I planted my first food plot, when working for the Feds in 1979 - disk, pto spreader, and tire drag - milo for ducks. It did great. For the next ten years, I planted about 20 food plots a year while working with the feds - wheat or WR in the fall and browntop millet in the spring. Tractor disked and bush highed, 4 wheeler seed spread with a tow behind seeder and a chain link drag. We did not use any herbicide
Promotion took me out of the dirt but still planted a few private land food plots on other folks private land - mostly for doves - all disking, spreading seed, and dragging. For the most part, all these food plots did great using minimal equipment. For the most part, all the planting was done pretty much the same way. Food plots were contract limed - usually every two or three years. About 50% required bush hogging, then usually two passes with a disk, two passes with the spreader for seed and fertilizer, and a pass with a drag. Six passes over the same piece of ground - seven if limed. One person made a trip around bush hogging with tractor where ever required. That same person would then go back around with a disk on each plot. I would follow with atv, seed/fertilizer, spreader, and drag. It was labor intensive but it worked and plots looked great.
I bought my own land in early 2000’s and did my own plots with a Honda 500 4 wheeler, tow behind spreader, 4 ft disk, tow behind bush hog, and drag. Pretty much the same operation as the past twenty some years - with a downgrade in equipment. Same great results. Same requirement of five or so passes. Then I bought a used JD 790, 28 hp 4wd tractor, five ft disk, five ft bush hog, pto spreader, and pto sprayer. Still pretty much the same number of passes, but quicker with a little bigger equipment. I got up to doing about 30 acres with this equipment.
For a for a few years, I borrowed the neighbors tractor and rented a drill. It did great in the nice open food plots , not great so great around native pecan trees because they drop so many limbs and would get lodged all over with all that undercarriage hanging down. I also damaged it once when going over a tree root. While I wasnt so impressed with the complexity of the equipment, I had a taste of the reduction in required labor a drill provided.
Six years ago, I bought a new 65 hp JD and seven ft bush hog, a used seven ft Woods Seeder, and a seven ft disk. For the most part, I first sprayed the food plot a month before planting and then planted with the woods seeder directly without bush hogging. I quit using fertilizer. I was able to cut out the pass with the bush hog on most areas, a pass with the drag, and I also quit the fertilizer - and upgraded my equipment to seven ft - it went a LOT quicker - probably 1/3 the time. I plant wheat and clover for fall plots, utilizing the clover to fix nitrogen and the wheat to burn nitrogen. I do still fertilize my seed producing food plots for doves and ducks.
Through all this, I started experimenting with some throw and mow plots for fall plantings. With fall plantings, I dont have to spray herbicide - just spread with a pto spreader and come back with a bush hog - the ultimate in labor saving - but also not quite so great results. The cereal grains do fine, the clovers have just never done much for me. Have thought about using the woods seeder or something else with some tillage capabilty to get the clover established and then go back to a true throw n mow. I do plant cereal grains straight into clover with my woods seeder.
I have always planted my millet for doves with some type of tillage. Then chamged to a spray and woods seeder. Weather patterns have changed here to where it has been too wet the past four or five years to use a tractor for any work in the spring. That has drove me to plant my dove fields using a sprayer in my sxs and a pto spreader on my sxs. I dont bush hog - and the millet planting have done as well as using any other kind of planting method.
As I get older, I tend to try to make things easier, using less time and equipment. My plantings for deer - which are the easiest - are wheat and clover - usually with the woods seeder - maybe spraying - but maybe not - planting and bush hog. Usually two passes. Provides deer food from Oct - mid Aug in most years. All year in years without a drought. Deer dont care.
The deer plots are easy. Dove plots can be more labor intensive - duck plots can be a nightmare.
Through the 46 years I have been planting food plots with all types of equipment - I dont really see much difference with the end results of the different methods, but there can be a huge difference in labor cost and a fair difference in money cost. I have never been one who enjoyed climbing on a tractor - I consider it a means to an end - I would much rather be hunting for ducks, doves, or deer than planting for them. I do like to see the results of my planting efforts in a nicely producing food plot - if someone would come up with a self propagating food plot planting - I would be in line.
Promotion took me out of the dirt but still planted a few private land food plots on other folks private land - mostly for doves - all disking, spreading seed, and dragging. For the most part, all these food plots did great using minimal equipment. For the most part, all the planting was done pretty much the same way. Food plots were contract limed - usually every two or three years. About 50% required bush hogging, then usually two passes with a disk, two passes with the spreader for seed and fertilizer, and a pass with a drag. Six passes over the same piece of ground - seven if limed. One person made a trip around bush hogging with tractor where ever required. That same person would then go back around with a disk on each plot. I would follow with atv, seed/fertilizer, spreader, and drag. It was labor intensive but it worked and plots looked great.
I bought my own land in early 2000’s and did my own plots with a Honda 500 4 wheeler, tow behind spreader, 4 ft disk, tow behind bush hog, and drag. Pretty much the same operation as the past twenty some years - with a downgrade in equipment. Same great results. Same requirement of five or so passes. Then I bought a used JD 790, 28 hp 4wd tractor, five ft disk, five ft bush hog, pto spreader, and pto sprayer. Still pretty much the same number of passes, but quicker with a little bigger equipment. I got up to doing about 30 acres with this equipment.
For a for a few years, I borrowed the neighbors tractor and rented a drill. It did great in the nice open food plots , not great so great around native pecan trees because they drop so many limbs and would get lodged all over with all that undercarriage hanging down. I also damaged it once when going over a tree root. While I wasnt so impressed with the complexity of the equipment, I had a taste of the reduction in required labor a drill provided.
Six years ago, I bought a new 65 hp JD and seven ft bush hog, a used seven ft Woods Seeder, and a seven ft disk. For the most part, I first sprayed the food plot a month before planting and then planted with the woods seeder directly without bush hogging. I quit using fertilizer. I was able to cut out the pass with the bush hog on most areas, a pass with the drag, and I also quit the fertilizer - and upgraded my equipment to seven ft - it went a LOT quicker - probably 1/3 the time. I plant wheat and clover for fall plots, utilizing the clover to fix nitrogen and the wheat to burn nitrogen. I do still fertilize my seed producing food plots for doves and ducks.
Through all this, I started experimenting with some throw and mow plots for fall plantings. With fall plantings, I dont have to spray herbicide - just spread with a pto spreader and come back with a bush hog - the ultimate in labor saving - but also not quite so great results. The cereal grains do fine, the clovers have just never done much for me. Have thought about using the woods seeder or something else with some tillage capabilty to get the clover established and then go back to a true throw n mow. I do plant cereal grains straight into clover with my woods seeder.
I have always planted my millet for doves with some type of tillage. Then chamged to a spray and woods seeder. Weather patterns have changed here to where it has been too wet the past four or five years to use a tractor for any work in the spring. That has drove me to plant my dove fields using a sprayer in my sxs and a pto spreader on my sxs. I dont bush hog - and the millet planting have done as well as using any other kind of planting method.
As I get older, I tend to try to make things easier, using less time and equipment. My plantings for deer - which are the easiest - are wheat and clover - usually with the woods seeder - maybe spraying - but maybe not - planting and bush hog. Usually two passes. Provides deer food from Oct - mid Aug in most years. All year in years without a drought. Deer dont care.
The deer plots are easy. Dove plots can be more labor intensive - duck plots can be a nightmare.
Through the 46 years I have been planting food plots with all types of equipment - I dont really see much difference with the end results of the different methods, but there can be a huge difference in labor cost and a fair difference in money cost. I have never been one who enjoyed climbing on a tractor - I consider it a means to an end - I would much rather be hunting for ducks, doves, or deer than planting for them. I do like to see the results of my planting efforts in a nicely producing food plot - if someone would come up with a self propagating food plot planting - I would be in line.
