^^^ and that's running straight through a hose, not running through a sprinkler.

Only way I would attempt to irrigate food plots is with a windmill or some other form of mechanically driven water from the ground. Of course, rain is the best, and is why most people wait to plant when conditions are good for rain.

JT, I don't want you to get frustrated about this stuff either. None of us were born knowing what to do. It takes learning and experience to be a good food plotter. I am far from it, consider myself a basic kind of guy. There are others on here with a plethora of information about plotting, but I think one of the universal take aways is don't try to cut corners. You are only wasting your time and money if you cut corners and don't do ewverything the way it should be done.

That's why I am critical of your watering, it will be like pissing in the wind on a 90 degree summer day to pour all that water onto that dirt if you are only getting that small amount you planned. Waste of your time and money. Do it right and let nature do its thing.

I'm planting today, Thursday 6th, because it is suppose to rain for the next 4 or 5 days. I normally plant about the 21st. But with this rain, I'm going a little early this year and hope the worms don't get me.

JT, the amount and type you posted

Nitrogen (N) Content (Percentage) 12
Phosphorus (P) Content (Percentage) 4
Potassium (K) Content (Percentage) 8

Is essentially dust in the wind, it is "something", I will try to explain a bit better.

Those numbers are printed as guaranteed amounts of those additives, those numbers are also factored based on 100 lbs per acre, in other words, to get the 12-3-8 units in pounds in the soil, that would be 100 lbs of that fertilizer per one acre to achieve just 12-4-8, or 50 pounds to deliver 12-4-8 on 1/2 acre.

Take triple 13, same thing. To actually get 13 units of each on one acre, you would have to use 100 lbs, 50 for 1/2 acre and 13-13-13 units is hardly diddly if compared to most average soil samples. That is why every seed supplier in the universe says get a soil sample for best results and economy, but if you haven't, use 2-300 lbs of xyz.
Say you use 200 lbs of triple 13, the lower recommendation by most seed co if there is no soil sample, also notice they say "per acre", (there are formulas for smaller areas as well, but it is always the same ratio) so, 200 lbs of 13-13-13 would give you 26-26-26 units/pounds of each chemical per acre. Looking at that and knowing how soil samples work, you can see that you could be wasting money on one element and shorting your grow with a lack of one of the others, it is a "shotgun" approach that works, but not at it's full potential.

Take a make believe soil sample for instance, say it says for oats, you need 40 pounds of nitrogen per acre and you have triple 13 fertilizer, the 1st number of coarse is N (nitrogen) you take the recommended 40ppa and divide by the 13, so 40/.13 =307 lbs per acre to get the recommended 40 pounds/units per acre. Same formula for the remaining elements Potassium and potash + trace min. So you can see if a soil sample came back like 45-24-85 for best results and plant growth, you get a blend, or make a blend that gets you as close as possible to meet those numbers with out wasting money and possibly overloading your land with one nutrient.

Also, your legumes need much less N than non legumes and in some cases it is said to be a negative to add N to them regularly (alfalfa) Legumes fix their own nitrogen at the root, so the best thing you can do for growth and production with those is buy pre-inoculated seed, or buy the proper inoculate for that particular class of legume. Legumes need the enzyme/bacteria to aide in oxygen fixing, really important if that enzyme has never been introduced to your soil before as well if you really want to get all you can from that seed.

On that small of plot, imo, you want to get the healthiest, productive growth out of it you can at a reasonable expense. I wouldn't have any problem putting out 100lbs of triple 13 on that half acre after it was up and dry about 4", just know you will get the more use at this time from the N, it moves quick thru solid, especially sandy soils, potassium is as slow as lime getting down to the roots and pot ash kind of in the middle, may even be cheaper if you can find a 50# bag of 32-0-0, or 24-0-0 (for the half acre) and run with that, but plan on a soil sample (less than $24 thru A&M) next Spring. Might as well make this part as fun as the rest of it

Thanks guys for all the info! When it gets a little taller and the rain moves out I will put some extra triple 13 on it, enough for 1/3 of an acre. So far its doing well after 4 days of rain. Here is a pic I took tonight when I got home just after dark. Will keep you guys updated...

Triple 13 added 3 days ago and it is doing even better now!

Starting to look good. How much and What did you actually plant?

2 bags of the 10 lbs mix

Evolved Harvest Winter Pz is a mix of forage winter peas and oats with the bonus of triticale & clover which makes the ultimate cool season food plot.

WinterPz can be planted early spring, late summer and fall in most areas
Creates a sweet and succulent food plot that thrives in the cool season
Each bag covers 1/4 acre

Sorry, I had to laugh at your infro-commercial about the succulent food plot. I'm sure it will work great for you. Next year, just buy one 50lb bag of oats (no more than $20) and one 50lb bag of Austrian winter peas ($35) and one 50lb bag of 13-13-13 fertilizer ($20). So you will have $75 in your food plot, but it won't say, "succulent" on any of the bags. That amount is really enough for 2-3 food plots of the size that you plant. So, I would use 1/2 of the amount and then save the other half just in case of Army worms and having to replant in October. However, if you like what comes up this year, just keep doing it.

haha I just now noticed that I copied it from the website LOL

Looks like one of my setups. I've got 1000' of polypipe running from camp, downhill . I watered every 2-3 days over the summer. My alfalfa did very well and deer were thick. Water bill was minuscule compared to the amount of animals using the plot. Yours looks real good, J T. And yes, it is definitely a learning experience for me as well.