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<blockquote data-quote="Deer Slayer" data-source="post: 1256159" data-attributes="member: 8855"><p>Now what am I going to plant in my plots? Remember everything must be done in a specific order for you to have a successful plot (s). There will be several examples given so be patient. In the mean time gather your soil samples and give them to your County Extension Agent or take to OSU Extension office in OKC along with $10.00/ sample and wait approx 2 weeks for results.</p><p></p><p>Example 1:</p><p>Ok, Do we have the results back from our soil analysis? Yes. Ok. What were the results? The soil pH was 6.4 Hmmmm a little low for clover. Did we tell the agent that we were wanting to plant clover? Yes. The closer the pH is to 7.0 the better the nutrient uptake by the plants. The lower the pH the more the nutrients are locked up and not available for the plants to use. In other words the plants grow poorly.</p><p> </p><p>How big is the food plot? 1/2 acre.</p><p></p><p>What is the soil type? Sandy? Loamy? Sandy loam? Loamy sand? Clay? Rocky?</p><p> Let's say Sandy loam.</p><p></p><p>What is the annual rainfall for the property? The Oklahoma Mesonet can give you this information.</p><p></p><p> The annual rainfall for this example is 45 inches.</p><p></p><p>Where is the proposed food plot going to be located? Top of a sandy hill that is well drained? In a creek bottom beside a creek that remains moist most of the year? High sandy plateau pasture?</p><p></p><p>Let's say a moist creek bottom.</p><p></p><p>Let's review. We have a moist creek bottom,with a soil pH of 6.4, 45" annual rainfall,sandy loam soil and the plot is wide enough to receive at least 4-6 hours of direct sunlight. The plot has been cleared of trees which were piled along one side to block the deer from having multiple entry points. The plot is 1/2 acre. </p><p></p><p>Is this getting to complicated for everyone? Well, you wanted a good place to hunt that will really attract the deer.</p><p></p><p>Oh, what about the soil analysis? What did it say about the fertilizer needs?</p><p>Wait a minute. What were we hoping to plant? Don't we need to match the fertilizer needs to the specific seeds? Yes, if we are going to plant a specific seed type otherwise we go with a general balanced fertilizer such as 17-17-17.</p><p> </p><p>This plot is ideal for clover. What next.</p><p></p><p>The pH is 6.4, a little low for clover so we need to incorporate in some ag lime to raise the pH closer to 7.0. If the pH is close to 7.0, say 6.8 to 7.2 you can almost grow rocks in it. How much lime/ acre? 1,000 pounds of calcium carbonate/acre. We found a source of bulk ag lime that has an ECCE of 60%. 2,000# X 60% = 1,200 # of calcium carbonate. So you need to spread approx. 900 # of 60% ag lime to give us around 500# of calcium carbonate on a 1/2 acre plot. This needs to be disced or tilled in normally 4 - 6 months ahead of the planting date to give the lime time to work to raise the pH to close to 7.0. In this case I would probably incorporate the lime in since the pH is not excessively low and go ahead with my planting of the clover in late september depending on rainfall. After the lime has been spread but before I till/disc I would fertilize with a minimum of 200 pounds of 17-17-17.</p><p>NOTE: I am intentionally sidestepping the nitrogen,phosphorous, and potash numbers that were on the soil analysis so as not to confuse anyone and substituting a set amount of 17-17-17. If you can only find 13-13-13 then add 25% more. </p><p></p><p> Clover needs some nitrogen to initially germinate and grow. Once it is established then you do not need any nitrogen to be added to the clover just P and K. I like to use or have blended some 0-20-20 and fertilize at the rate of 200lbs/acre in the Spring and 200 lbs/acre in the Fall for a balanced feed on clover. You can certainly add more fertilizer which will grow lusher clover.</p><p></p><p>The fertilizer and lime is now spread and tilled/disced in. Next we take a cultipacker(roller) and roll the ground in the plot to pack the seed bed. These can be rented or build one yourself.</p><p></p><p>The clover is now spread at the rate of 8 lbs/acre or in this case 4 pounds on the 1/2 acre plot. You can use a hand crank bag spreader or a tow behind spreader which is pulled by a 4 wheeler or lawn tractor.</p><p></p><p>The cultipacker is pulled over the seed bed a second time to insure a good soil to seed contact. Now pray for rain.</p><p></p><p>I plant perrenials in late September or early October to assure myself of good soil moisture which increases the survival rate of the seeds and reduce the competition from invasive grasses. Herbicide use to be covered later.</p><p></p><p>A strong clover plot is,imho, the best foundation a person can have in his food plot system. This is the reason that I chose it to plant first. The clover is the core planting if at all possible.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Deer Slayer, post: 1256159, member: 8855"] Now what am I going to plant in my plots? Remember everything must be done in a specific order for you to have a successful plot (s). There will be several examples given so be patient. In the mean time gather your soil samples and give them to your County Extension Agent or take to OSU Extension office in OKC along with $10.00/ sample and wait approx 2 weeks for results. Example 1: Ok, Do we have the results back from our soil analysis? Yes. Ok. What were the results? The soil pH was 6.4 Hmmmm a little low for clover. Did we tell the agent that we were wanting to plant clover? Yes. The closer the pH is to 7.0 the better the nutrient uptake by the plants. The lower the pH the more the nutrients are locked up and not available for the plants to use. In other words the plants grow poorly. How big is the food plot? 1/2 acre. What is the soil type? Sandy? Loamy? Sandy loam? Loamy sand? Clay? Rocky? Let's say Sandy loam. What is the annual rainfall for the property? The Oklahoma Mesonet can give you this information. The annual rainfall for this example is 45 inches. Where is the proposed food plot going to be located? Top of a sandy hill that is well drained? In a creek bottom beside a creek that remains moist most of the year? High sandy plateau pasture? Let's say a moist creek bottom. Let's review. We have a moist creek bottom,with a soil pH of 6.4, 45" annual rainfall,sandy loam soil and the plot is wide enough to receive at least 4-6 hours of direct sunlight. The plot has been cleared of trees which were piled along one side to block the deer from having multiple entry points. The plot is 1/2 acre. Is this getting to complicated for everyone? Well, you wanted a good place to hunt that will really attract the deer. Oh, what about the soil analysis? What did it say about the fertilizer needs? Wait a minute. What were we hoping to plant? Don't we need to match the fertilizer needs to the specific seeds? Yes, if we are going to plant a specific seed type otherwise we go with a general balanced fertilizer such as 17-17-17. This plot is ideal for clover. What next. The pH is 6.4, a little low for clover so we need to incorporate in some ag lime to raise the pH closer to 7.0. If the pH is close to 7.0, say 6.8 to 7.2 you can almost grow rocks in it. How much lime/ acre? 1,000 pounds of calcium carbonate/acre. We found a source of bulk ag lime that has an ECCE of 60%. 2,000# X 60% = 1,200 # of calcium carbonate. So you need to spread approx. 900 # of 60% ag lime to give us around 500# of calcium carbonate on a 1/2 acre plot. This needs to be disced or tilled in normally 4 - 6 months ahead of the planting date to give the lime time to work to raise the pH to close to 7.0. In this case I would probably incorporate the lime in since the pH is not excessively low and go ahead with my planting of the clover in late september depending on rainfall. After the lime has been spread but before I till/disc I would fertilize with a minimum of 200 pounds of 17-17-17. NOTE: I am intentionally sidestepping the nitrogen,phosphorous, and potash numbers that were on the soil analysis so as not to confuse anyone and substituting a set amount of 17-17-17. If you can only find 13-13-13 then add 25% more. Clover needs some nitrogen to initially germinate and grow. Once it is established then you do not need any nitrogen to be added to the clover just P and K. I like to use or have blended some 0-20-20 and fertilize at the rate of 200lbs/acre in the Spring and 200 lbs/acre in the Fall for a balanced feed on clover. You can certainly add more fertilizer which will grow lusher clover. The fertilizer and lime is now spread and tilled/disced in. Next we take a cultipacker(roller) and roll the ground in the plot to pack the seed bed. These can be rented or build one yourself. The clover is now spread at the rate of 8 lbs/acre or in this case 4 pounds on the 1/2 acre plot. You can use a hand crank bag spreader or a tow behind spreader which is pulled by a 4 wheeler or lawn tractor. The cultipacker is pulled over the seed bed a second time to insure a good soil to seed contact. Now pray for rain. I plant perrenials in late September or early October to assure myself of good soil moisture which increases the survival rate of the seeds and reduce the competition from invasive grasses. Herbicide use to be covered later. A strong clover plot is,imho, the best foundation a person can have in his food plot system. This is the reason that I chose it to plant first. The clover is the core planting if at all possible. [/QUOTE]
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