all kinds of peas and we disked it first and it came up great.


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Re: Food Plot Question [Re: Shane H.] #5911321 09/03/15 04:44 PM
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IMO, you will be wasting your time and money just throwing it out on cut grass. You can mow now, but it would be better to disc to kill the grasses and weeds, then disc again the morning you plant (mid-late September is normal around here), this is the time you put out fertilizer just before you disc the 2nd time. Throw your seed out and then lightly drag to cover the seedand try to firm the seed bed.

Doing it this way will almost guarantee you a great plot you can count on if it rains.

You may find a LO next door that will disc for very little, or you can rent a small 35hp or so tractor and do it. Even those over priced deer plot seed bags say to "rake" the soil because seeds need as much soil contact as they can get to germinate.

How big of an area are you planning on?

Last edited by Western; 09/03/15 04:45 PM.

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Re: Food Plot Question [Re: Shane H.] #5911688 09/03/15 07:50 PM
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Not a huge area. 50 yards by 20 yards I would say. Thank you for the advise.

Re: Food Plot Question [Re: Shane H.] #5911733 09/03/15 08:04 PM
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That isn't very big, you may be able to use a nail type drag to clean it off and scratch up enough dirt. A piece of pipe with rebar pieces welded on may get you by this year. Go the tractor route and you will never do it the hard way again if you could avoid it though.

If you have a lot of deer, you will want to expand your food plot next year, I can almost guarantee you.

Here is a good primer on planting a food plot go to http://www.mbsseed.com/ Click "wildlife" on the left side of page, then click and read the "Wildlife food plot guide"


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Re: Food Plot Question [Re: Shane H.] #5911758 09/03/15 08:12 PM
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there are also no-till food plot seed blends available ... just another option.

as Western mentioned, making a drag to rough up the ground enough, toss out seeds and then drag a piece of chainlink or an old gate to partially cover the seeds.

Years ago, we had a place that had a small plot that did not have any access by tractor, we would watch the weather for a wet front coming in, take our seeds (mostly oats) out 4 days to a week prior to front hitting, fill up a 5 gallon bucket with seeds, then fill up with water out of the creek, let soak for a few hours so the water could absorb into the seeds a bit, toss wet seeds out on top of the ground in the dust ... a few days/a week later the rain would come thru (and we would pray it wasn't heavy enough to wash all the seeds down into the creek), worked like a charm. The soaking would help them start the germination process and then the rains were watering them as they were starting to grow.


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Re: Food Plot Question [Re: Shane H.] #5912824 09/04/15 01:23 PM
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I would spray all the grass with roundup first. Wait a few weeks, then plant your seeds. It's still too hot for planting.

Re: Food Plot Question [Re: Shane H.] #5912898 09/04/15 02:17 PM
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Would it be better to use roundup and kill the grass and weeds or to just use a tiller?

Re: Food Plot Question [Re: Shane H.] #5912971 09/04/15 03:01 PM
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I wouldn't add Roundup to any ground I planned to grow anything. It will stunt the growth of whatever you plant. I was told this by a guy who should know.


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Re: Food Plot Question [Re: Cast] #5912993 09/04/15 03:21 PM
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Originally Posted By: Cast
I wouldn't add Roundup to any ground I planned to grow anything. It will stunt the growth of whatever you plant. I was told this by a guy who should know.


Maybe he should know - but he doesn't seem to. Roundup (Glyphosate) has absolutely no long term residual effect on the soil or on future planting. It will act only when sprayed on actively growing plants and degrades in the soil.

I spray my plots with Glyphosate. A week or two later, I broadcast seed and fertilizer into the standing dead/dying vegetation and then mow it to lay duff over the seed. (As and alternative, you can drag something like a log or tire over the dead vegetation to lay it down against the ground.) The duff helps hold moisture and hides the seed from birds, and the seed will sprout right through it.


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Re: Food Plot Question [Re: BayouGuy] #5913003 09/04/15 03:27 PM
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Originally Posted By: BayouGuy
Originally Posted By: Cast
I wouldn't add Roundup to any ground I planned to grow anything. It will stunt the growth of whatever you plant. I was told this by a guy who should know.


Maybe he should know - but he doesn't seem to. Roundup (Glyphosate) has absolutely no long term residual effect on the soil or on future planting. It will act only when sprayed on actively growing plants and degrades in the soil.

I spray my plots with Glyphosate. A week or two later, I broadcast seed and fertilizer into the standing dead/dying vegetation and then mow it to lay duff over the seed. (As and alternative, you can drag something like a log or tire over the dead vegetation to lay it down against the ground.) The duff helps hold moisture and hides the seed from birds, and the seed will sprout right through it.


That's not a bad idea. I have sprayed and disked the weeds etc very year with poor results (drought has not helped) and have accidentally drug old dormant seeds to the top with some plant no one has been able to ID taking over the food plot. I have very sandy soil so anything to help with moisture is a good idea. It's certainly worth trying.


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Re: Food Plot Question [Re: BayouGuy] #5913005 09/04/15 03:29 PM
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Originally Posted By: BayouGuy
Originally Posted By: Cast
I wouldn't add Roundup to any ground I planned to grow anything. It will stunt the growth of whatever you plant. I was told this by a guy who should know.


Maybe he should know - but he doesn't seem to. Roundup (Glyphosate) has absolutely no long term residual effect on the soil or on future planting. It will act only when sprayed on actively growing plants and degrades in the soil.

I spray my plots with Glyphosate. A week or two later, I broadcast seed and fertilizer into the standing dead/dying vegetation and then mow it to lay duff over the seed. (As and alternative, you can drag something like a log or tire over the dead vegetation to lay it down against the ground.) The duff helps hold moisture and hides the seed from birds, and the seed will sprout right through it.


Thanks. It's nice to have an alternate view point. He swore by it.


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Re: Food Plot Question [Re: Shane H.] #5913031 09/04/15 03:45 PM
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With foodplots we found out to get a good foodplot with the right equipment and conditions you get what you put into it work wise.


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Re: Food Plot Question [Re: Shane H.] #5913086 09/04/15 04:13 PM
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If you till the vegetation in, it will also trap moisture and help build the soil. IMO, I would think long term as far as improving the dirt. Sure, you can throw rye seed on concrete darn near and it will grow, but done properly, you're feeding your deer something with better nutrition.

Many weeds are more preferred than most anything you will plant, so weeds aren't necessarily a bad thing, as far as deer are concerned.

I personally will never go through the expense of using a chemical to kill grass/weeds, with the right equipment, you don't need it. A little work and forethought and you can have a great plot every year and decent one on poor years.

A $20 soil sample is better money spent over chemicals IMO.


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Re: Food Plot Question [Re: Shane H.] #5913174 09/04/15 04:58 PM
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I agree, Dennis. I don't waste money on poison. Just mow, disc, broadcast, drag.


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