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I work for a fertilizer company and make recommendations on a regular basisl...i'm not saying i'm a pro, but this is my advice...

1) See what type of soil you have and/or get a soil test.
- if it's more clay, make be OK without lime, sandy soil
the odds are you need lime

2) Put out around 150# of a 13-13-13 or blend w/ higher P
& K, you don't need alot of nitrogen at first. Let the
seeds sprout and the plant begin to grow a couple inches
then hit it with some straight nitrogen and it will take
off.

3) My advice is not to use ryegrass it comes on too late a
and will only be beneficial to the deer at the end of
deer season and will not help you much with hunting

I'd go w/ oats & a handful of peas w/ about 2-3 pounds of clover per acre...

Good Luck

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Just the man I was looking for! I sent my soil sample off to A&M and their recommendations were for 80# of Pos5 per acre. I dont know enough about fertilizers to know how to get that balance and if they have Pos5 fertilizer only. Your recommendations.

Thanks

BTW A&M turned our sample around in about 12 days or so. At least they do that right.
Hookem Horns!

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Corvette-
As Big Orn mentioned, it would be a big help to know the area that you are wanting to plant in (soils, etc.). I have been planting and testing food plots for over 25 years and would be glad to help any way that I can. Although the number of different things that you can plant are overwhelming, not all plants will grow in all areas and soil types. Additionally, just because it will grow, doesn't mean that deer in your area will be attracted to it. I have planted the same exact plots on properties that were less than 20 miles apart, with similar deer populations. On one property the deer would absolutely hammer the plot....while 20 miles away the deer wouldn't touch it. Successful food plotting is usually achieved through a lot of trial and error.
Drawing conclusions from my planting experience (from east Texas to the panhandle), the most common success with food plots will be planting wheat or rye grain. Stay away from rye grasses, they are way low on the preferred list of deer.
Wheat is generally believed to be a little higher than rye grain on the preferred list, although my tests (side by side plots) didn't show much preference between the two. Rye grain will definitely grow the easiest - on the widest varieties of soils.
If you want to save yourself the $$ of trial and error, I would recommend the following blend: 50# wheat, 50# rye grain, and 10-12# crimson clover per acre. If $$ is really tight, skip the crimson clover (might have to buy 50# bag, even though you won't need it all) and go with 50-60# wheat and 50-60# rye grain per acre. Fertilizer prices are out of control, but I usually apply 250-300# per acre of 19-19-19 when planting. If necessary, you can drop the fertilizer to 100-150# per acre and still see a good benefit.
As others have mentioned, a soil test is highly recommended. Since it is getting a little late to send off a soil test, have it analyzed, and make necessary soil adjustments before time to plant, you should be ok for this fall with the above blend.
If you still have access to the walk behind tiller, I would hit it shortly after the rain that we are getting to get the ground loosened up a little. Then plant between the first and third week in September and you will be good to go.

Mr. Clean-
I would definitely take advantage of the moisture and plow your plots after the rain (just don't plow if it is muddy -you will kick yourself later!). I would then wait until the first through third week of September to plant. For years I always planted the first weekend of September to establish plots by bow season. The last couple of years, the plots came up great, but mid September heat and drought killed off the young plants and I had to replant the plots the first week of October---$$$$$$. If you are not bowhunting, wait until at least the second week of September to have the best chance of plot survival.
As far as what to plant...same advice as above.

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Great reply! Kudos!

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I work for a fertilizer company and make recommendations on a regular basisl...i'm not saying i'm a pro, but this is my advice...

1) See what type of soil you have and/or get a soil test.
- if it's more clay, make be OK without lime, sandy soil
the odds are you need lime

2) Put out around 150# of a 13-13-13 or blend w/ higher P
& K, you don't need alot of nitrogen at first. Let the
seeds sprout and the plant begin to grow a couple inches
then hit it with some straight nitrogen and it will take
off.

3) My advice is not to use ryegrass it comes on too late a
and will only be beneficial to the deer at the end of
deer season and will not help you much with hunting

I'd go w/ oats & a handful of peas w/ about 2-3 pounds of clover per acre...

Good Luck

---

Just the man I was looking for! I sent my soil sample off to A&M and their recommendations were for 80# of Pos5 per acre. I dont know enough about fertilizers to know how to get that balance and if they have Pos5 fertilizer only. Your recommendations.

Thanks

BTW A&M turned our sample around in about 12 days or so. At least they do that right.
Hookem Horns!

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It seems to me they have done something right the last two football seasons!!! Gig'em

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DuctTape-
I try to keep my plots plowed up for a month or so prior to planting. This helps to eliminate any grasses and weeds and more importantly, if there hasn't been any rain for a few weeks prior to planting time, the ground is already loosened up and ready to plant. It is ok to plant your seed in dry conditions (it won't hurt it to lay there until rains hit), but it sure is a pain to try to disc up ground that is hard and dry when you are ready to plant.
Anyway, I drag a large set of old bedsprings behind my disc just prior to planting. This not only loosens the soil, but it also levels out the seed bed and eliminates any trenches or depressions that might cause the seed to be buried too deep. A lot of guys will drag their plots after using their disc, as a separate step. After doing this year after year, it started getting old (I plant roughly 35 - 40 plots a year!). I finally drilled two holes in the back of my disc and installed heavy duty eye hooks. This way I can easily attach my drag behind my disc and do it all in one pass.
Next, I use a broadcast spreader to spread fertilizer and large seeds. By large seeds, I mean wheat, oats, rye grain, awp, soybeans, etc. The seed and fertilizer will now be primarily sitting on top of the soil. I then make another pass with my disc / bedsprings....but this time, I set the disc so that it just barely turns the soil (max of 1-2 inches). This will bury the seed and cover it lightly. I will then go back on top with any small seeds that I may be planting (if any). Small seeds include clovers, alfalfa, chicory, etc. Just broadcast on top of the smooth seedbed. You can just leave the plot alone now. As a general rule of thumb, the larger seeds need to be planted from 1/2 inch to 2 inches deep.....the smaller seeds only about 1/4 of an inch - no more than 1/2 inch deep. If you don't mind the extra time, it will certainly be beneficial to cultipack the plot to allow good seed to soil contact. I use a poly water filled lawn roller behind my atv (roller about $150 at Northern Tools). If not, depending on the size of the plot, you can just drive over it with an atv or pickup.
As far as spreading the seed goes, you should be able to use your broadcast spreader for the large seeds and fertilizer. Smaller seeds aren't going to do too well in a large spreader. I primarily use a Solo 421S chest spreader for all of my small seeds - one of the best investments I ever made ($50-$80). If you are spreading pre-inoculated seed like crimson clover, the coating enlarges the seed enough that I can spread it in my atv broadcast spreader.
Hope this helps.

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Thanks for the input

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I work for a fertilizer company and make recommendations on a regular basisl...i'm not saying i'm a pro, but this is my advice...

1) See what type of soil you have and/or get a soil test.
- if it's more clay, make be OK without lime, sandy soil
the odds are you need lime

2) Put out around 150# of a 13-13-13 or blend w/ higher P
& K, you don't need alot of nitrogen at first. Let the
seeds sprout and the plant begin to grow a couple inches
then hit it with some straight nitrogen and it will take
off.

3) My advice is not to use ryegrass it comes on too late a
and will only be beneficial to the deer at the end of
deer season and will not help you much with hunting

I'd go w/ oats & a handful of peas w/ about 2-3 pounds of clover per acre...

Good Luck

---

Just the man I was looking for! I sent my soil sample off to A&M and their recommendations were for 80# of Pos5 per acre. I dont know enough about fertilizers to know how to get that balance and if they have Pos5 fertilizer only. Your recommendations.

Thanks

BTW A&M turned our sample around in about 12 days or so. At least they do that right.
Hookem Horns!

---

It seems to me they have done something right the last two football seasons!!! Gig'em

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Now I have to pull out the big stick. 73-36-5 record VS. A&M Congrats on the last one

The woot is the closest thing to a whoop I could find!

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Now I have to pull out the big stick. 73-36-5 record VS. A&M Congrats on the last one

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