My first attempt at a food plot

I tilled my plot Wed and used some horse manure from the barn for fertilizer. I spread the manure before tilling so it's mixed into the soil. I was able to get my plot seeded yesterday morning after I got home from the fire station hoping it would rain yesterday like they were calling for. I was already planning to shuttle some water in my 15gal sprayer unit I seen this... My wife said it's coming down pretty good!!!

Good job. I'm way behind in getting my plot in. Tried to disk it up but the ground is like concrete. Hoping for some rain today.

Looks great

I learned the hard way about putting a plot around a spin feeder in that the amount of deer traffic will help to trample out the plot really quickly. Should up the traffic around the feeder. Post up some after pics when it comes up.

If you got the seed down before all this rain, you may have a great plot this year.

Yes I got the seed down yesterday morning and my FIL said we got 5/8" so far today. I was going to shuttle water tomorrow morning if we didnt get any rain today.

Thanks, never thought about it getting trampled down that close to the feeder. To be honest, we dont have just a whole lot of deer around I was just looking to offer them something else other than corn.

I'm hoping to keep these two hanging around.... I'd like to get some better pics of the first deer but for now he's at the top of the list, second buck will get a pass this year.

what did you plant?

With just a few deer they will make at least two trips per day to the feeder when it feeds. They will be eating and walking around waiting on the feeder to feed. You could always just over-seed the rest of the open area with ryegrass and/or turnips mix. It will grow as soon as you get a good rain on it.

7 Card Stud Food Plot Seed, Forage Oats, Forage Triticale, Winter Peas, Crimson Clover, Forage Turnip, Forage Chicory, Daikon Radish

I did over seed it, the bag said it would cover 11,000 sq ft an my plot is only about half that size an I used the whole bag

I think it looks great and you will have fun seeing how your efforts pay off. I would consider planting moist of that mowed strip between the feeder and the blind next summer, you may be surprised how much your deer sightings may go up, food and cover can pull deer in from a good ways.

I may try that next yr if time permits. I just looked at my plot after the rain yesterday and last night and it seems to me the rain has uncover quite a bit of the seed. Do I need to do anything or is this normal?

Let it roll Fireman, there is much seed you cant see under the ground and if the surface stay's wet long enough, much of what you see can still sprout. With as much small seed that you planted, it will be close to the surface anyway, generally less than 1/4" to germinate good.

I agree with, Western, don't worry about the seed you see on the surface. Most likely you got plenty of seed under the ground for a good food plot.
And, trying to be helpful, shuttling water will be a waste of time in my opinion. For example, a 1/4 inch rain on one acre would require you to shuttle in 6,788.5 gallons of water. That's a few trips with a 15 gallon sprayer.

Very nice job but I agree with stxranchman based on my experience as whatever is there will get beat down by hooves. May be next year put it on the blind side of the feed so it is a rectangle or square. Easier to work and not trying to miss the feeder.

I was out changing the times on my feeders yesterday and I thought of this topic when I looked back across this food plot. With the rain over the weekend you can see how there is a feeding circle that extends into the food plot, out about 45' from the feeder.



This feeder was on another part of this 1.3 acre food plot last year, its first year, but I moved it to another location on the plot. When I started prepping the plot this year it was amazing how hard the ground was where it sat for about 50' any direction. It literally was like concrete. It is amazing what that consent hoof action can do.

My plot is coming up pretty good just beyond the feeder. I do see what y'all are saying about it getting trampled down, there are lots of tracks through it now....

My suggestion to keep the plot from getting trampled is that next year you move the feeder to the outside of the food plot. The way you have it now, all the deer have to walk through your food plot to get to the feeder trampling down the oats. If you move it just outside of the plot at least 1/2 of the deer will not walk through the plot to get to the feeder unless they are actually feeding in the plot.
You do have a good looking set up there, good luck, I think you are going to be happy that you went to the trouble to do a food plot.

Once the acorns dropped I havnt seen much at the feeder or in the plot. The turnips are about knee high and the radishes are coming on strong now also.

you did a pretty good job with the soil prep as far as getting it soft

one thing though the manure needs to be composted first for better results

fortunately horse manure has the least nutrient value of all so it is not going to burn your plants if you had used hog or chicken without composting you would have burned the plants up most likely or you would have caused them to grow too quick and be weak and spindly

you also should run a soil test from the Stephen F. Austin soils lab and see if you need to lime your soil so that nutrients will be more available in the future

http://ag.sfasu.edu/index.php/idsa?id=25

if you can get chicken litter and compost it (properly) or find it composted (again properly which is harder than finding it which finding it is generally easy in east Texas) you will be miles ahead on nutrition in the future Vs horse

Yep there ain't nothing to them food plot...as long as you get them planted and get rain before birds/ants./bugs/hogs eat seed and get RAIN so it comes up ..looks like ya done great...Just think what pressure a Farmer is under to do the same.with his lively hood at stake!!!