| Posted: Thu Apr 28th, 2005 06:20 PM |
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The_Mountaineer
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To build on Texas Doc's info I thought I'd share a few points to ponder.
When folks start asking about food plots, my first response is why? Why do you as a hunter/landowner/leasee want to start food plots? Usually the answer I get is one or a combination of the following reasons:
1. To see game
2. To harvest game
3. To provide supplemental food sources to game
All are legitimate reasons but depending on how much time, money, machinery and other resources you have, your goals should follow suit. In our area, the Appalachian Mountains, if the goal is to simply see or harvest game, I don't automatically recommend food plots right at first. The problem is soil conservation. Too many folks don't understand good soil management practices in our parts and their "plot" becomes little more than a barren spoil on a hillside because their topsoil eroded down into the valleys. If they are willing to take measures to control soil loss, which isn't overly difficult, then food plots can be the best route to go as the amount of forage plots produce can be a tremendous assett. However, if the interested parties don't have the time, money, machinery or other resources needed to create food plots properly, I usually recommend them to go try feeders instead. These feeders have problems within themselves:
1. Concentrations of animals in a small area provide means for disease to spread.
2. Feed costs can be expensive (though usually cheaper than plots in general)
3. Hunting over feeders may not be legal in your area.
The best feeders in my opinion, are the solar powered, high capacity, automatic feeders on tri-pods. They present the fewest problems with maintenance, re-filling and time in general. For a few hundred $'s they're a good alternative to plots.
If plots are the route for you and you have the time, money and equipment, then they can be a tremendous assett to your property's wildlife management plan. So how do you get started?
After knowing what your goals are for food plots, and getting all your machinery and funds in order, the first thing to do is to decide how much of your property to dedicate to food plots. This varies greatly but I'd say that 5-10% of the total acreage of your property is sufficient. Variables such as mast crop, climate, herd size, and countless others can give you more specifics as to how much acreage to dedicate to plots but again 5-10% is a pretty safe recommendation.
Next, you have to decide the locations of the plots. In areas where erosion is a concern, such as the Appalachians, you must ensure your soil won't be lost. Shelterbelts in the west are the most well known means of control, and we do a similar thing here. Simply leave a 20+feet buffer strip of vegetation on the downhill slope of the plot at a minimum. Far better is to leave a buffer strip on all 4 sides as it not only prevents soil loss but gives a higher diversity of vegetation along the edges. Too often we get the "golf course effect" - wonderfully manicured plots or fields meeting older growth timber with no transition. Nice to play golf on but poor for wildlife. Brushy overgrown shrubby edges 20-50 ft. in width will do wonders for nesting game birds and provide cover for small game as well. Additionally, big game tend to visit plots with greater frequency during daylight hours if there is this "security" cover near the plot. So, don't go plowing up the entire area for the plot, let some go back to mother nature and maintain it every so often by burning, cutting or strip-disking. Most folks tend to think of plots for deer and most plot designs for deer should be long narrow plots along edges rather than large square or circular plots. Again, this is because of the "security cover" preference of deer and other animals. Of course, open areas are where you'll have to place your plots but consider soil types as well. Go to your local US Dept. of Agriculture - Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) and get a county soil series map. Inside you'll find aerial photos of the entire county (or portions of counties, depending on how NRCS distributed the surveys) overlaid with soil series designators like "MoL" which means Moshannon Loam - a soil series type. By looking up this "species" of soil in the back of the manual, you'll be able to determine what historically has grown best, how it supports wildlife, and loads of other information. Try to pick the most productive soil types to plant your plots on if possible - it'll save you time and money.
After you've decided where you're going to plant your plots, it's time to get the plot area ready by herbiciding/plowing/disking etc. Some areas can simply be "burned down" with a herbicide like glysophate (aka Roundup) and then drill the seeds into the sod. Others might require conventional methods like plowing and disking. Either way, it's important to properly set up the seed bed long before any seeds go into it. I believe there are two things that lead to food plot failure more than any other:
1. Improper soil nutrients & pH
2. A tremendous seed bank of weeds that overtake the plot
If you address both of these prior to planting, you'll be off to a great start. Improper soil nutrients and pH can be determined by a simple soil test, usually free through your county extension service or agricultural dept. By adding the proper amount of lime and fertilizer recommended from the soil test, you'll be off to a great start. Notice I said BOTH lime and fertilizer. One without the other is nothing in my opinion. Oftentimes, I've seen plots fail because the soil wasn't limed properly, yet fertilized perfectly. This makes no sense to me. The soil pH MUST be in the proper range. Otherwise, it's similar to having a pad-locked refrigerator in your kitchen - lots of good stuff inside but you can't get to it. It's similar with food plot plants. Unless the pH is right to "unlock" the chemical pathways which uptake the fertilizer and soil nutrients, the plant will not be able to metabolize the things they need to grow. As far as the existing seed bank goes, post-emergent herbicide and pre-emergent herbicide regimines might be the best way to go. Post emergent herbicides like glysophate and others kill plants whereas pre-emergent herbicides kill the weed seeds. Each plot is a little different and will have its own regimine that works best. You may even be able to use selective herbicides while your plot is growing. Things like RoundUp Ready Soybeans are resistant to herbicides while competing weeds are not. Usually a little more expensive, they might be right for your situation.
So now you know how to get started with food plots. As to what to plant in them? That's another story all together.
I should make mention of the ongoing food plot debate of the past few years. Some have argued that food plots should be used only for feeding game and not as a means to get around the "no baiting" restriction many states have. That's something I'll leave up to the hunters. We science types don't debate ethics, that's what philosophers do! However, I must say that for a person to criticize the harvesting of game in plots or feeders on one hand while trying to control a game herd exceeding the carrying capacity of the property on the other is ridiculous to me. In the big picture of game management, food plots and harvesting deer over them are but a small part of a very long equation to a healthy game herd. For me, I say that if the goal is to reduce the herd, then use any legal means necessary to do it. The scientific end result is the same whether the animal was shot in a food plot, shot in a feeder, shot on a game trail, killed by coyotes, hit by a car, or bitten by a blue tongue infected mosquito!
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| Posted: Sat Apr 30th, 2005 01:07 AM |
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2nd Post |
Timberghozt
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Very good read Mountaineer.If you don`t mind I would like to print that and give it to one of my buddy`s..??
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| Posted: Mon May 9th, 2005 06:24 PM |
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The_Mountaineer
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Need you ask?
It ain't trademarked or nothing. Though if he kills a 150+ class buck in a kill plot, be sure to dedicate it to me (lol just kidding).
Print as you please!
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| Posted: Sat May 14th, 2005 12:22 AM |
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Timberghozt
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lol..Sorry for the slow reply Brad..Its been one of them weeks ..
I have it printed but I made sure the author receives credit for his work..
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"He who fights with monsters might take care, lest he thereby become a monster; For if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - F.Nietzche
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| Posted: Sat Dec 2nd, 2006 04:35 PM |
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WildBill
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I'm putting in a new food-plot next year, probably a preannual mix. What do you guys think about those PH/fertilizer all in one mix?
Bill
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| Posted: Sat Dec 2nd, 2006 06:08 PM |
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Texasdoc
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I will offer my service to all Texas members and it only costs you lunch/Dinner .
All you have to do is ask and I will be there with in reason.
Doc
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| Posted: Mon Dec 4th, 2006 12:23 PM |
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The_Mountaineer
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wildbill,
Sounds like a great idea to go ahead and get started prepping the site for planting. As far as my opinion of the lime/fertilizer mixes, it's kinda like this. Ideally, I'd prefer to match the lime requirement and fertilizer requirements for each plot via a soil test. If that is not an option, then adding both fertilizer and lime "mix" is the next best thing. The problem with mixes is they aren't customized to each plot's lime and fertilizer requirement and in the case of some high nitrogen fertilizers you may be helping the weeds than your forage crops for deer.
JMO.
Good of you to start thinking ahead! Lots of folks don't and try and grow a plot right at the last minute!
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| Posted: Mon Dec 4th, 2006 01:53 PM |
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WildBill
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Thanks Mountaineer. I'll stay away from PH/fertilizer. We have a soil PH tester. So we will be testing the soil anyways.
Bill
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