Looking for advice on planting a food plot for next year. My spot is 1.5 acres that's already cleared of trees and brush and in the middle of a dense native hardwood area. Currently, the field just has coastal and other grasses. Would you kill what's there, how and when? After the existing grasses are dead, I assume you just disc it up and turn the soil over, then plant your plot seeds? What time of year? Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Some questions first.
-Where (general area)?
-have you done a full spectrum soil sample ? Ph and soil makeup
-what is your access to equipment like?

and some more Hunting type questions
-How do deer currently use that area?
-What is your deer density like?
-what type of hunting are you planning on doing?
-can you access the area to hunt without bumping deer?

Thanks. Good questions.

Centerville
No soil sample, but my surrounding fields make great hay. Could get an sample.
Equipment is gonna be rental, which is ver accessible, unless Polaris Ranger is sufficient. I could buy implements.

Deer pass through to a pond.
Don't know density yet. All low fence, but will be high-fenced next year, so I'll control the density. Will be high quality white tail and exotics.
Yep, great access without bumping.

-get a soil sample for sure. It lets you know what the ph and soilIs best for.
If no equipment on sight… then throw and mow might be the way to go… there are some threads on another form I'll cross post. Throw and mow you can do nearly by hand.


(Deer pass through to a pond.) how many acres and do you have an areal of the food plot/pond .
Also you might need to
Hinge cut around to make access points so you know deer enter and access it and it makes for easier hunting.

I also hunt in Leon County. I would suggest you burn that site off just as soon as possible. It is probably sandy soil and you can put a couple of tons of lime on it and only help it. Break it up in March/April and plant in cow peas for the spring. I would mow it real close in September and then based on the weather, break it and plant oats and wheat for the fall/winter.

I don't know where you are around Centerville but there is a lot of land in the area being split up into smaller tracts and that is not a good thing for the deer!

Good luck. I will be glad to help if I can.

jrbaggie said:

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I also hunt in Leon County. I would suggest you burn that site off just as soon as possible. It is probably sandy soil and you can put a couple of tons of lime on it and only help it. Break it up in March/April and plant in cow peas for the spring. I would mow it real close in September and then based on the weather, break it and plant oats and wheat for the fall/winter.

I don't know where you are around Centerville but there is a lot of land in the area being split up into smaller tracts and that is not a good thing for the deer!

Good luck. I will be glad to help if I can.

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Thanks JR. I bought 130 acres, and hopefully can add to it in the future. You are correct. Very sandy in my area. Sounds like you've done this before.

So you want to do 130acre high fence?

130 acres high fenced? With qdma type management that's 1 deer per 20 to 25 acres. Would be 6 deer… even if you did a 1 per 15 That's 8 deer.
With exotics you mentioned also in competition for
browse and forbs , I don't know that will yield the type of hunting experience you want.

I can't agree more with getting your soil tested. Yes spray the coastal as it is just going to be competition for any moisture. Make sure your plot is protected against livestock and probably even deer (until it is established). Depending on your seed of choice you might want to inoculate. Make sure the seed you choose will do good in your area. If you can roll the field to make sure you get good soil to seed contact. If the field has never been disked then you could splurge and get a dozer with a highway disk to break it up. Time of planting depends on the seed. If planting legumes you don't need to fertilize much if any at all. Good luck!

Leon County native. We have great success with what I posted. Where are you from Centerville?

jrbaggie said:

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Leon County native. We have great success with what I posted. Where are you from Centerville?

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Tried to message you. My email is: lgmoreland@sbcglobal.net

• If the spot is to be a dedicated plot, by all means spray the coastal and other junk.
• Before screwing up the soil with heavy tillage, investigate if there is a no till planter to rent. If so, DO IT.
• Soil test - this is partially for lime (if needed) but also for legume selection and fertility needs
• Plant a variety of plants (grasses like oats, forbs like radish/turnip, and adapted legumes) next fall.

PM me for more info. I consult on this very thing and have food plot experience throughout the state.

By no means an expert, but I've gotten good plots with the same equipment you have. Get a soil test, and if you have work to do on it (aka lime fertilizer) I would start on that this spring. Personally I would not try to start a plot in the spring, I think it can lead to a lot of effort put in, and then frustration from the results. 1.5 acres with cowpeas starting out might be tough unless your deer and hog numbers are low. You are going to be fighting weeds, rainfall, and animal pressure.

If you really want to try something in the spring, I would try buckwheat. Deer will eat it, but it's a B team browse for them. Comes up quick, will shade out weeds, bees freaking love it. Spray the area with glyphosphate (get an atv sprayer) after spring green up. Then broadcast buckwheat in front of a rain.


Then in the fall, you can plant a brassica / turnip blend around September, and then overseed with cereal rye (not ryegrass! You want elbon rye) early to mid October in front of a rain. If the buckwheat took, and fought off the weeds, you shouldn't have to spray, it gets real stemmy once mature so it should easily break over from your drag. Deer like to feed on edges, so I will usually do Winfred brassicas and daikon radish in two strips, and cereal rye and red clover in two more strips. Rotate the strips every year


I have a broadcaster mounted on my front rack, and chain drag harrow I pull behind. Takes about an hour to do my 2 acres. You won't get magazine pictures out of these plots, but if you are patient about rain, you will be successful. Here is one I planted this fall into chest high goatweed (dead goatweed makes great cover btw, deer love feeding through it). Had to plant brassicas too early, so they only took in a small strip in the middle, but I overseeded around them with rye. By not breaking the soil, I don't have to fight off near as many weeds because I'm not opening the soil bank.

Thanks guys. Love all the advice. I see a plan coming together.

Whereabouts around Centerville?

We bought about 70 acres northeast of Centerville year before last, cleared a bunch with a dozer and just seeded with rye for erosion control last January.

Gonna start real plots in earnest this year. was originally thinking just cowpeas to start, but I like the idea of buckwheat as well.

Had a bunch of yaupon mulched this past summer, but all the roots are still there, so probably gonna mow all the new growth and spray the bejeezus out of it before we plant anything.

I'll bite..............

What are your true expectations with a high fence on only 130???

Seriously.......WTH???

*I'm guessing partly serious post....... but trolling on either the fence or the size

He has already ignored that inquiry multiple times

Dang y'all. Yes, serious question about how to do a successful food blot, and I appreciate the great responses. What animals I end up putting inside is still unknown. Why in the world you would think someone is "trolling" in an outdoor forum is beyond me. But thanks to those that helped educate me.

A.G.S. said:

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Whereabouts around Centerville?

We bought about 70 acres northeast of Centerville year before last, cleared a bunch with a dozer and just seeded with rye for erosion control last January.

Gonna start real plots in earnest this year. was originally thinking just cowpeas to start, but I like the idea of buckwheat as well.

Had a bunch of yaupon mulched this past summer, but all the roots are still there, so probably gonna mow all the new growth and spray the bejeezus out of it before we plant anything.

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We are NE as well. Mostly old growth timber and yaupon as well. There a 4/5 tracts next to mine that would be nice to add over time. Who did your mulching?

our plot of greens (radishes and turnips were up 10" tall before the 24 degree freeze last week. They got hammered by the cold and froze back to the ground. Oats and elbon rye got through ok.

A.G.S. said:

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Whereabouts around Centerville?

We bought about 70 acres northeast of Centerville year before last, cleared a bunch with a dozer and just seeded with rye for erosion control last January.

Gonna start real plots in earnest this year. was originally thinking just cowpeas to start, but I like the idea of buckwheat as well.

Had a bunch of yaupon mulched this past summer, but all the roots are still there, so probably gonna mow all the new growth and spray the bejeezus out of it before we plant anything.

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Be careful about what you spray with. Residuals can be hell on broadleaf food plat plants.

CrazyMRanch said:

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Dang y'all. Yes, serious question about how to do a successful food blot, and I appreciate the great responses. What animals I end up putting inside is still unknown. Why in the world you would think someone is "trolling" in an outdoor forum is beyond me. But thanks to those that helped educate me.

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High fence related topic trolling is not that uncommon around here. Not saying that's what you're doing.

oklaunion said:

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our plot of greens (radishes and turnips were up 10" tall before the 24 degree freeze last week. They got hammered by the cold and froze back to the ground. Oats and elbon rye got through ok.

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Same here. Turnips radishes all hit. Will they come back?

I was gonna hit the yaupon with Remedy immediately after I mow it again (hopefully the fresh cuts on the stumps will help) this month or the next, then probably not plant anything until April or so.

CrazyMRanch said:

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We are NE as well. Mostly old growth timber and yaupon as well. There a 4/5 tracts next to mine that would be nice to add over time. Who did your mulching?

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I THINK his name is Bill Hansen, but my Father in Law did most of the communication with him so let me get his contact info from him. If I recall he's also part of the VFD out around Flo.

He was running a BIG articulating mulcher, much bigger than the ones that are run on skid steers. I think he had to go a bit slower on ours because the land was dang near clear cut back in '16 or '17, so there are a lot of white oak stumps and tree tops hiding in the brush.

A.G.S. said:

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CrazyMRanch said:

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We are NE as well. Mostly old growth timber and yaupon as well. There a 4/5 tracts next to mine that would be nice to add over time. Who did your mulching?

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I THINK his name is Bill Hansen, but my Father in Law did most of the communication with him so let me get his contact info from him. If I recall he's also part of the VFD out around Flo.

He was running a BIG articulating mulcher, much bigger than the ones that are run on skid steers. I think he had to go a bit slower on ours because the land was dang near clear cut back in '16 or '17, so there are a lot of white oak stumps and tree tops hiding in the brush.

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Great. Thanks.

A.G.S. said:

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I was gonna hit the yaupon with Remedy immediately after I mow it again (hopefully the fresh cuts on the stumps will help) this month or the next, then probably not plant anything until April or so.

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That's fine. Stump treatment is usually nails. I was afraid of a broadcast treatment of something. Carry on.

CrazyMRanch said:

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Great. Thanks.

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Correction - it's Tom Hanson, I'll email ya his number.