At a recent food plot and habitat improvement seminar held at Black Creek Enterprises outside of Liberty, PA, there was some great insight revealed that can make the planting of food plots much simpler and less costly than previously established methods. The first great revelation was that there is no need for a $10,000 (or more!) piece of equipment if you can’t afford it — unless you really have some money to burn and you really feel you need it.

Instead, you can use an ATV or tractor that you may already have, and a mower, a sprayer, a spinner/spreader, a set of discs, and a cultipacker. The size of the implements will depend on the scale of your operation — the size and number of the food plots you plan to establish and maintain.

Once you have laid out the area you will work with and completed a soil sample, and with the equipment mentioned, the multi-step process of developing a food plot goes like this:

Mow the area to be planted to a height of about 6 inches.

Allow the vegetation to sit for a week or so to establish fresh new growth on the plants.

Spray the area with a mixture of glyphosate and 2-4D to eliminate all present grass, broadleaf, and weed competition for the mix of seeds you will be planting. You may want to respray in a few days to cover any spots that you might have missed on the initial spraying.

Once you are satisfied with the results of the spraying, disc the area; you do not need to plow — merely disc the area to scarify or loosen up the upper surface of the topsoil.

Apply lime and fertilizer as determined by the results of the soil sample. Following the directions of the soil sample is a critical step since the pH of the soil must be at the proper level for the fertilizer to be used most effectively by the plants.

Seed the area. A mixture of chicory and several clover varieties is a very productive food plot for a wide variety of wildlife, including deer, turkeys, and grouse. This mixture will be productive for many years with the proper maintenance of frost seeding at the end of winter, as well as periodic mowing or spraying for weed control. Other seed mixes can be planted based on what you are trying to accomplish.

Cultipack the plot. This is the final step. Using the cultipacker accomplishes two important things. First, it presses the seed into the soil yielding a better seed to soil contact, producing a higher rate of germination. Secondly, it closed up any air pockets around the seed, preventing the seed from lying dormant and possibly rotting.

Now, it’s up to Mother Nature to take over. Hopefully, you will accomplish all of these steps in time for a gentle rain or a few showers to enable the seeds to germinate. Yes, it is that simple. The presenter of the seminar related that he manages food plots from Maine to Georgia and has made just about any mistake imaginable over the past years. Through trial and error and perseverance, the steps above have become his recommended guideline to a method of properly establishing a food plot that anyone can follow.

We still have several weeks to establish food plots or to dress up the ones we may already have.

This may very well be a critical year for these food plots with the devastation of the oak trees by the gypsy moths that have occurred in many areas of Lycoming and adjoining counties. What we can accomplish with food plots will not only attract game during the upcoming hunting season but will provide needed food throughout the winter months.