Food Plot Question

[nektarios]

Hi there,
I am interested in growing my own food plots on the land my father and I own.
Mostly forrest but there are some open areas. The problem is that there is not a lot of earth, this layer on rock (typical Canadian Shield).
Is there a seed out there that does not need tilling? Or minimal tilling?
Thanks

[hatcreek]

Length of growing season/plant cold tolerance are going to be additional concerns with plots at your latitude. I'll do some checking on what may work when I get to the office tomorrow and will let you know what I find.

[nektarios]

Thanks Brian! I will really appreciate the info!

[BP in ME]

Narrow it down as to what you hope to accomplish with the plot. Do you want to attract more deer to the land? Do you want to fatten-up the ones that are there? Do you want to hunt over it?

I suspect you're looking at using an herbicide to kill existing vegetation and then disc it (a spring-tooth might work also). Ph test the soil so you know what you're dealing with. That way you know what you need to add to the soil to get the crop you want or what crop you need to plant in order to grow in your soil as is. Forest soil tends to be acidic and needs to be sweetened with lime for crop plants to do well.

White clover is as good and easy an all-purpose food plot as any special blend I've ever planted but it really slows down in the fall.

[hatcreek]

BP is correct; lots of different considerations as to what type of plot(s) you may want to establish and what you want them to do.

A planting that I think may do well in your location is Birdsfoot Trefoil. It's a perennial legume with excellent cold tolerance, palatability and protein content, and should be well-adapted to your marginal soil.

Here's a description of the plant...

http://plants.usda.gov/factsheet/pdf/fs_loco6.pdf

And here are a few sources of the seed as well as prep, planting and maintenance info...

http://www.wildlifeseeds.com/f....html

http://www.penningtonseed.com/...d=185

http://www.hamannfarms.com/

Here's a source in Canada (you know this seed will be adapted to local conditions)...

http://www.pickseed.com/ECanad....html

Hope this helps, and best of luck with your plots.

[nektarios]

This is the first attempt at plots.
I guess I would like to attract more deer and turkeys to the areas around the tree stands.
I dont have tilling tools so I would like a seed that would require as little tilling as required.

[BP in ME]

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by nektarios &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">This is the first attempt at plots.
I guess I would like to attract more deer and turkeys to the areas around the tree stands.
I dont have tilling tools so I would like a seed that would require as little tilling as required.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

How big are the clearings? Are you going to try to do everything by hand? If so, I think you're going to have a hard time progressing further than micro plots. In the long run, apple trees might be a better strategy for bringing deer past a stand.

In the meantime, is there no way you can use a 4-wheeler or lawn tractor? Sometimes you can pick up some used tow-behind attachments for not a lot of money (I spent $75 on a disc harrow and $125 on a York rake). Otherwise I don't know how you'll keep ahead of the natural vegetation taking over without a lot of manual weeding. Around here the raspberries move right in if given half a chance.

[hatcreek]

While supplemental food plots can be a great management tool, they're not always practical. In those cases, alot of good can often be done by giving Mother Nature a bit of a helping hand.

Given your limited space and means of plot manipulation, you may want to consider enhancing any existing beneficial native vegetation on your land through fertilization and/or reduced competition from undesirable plants.

Preferred browse species like hemlock, dogwood, mountain ash, white cedar and red maple are very important in your region for much of the year. Hard and soft mast and fruits (acorns, beechnuts, black cherries, hawthorns, etc) are seasonally important, as are various grasses, herbs and forbs. But again, browse is where northern (and most other) whitetails make their living.

If need be, set up a site visit with a local extension agent or wildlife agency biologist to find out what preferred browse species are present on your land, and get their recommendations as to what you can do to increase/enhance the quality and availability of those plants.

[ol man river]

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by hatcreek &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">While supplemental food plots can be a great management tool, they're not always practical. In those cases, alot of good can often be done by giving Mother Nature a bit of a helping hand.

Given your limited space and means of plot manipulation, you may want to consider enhancing any existing beneficial native vegetation on your land through fertilization and/or reduced competition from undesirable plants.

Preferred browse species like hemlock, dogwood, mountain ash, white cedar and red maple are very important in your region for much of the year. Hard and soft mast and fruits (acorns, beechnuts, black cherries, hawthorns, etc) are seasonally important, as are various grasses, herbs and forbs. But again, browse is where northern (and most other) whitetails make their living.

If need be, set up a site visit with a local extension agent or wildlife agency biologist to find out what preferred browse species are present on your land, and get their recommendations as to what you can do to increase/enhance the quality and availability of those plants.

fertilizing oak trees works well , takes time, though......... </TD></TR></TABLE>