Fall-Food-Plots-Made-Easy-With-John-Deere

Labor Day is just around the corner, which means the temps will be dropping soon. Are you getting ready to plant those food plots? Food plots can be as simple or as complex as you want them to be. But you need to make sure you have the right tools. We recommend the 3032E John Deere tractor with a Frontier tiller. For the month of September, we're even offering the 3032E with 0% financing. And don't forget, this John Deere tractor is great for all of your other yard projects- not just food plots.

The first step of a successful food plot is to choose your location. It's important to keep in mind that deer will usually utilize the edges of larger plots in the daylight hours but will feed in the center of larger plots during the cover of night. Long, irregular shape plots offer deer easy use and access to food plots with the safety of some edge cover; whereas long, even-sided plantings seem to make deer weary for lack of edge cover. Location, purpose, size, sun and shade exposure of the food plot are all dynamics to the use of that area, but none of these are more important than the soil type and condition. The requirements of the crop and the season being planted will largely be a factor as to where it can be planted.

So once you've chosen your sight, you should have the soil tested to see what each plot needs to create the best soil for planting. Testing can be done through many of your local county extension offices for a reasonable price. This will tell you how much lime and fertilizer to apply. So now that you've added the needed amount of lime and fertilizer, it's time to till the soil. This will loosen it and mix in the lime and fertilizer. This is where that John Deere tractor and Frontier tiller come in handy. Work the soil, wait a few days, and then work it again until you get a firm smooth seedbed with no large clumps. Remove any rocks you encounter.

Now it's time to plant. A variety of seed can be purchased Round-Up Ready, which means that the seed/crop can be sprayed throughout the season to kill weeds and vegetation that can choke out the crops that are planted. Common crops that are planted in the Southeast are small grains such as wheat, oats, and rye. We also recommend a KMC planter- you can find those at SunSouth as well.

Food plots can be a great way to not only ensure a successful hunting season, but also help the well-being of the deer in your area. Happy hunting!