food plots

[mno]

hello everyone im just wondering your thoughts on no till food plots i have land im able to access in Ham lake/ Andover area but have no way to till a feild so any thoughts on food types would greatly appreciatd

ps: most of the land is somewhat wet being bye a swamp/creek!!!

[Mark Christianson]

You still need to get some soil exposure. If this area is just grass, you cant expect to toss seed and have it grow.

You will need to mow, burn or spray it to at least knock back some of the growth.

Once you get some level of grass/weed control and removal, then you might have some luck with the "throw and grow" seed varieties.

I have never tried them.

Put it this way. I have enough work on my hands to make plots grow into something worthwhile, and we use tractors/equipment.

Also, if this area is truly low and by a creek/swamp; how wet are you talking?

Is it prone to flooding with heavy rains?

If so, your likelihood of making anything grow, even with optimal tillage and preparation(if you could do it) might not be too great.

There is one thing to be said:

Dont expect much, if you dont put in much work.

[Tom7227]

Contact a Pheasant Forever habitat team and get some input from them. They will plan it out, look for funding sources and do the work, solving your equipment issues.

[PerchJerker]

I pretty much agree with everything BLB said, especially that if you don't get down to bare soil you won't be able to get anything to germinate.

[UdeLakeTom]

I did a "easy plot" last fall. but the instructions still said you had to rake the area to get the soil exposed. I used a homemade drag behind a riding mower. The bag also said it covered 1/4 acre....I don't think it did. With a lot of fertilizer and the rain we had in the fall, it came up and the deer keep it real short. It worked, but I am thinking of doing it different this year. The good news was that it was on clearance, so i wasn't out much money.

[UdeLakeTom]

Are you going to be at the Deer Classic in March??