Finally! The official arrival of the first day of spring will occur on Friday, March 20, 2026, and after a much colder-than-usual winter, it couldn’t arrive soon enough! With warmer temperatures and intermittent rains, we should turn our attention to planning habitat work that will benefit all forms of wildlife.

Probably the most important key to creating viable food plots is the collection and analysis of soil samples. In a food plot that covers about one acre, you should obtain about 8 samples from various spots throughout the plot. Dig about a cup of soil from the top 4 inches of the surface, mix all the samples, screen them for unwanted stones, pebbles, and debris, and spread the remaining soil to dry thoroughly. Once completely dried, bag up a cup of your sampling mix and send it off to the lab for analysis. Include information as to what you want to plant in the specific area, such as corn, soybeans, clover, or some other wildlife beneficial crop. Identifying what you want to plant will aid the lab in giving you a specific recommendation for that plot and the crop you want to plant.

Once you have worked the soil and prepared the seedbed for seeding, or if you have already frost-seeded clover on the plot, you can lime and fertilize according to the recommendations from your soil analysis. The more closely you follow the lab’s recommendations, the greater your success will be.

Lime can be applied either as powdered lime or pelletized lime. More often than not, the pelletized variety is recommended for food plots, as it leeches into the soil over a longer period, providing a longer-term benefit. In recent years, a popular alternative to lime is Humistart. It is spread just as lime would be, and is described as a soil conditioner proven to increase microbial activity. Humistart supplies calcium, sulfur, magnesium, and trace amounts of boron, iron, and zinc. It directly stimulates soil microbes, increasing the breakdown of plant stubble or manure and enhancing mineralization. Humistart provides a more soluble calcium than traditional lime.

Clover should be planted as soon as possible, and buckwheat will do best when planted during the first two weeks of June. It can be beneficial when planting either clover or buckwheat to seed either oats or wheat at the same time. The oats or wheat will provide some shade for the newly forming clover or buckwheat, thus acting as a nurse crop or cover crop.

For planning purposes, turnips, beets, rape, and cabbages should be planted during the first two weeks of August so that they mature and become palatable for deer after the first hard frost.

As any of the crops you have planted begin to emerge, it might be enlightening to place two or three exclusion cages at random spots throughout the field. These wire cages (usually three or four feet in diameter and three or four feet tall) will show just how well the plants are doing when not being browsed on by the deer.

Now is the time to fertilize any young shrubs or trees you may have planted to add to your wildlife habitat inventory. A 10-10-10 blend is recommended, and about a cupful or so should be dispersed along the drip line of the tree – that is, below the outer reaches of the branches. As an alternative to the 10-10-10 blend, chicken manure has been touted in recent years as a more nutrient and mineral-rich fertilizer. If you are fortunate enough to have any wild apple trees on your property, you should fertilize them as well. Carry a pair of clippers so you can trim any limbs or branches that may have been damaged over the winter months, and prune any sucker growth that has sprouted.

It will be nice to finally get outside and enjoy the fresh air while working on these various projects. Who knows, you might even be treated to the sound of an old Tom turkey bellowing out a gobble or two in the early morning hours as he searches for a hen!