Spring Food Plot

I am thinking of planting a small no-plow food plot within the next couple of weeks next to one of our good stands. I have never planted a spring time plot and was curious if anyone has. I was wondering if it would be worth the time to plant a spring plot for throughout the summer and some time in August planting a fall plot over top of the spring plot. Just curious if anyone has given this a try.

HiTeckRedneck, if that is one of those test tube/look at the water color type of tests I would stay away from it. I have tried them in the past and either all the samples look the same or 3 guys can look at the color and have totally different opinions of what the PH actually is. Send a sample to biologic for like 7.50 I belive and they will email you the results in 48 hours. You dont need much dirt. I sent them about a 1/4 of sandwich bag, probably less. They will give you the soil ph, calcium, P and K levels and how much of each to add per acre to get your soil to optimum levels. If you tell them what you want to plant they will give you specific recomendations of each for that plant as well. You could be very suprised, I had a field I thought would be very low come in at 6.8, and one that I thought would need a lot more lime we moved from 5.0 to 6.6 in 2 years of bulk liming. It will save you money in the long run. http://www.plantbiologic.com/t-soil.aspx I have no affiliation with Biologic, I did use fulldraw and maximum in my first years planting and they did fine. I wont buy them again just becuae I can mix and match exactly what I want in a plot for a better price at the Co-op, but if your are just planting a small field like 1/4 acre I could still see just grabbing one of those bags for simplicity.

I have not used that exact kit but have used others similar. My advice is to take some samples to a coop and let them send them out. Cost is similar and you will get results and info geared towards your intended crop.

I'd go with Sloshkosh on this one. Prep the area and plant in mid July. For starters, get a soil sample. Then in the next week, mow the area very good raking and removing as much dead grass as possible and pick rocks. Spray with glyphosate by the end of the month. Spray again around late June. Add lime when you know what you need. You can add the fertilizer at planting. In mid july, you'll have nice dead area that will work up easily because the sod base has been killed off. Work up with a spring tooth or other implment if possible. Broadcast brassica seed at a rate of 8# per acre. If you want clover in the future, overseed with that as well. The brassicas will shelter the clover while the plants are small and establishing their root systems. The following year you will have a nice clover plot that you will need to mow a few times a year for weed control. If you rush it and plant now, you are asking for trouble. For starters, you don't know the soil condition. If you plant oats or brassicas, they will mature to early and not be palatable when the season rolls around. If you plant clover, you'll be mowing your a$$ off to keep it the weed competition at bay while it tries to establish and mature. I've learned the hard way on this over 10 years ago when getting into this. You don't have to.

You could plant it now but I dont know what you would add in fall really. When we first started we would plant something cheap like oats in spring and then til it under in fall just to add some organic material to the soil. Do yourself and favor a get a soil test for 10 bucks somewhere. It will save time and money by letting you know what your soil is lacking and what you can plant there with reasonable expectations. We have plots that one plant will blast out of the ground on and only 200 yards away something will never grow. All about the soil and sunlight. Clover is simple and effective for small plots, I would make that your staple for a small plot like yours. If you plant it in fall maybe split it in half and put clover on one side and something like winter rye and Daikon radishes or Purple top turnips on the other side. Also get to know the proper depths of what your planting. Stuff like peas, oats, rye need to be set at least an inch deep while small seeds like turnips, clover, alfalfas can basically just be spread on the top and then pack the soil and they are deep enough to grow.

It would be about a 1/4 acre plot and I would mow over first and break up the ground with a hoe. I think you are right about just putting lime and fertilizer down and just planting in the fall. I was just curious if anyone had success with planting one seed in the spring and throwing another seed down on top of the plot in early fall.

Gonna need some more information. How big of a plot, do you have any equipment or get anything to till it up back there, what would you like to plant, and any idea what the soil ph is? If its your first plot your are probably better off getting the soil prepped and weed and rock free adn then planting something closer to fall like mid july. Work the seed bed, fertilize, lime, kill the weeds and plant it in Mid July. Alot depends on that size and what you want to plant.