Food plot 101: How to plant a no-fuss food plot

There's a lot of how-to's out there on planting food plots. But, some are so detailed and require a ton of tools that most don't have access to. So, we decided to simplify it. We talked to a local food plot expert, Jim Bauer from Central Wisconsin Country Store, a division of Provision Partners Cooperative, and planted a plot for ourselves to make sure we could pass on what we learned to you. Below is our step-by-step guide with tips from our expert Jim Bauer. Plus, you can rent every piece of equipment we mention so you don't have to own the tools yourself. Here's the low down: 

Planning and Prep

• Know your soil. If you want to eliminate the guess-work with what to plant and how to treat your soil properly, you can take a soil sample and send it in for testing. Most county extension offices accept food plot soil samples. You can also order test kits from most agronomy labs or seed companies like Dairland labs, UW Soil and Forage Lab, or Deer Creek Seed Co. The results will look similar to the image below and you can bring this in to your local agronomy expert or co-op, (like Jim Bauer at the Central Wisconsin Country Store - who we mentioned above) and they can help you interpret the results and give you specific advice on what to plant and what additives or treatments the soil may need.
  
  
• Check the pH: The pH results of your soil sample are a major area you'll want to look at on your test results. Your seeds should be planted in a seedbed that has a soil pH between 6.5 to 7.5. Make sure to tell the lab what seed you will be planting so they can precisely tailor their recommendations on how to amend the soil to achieve the optimum pH level. If you do need to correct your pH, lightly disk or till the recommended amount of lime into your seedbed several months before you plant, if possible. Proper soil pH is one of the most important factors you can control in assuring a successful planting.
  
  
• Prep your seed bed: You need to make sure the soil is ready for seed. Our plot was a vacant, grassy area surrounded by woods so our prep steps were as follows: 
  • We mowed the area with a 5' rotary cutter 
  • Sprayed with a general, broad-spectrum herbicide with a UTV-mounted sprayer tank (these are super handy, by the way)
  • Waited 5 days
  • Disc'ed the plot to work up the soil
  • Sprayed again
  • Waited five more days
  • Then used a harley rake to work the soil and get rid of root clumps. A harley rake works wonders to prep and even out the seed bed. Check out the quick demo clip below.
  • All of the attachments mentioned above are available for rent at Power Pac.
    
    

This is the food plot after the above-mentioned prep-steps and after the harley rake did it's job.

• Selecting your seed: We did some general research on our soil before planting and knew the amount of sun the plot gets throughout the day. We chose to plant sorghum, AKA milo, due to it's tolerance in drought or heavy rains and the fact that it grows best on fertile, sandy-loam soil which is the soil type for the plot we are planting. You’ll also need to decide the primary purpose of your food plot -- whether you want the forage to attract and hold deer year-round, or to provide maximum production for part of the year, such as spring and summer for antler growth, or fall and winter for attraction and energy. Sorghum matures and is a food source for deer during the fall and winter so we are planting it primarily to attract deer during the fall. The nice thing about sorghum is deer don't usually eat the plant while it is in the early development stage. Other suggestions can be found in the handy seed chart from Jim, below.
  

Planting

• Seed depth: This is important to make sure your seed germinates properly. Below is a chart Jim helped us with as a general rule. 
  
  
• Planting tools: At Power Pac, we carry a Plotmaster seeder specifically designed for planting food plots. The tool allows you to disc, plow, plant, cover and cultipack all at the same time. It's compact design allows you to plant smaller areas and tough-to-access plots. This baby is a time-saver and is newly available for rent. It also has a handy guide for gate and speed setting for each seed-type to ensure proper planting - it's located in the inside the seed bin cover. Handy tip: Plan to plant before a rain shower to provide a good kick-start for your seeds.

Maintenance

• Fertilizing: Some seeds benefit from an additional fertilization about 30-45 days after planting with 100 pounds of a high-nitrogen fertilizer such as 33-0-0 or 34-0-0. However, the most common mistake that Jim sees: Over-fertilizing. Many hunters forget they aren’t growing crops at production ag levels, so they fertilize every year before planting a food plot, and don’t get soil tests done to make sure they actually need it.
  
  

Monitor

• Use trail cameras to monitor deer activity. Pay attention to where the deer are entering/ exiting plots, what is being grazed and what times of day. This will help with making decisions for future planting.
• Use trail cameras in time lapse mode to monitor a larger area and gain more insight into deer movements.
• If deer density is very high or the plot is small and being over-grazed and affecting plant growth, consider electric fence or a separate nutrition plot.
• Make sure your stands are ready to hunt your food plot under multiple wind conditions.

Other Food Plot Pro-Tips: 

• Keep in mind what is planted around you. Don’t plant what farmers have planted near you.
• If you have enough land, cultivate both hunting plots and nutrition plots. Keep these plots spatially separated. Nutrition plots feed the deer herd on your property and entice them to stay long term. Hunting plots should be smaller and more secluded with the end goal of hunting over them in the fall or winter.
• Numerous small plots are generally more productive for hunters, rather than 1 or 2 large plots. Deer, especially mature bucks, are more likely to use food plots during daylight hours if plots are smaller and surrounded by thick cover.
• Kids love these projects so don't forget to make memories with yours. Our 2-year-old son is pictured below and loved every minute of it! :)