Cleaning up a old food plot
Purchased a property that has 2 food plots that were setup a few years back but all I see growing now is ferns.

I am trying to find someone locally to plow and till whats there and get something new going, my place is located in Potter County PA I will not be back home until Sept 1st, is there anything I could plant that late in the season?

I am looking to buy a 4x4 UTV to run around the property are there any disc tillers that work with a UTV?

I am new to food plots and any help would be appreciated!

Cereal Rye should work very well planted on September 1st. Try to get a soil test since ferns tend to grow in poor soils. You could spray now and broadcast cereal rye on the surface prior to a heavy rain.

https://youtu.be/8nRclzEgrGA

If ferns are growing, your ph is most certainly low. You need to get some lime spread. I agree with a spray, throw and mow approach if you lack equipment. I’d broadcast the equivalent of 150lbs plus per acre of cereal rye (not rye grass). I’d also spread a mix of alsike clover and chicory (I’d go 8lbs of clover and 2lbs of chicory). Both of these are low ph tolerant. I’d then mow and pack in by driving over. Note that these planting rates are higher than properly prepared seedbeds. However, in my experience, the spray/throw/mow/pack method is not as efficient.

The rye is a great draw before snows pile up, and is the first plant to green up in the spring. Don’t expect much production from the the clover/chicory this year. They will flourish next summer. I personally like to let the rye grow to maturity. It shades the clover and can provide important fawning and Turkey habitat. The heads will be eaten and provide some additional seed for the following year. Importantly, when winter snows eventually knock it down, it will add thatch and nutrients for your soil.

Contact your local nrcs office for what to do at your location. A simple phone call will get you the right advice for your area and soil type, it's their job.

I work as a technical resource conservationist for the NRCS Area office in Clarion. I provide technical support to all our Field Offices in western Pa (including Potter). Elkaddict has good points with his suggestion of rye. At that time of year, you could also plant Triticale or Wheat but the cereal rye is the best for germination after broadcast seeding with minimal tillage. Seeding rate would be about the same for all 3, 100-150 lb/acre. You could also do a mix of all 3. For best results in that part of the state, figure the rye needs seeded by Oct 15 and the others by about Oct. 1. Earlier is better but things don't always go according to plan. Rye can actually be planted later but you won't see much growth until next spring.

How's the deer pressure in your area? I'd be afraid that the clover and chicory will get eaten so hard that they'll die out. Alsike tolerates close grazing by domestic animals but that is different than a wildlife setting.

Soil test kits are available from Penn State Extension, I think they're $9. PSU extension has someone based in Potter, I think her name is Nicole Santangelo, that would be another source of information.

NRCS also has a forester on staff that covers Potter (she's based in DuBois). The EQIP program can help pay for a professional forest management plan. 814-320-4008 is the phone for the Coudersport office. Tell them Dale sent you. Won't get you anything extra but makes me look good

Dale

Thanks All!

Thanks Dale I will drop your name when I call for a soil test kits

Six weeks until retirement and I return home to PA! Glad to hear that's not too late to do some planting.

Deer pressure is light which is why I want to work on the food plots, I have a resident doe and fawns and an occasional forkie in velvet otherwise my cameras have not caught anything.

The other issue is that the property nearly completely covered with tree's except for the 2 plots so I want to open things up so a forest management plan would help.

Cheapest would be to follow the cereal rye suggestion. I've successfully planted it without breaking ground. Broadcast the seed, spray it with roundup, and cultipack it flat. If no cultipacking, just run over the weeds until they are flat. Pelletized lime is cheap and I'd be sure to spread some of that.

I've had the best luck with the following species for a throw, mow, roll approach:
cereal rye
oats
crimson clover
medium red clover
purple top turnips

One thing that helped me with food plots was to remember that they do not have to look like a crop field or the picture on a bag of seed for it to be effective.

How do you get seeds to germinate with out hitting the soil?
To me OP has to start over if he wants anything decent for a food plot.
That means Killing the crap that's growing on them now, then disking until dirt and replanting.

So I seed then spray weed killer?

The seeds have to hit the soil to germinate. The spraying, cultipacking, and rain will move seeds down through thatch to the soil for germination. The dead weeds become a mulch to hold moisture and provide some protection for getting stuff growing. Nature grows a lot of stuff without starting with bare dirt... Not saying that turning soil can't or won't work, but I had many years of successful food plots without turning an ounce of dirt as I didn't have access to equipment.

The clover patch these two does were shot out of looked just like the what you see behind them. Spread clover and cereal rye, sprayed the weeds, and packed 'em flat. The plot wouldn't make the cover of a magazine or a seed bag, but my boys and the deer didn't mind...

DSCN2202 by Tyler Staggs, on [bleep]


If you use glyphosate (Roundup) that will work. Some other weed killers can have a residual effect and can hamper germination. If you don't have a cultipacker or a lawnroller, just ride over the weeds until they are flat, but only AFTER spraying. You'll get stuff to grow, especially if you plant cereal rye, it's very easy to grow.

Looks like those young men may just grow up to be serious hunters!

Healthy looking does too; been eating good in the clover field.

That photo should be on the cover of a magazine. The looks on their faces are awesome! Good goin'!!!

Thanks for the name drop but the Extension folks where you get the soil test kit's won't recognize me, I work for NRCS. What part of Potter County?

Dale

I am east of Coudersport off of Irish Farm rd. I will remember it's the NRCS that I need to drop your name with

I am stuck here in CA finishing up a couple of long trem projects before I retire, 27 work days left!

When I retired I bought a compact tractor, before that I used UTV's to get to the soil so I could plant corn and beans.
If you are going to retire get something to get the ground churned up. If you don't you'll want one, A disk for a UTV makes for pretty good
soil work too.

Tilling is good if you want to get rid of your soil structure, limit water infiltration and encourage weeds in an old food plot. Every time you till the soil you stir up the seed bank and encourage more stuff to germinate. It also breaks your soil structure, causing those smaller particles to pack tighter and decrease waster permeability. Spray it, mow it and notill into it is what I would do, and did for a living for a good while along with habitat restoration. I used to agree with the tillage crowd until I saw the light.

I'd would LOVE to have a small no-till drill with a grass box. Just too expensive for the amount of planting I do. Have thought about buying one and a compact tractor. Thinking around here I could probably get enough work to help offset the cost, but way to busy chasing kids right now for a side gig.

Some conservation districts will rent them out, I've rented them from dealerships before. Another option is see if there's a pheasants forever habitat specialist in your area you could contract to do it for you. Check with your local conservation district first before giving up so easily. Likely they'll know how to help or steer you in the right direction.

I would never use a tiller for beans and corn.
A disc works good to break up the soil from last years crap that sits on top esp corn stalks. Beans I just use a cultivator to loosen the ground.
Tiller might be ok for breaking sod, IDK I don't use one. For corn and beans it works better to get down in the ground with some ruffage on top.
Here we think about winter survival being just as important as hunting over the crop if not more so. Them grass crops would be covered with snow in no time here, which is why most of us plant RR corn. Has to be done right when a bag of RR ready corn is over $250.00

I want my own!! There are some for rent by many of the districts around here, but most take way more tractor than I'd ever buy. Until then, I'll do lots of Throw, Spray, and Roll.

FWIW, the folks you mention above I work with every day. But, that is great information to share as there are a lot of resources available to folks, they just don't know about them.

Amen, and I too would want my own. Bottom line is when it comes to working on your land (especially for wildlife) always check with your local folks who do this for a living. They know what works in your ao and can help with logistics. Long term no till is best for the soil, and that's what makes the world go round, at least the life on it anyway.

This is true we have 30 acres. 15 is tillable did the hay thing for 7 years wife said to much work. So called USDA office a really nice woman came out we walked the tillable land. Next thing we are in a CRP. Took about 60 days for all paper work. I hired sprayer guy and ordered seed what USDA said to plant. Hired guy to plant. Got paid back for all of it and a check every Oct. So check it out worth the time.

The way people do it here is to take some soil samples to the county agent. Have it analyzed for soil amendments. Roundup heavy to kill everything. Then plant several things that grow well that deer like.