FOOD PLOTS ON A MODEST BUDGET

By Jim Casada

A few years ago, while walking an 80-acre piece of property with a longtime acquaintance who had just acquired the tract, I was amazed when he said: “I’m delighted to have this place and want to do everything I can to make it a wildlife paradise, but I guess that’s just dreaming. For one thing, I can’t afford to do much in the way of management, and even if I could, it’s just too little acreage to make a difference. Folks around me aren’t interested in food plots or other management activities, so I guess I’ll just have to leave things as they are.” 

Even when I hastened to inform my friend that, luckily for him, he needed a fairly serious dose of what Hank Williams, Jr. calls “attitude adjustment,” he remained dubious. Yet he tried some of what I suggested, and over the course of less than a decade he has turned his 80 acres into a sort of miniature hunter’s paradise, and he has done it on a quite modest budget. All it takes is some savvy, sensible expenditure of moderate sums in the right areas, and a reasonable amount of sweat equity. This holds true for both hunting clubs and individuals, yet for some reason the misconception originally held by my buddy is a widespread one. 

Southerners (I’m one of them) often say, when expressing disbelief, “tell me it ain’t so.” I’m telling you it ain’t so. What follows is an attempt to dispel the myth that the only way you can have fine food plots and a good game management program is with plenty of greenbacks and lots of land. 

The logical place to begin is with the four key considerations that enter into creating and maintaining food plots. These are: (1) Preparation of the food plot. This includes not only clearing (if necessary) and plowing, but also application of lime and fertilizer. (2) Purchase of seed. (3) Planting. (4) Maintenance of the food plot once it is established. None of these is totally free, but a bit of cost consciousness, sensible approaches, and perhaps some good old-fashioned bartering can work wonders. Let’s look at each aspect of the equation in some detail, with an eye to where costs can be cut and where they can’t.

FOOD PLOT PREPARATION

There is one clear and undeniable message connected with getting a patch of ground ready for planting. Planning carefully and doing it right once you have a plan in place can make a world of difference! For starters, get some expert (and usually free) advice on where to put the food plot and how to prepare the ground. In almost every state there are folks paid with your taxes who are on the payroll to provide precisely that sort of advice. Whether the agency is called soil and conservation, agricultural extension, or some other name, the basic approach is the same. They ought to be able to provide some thoughts on the nature of soil requirements in the area in question, along with a free soil test that explains precisely what is required in terms of getting the right pH level.

Beyond that, they may also have some pamphlets or publications that can be of assistance, and in some cases it may even be possible to get some free perennials to plant adjacent to the food plot. For example, there might be some bicolor lespedeza or sawtooth oak seedlings available for the taking. One thing is certain, as I once heard it put, “he who asketh not getteth not,” and somehow it feels good to get something back from the state and federal government. You might even be able to get a specialist, probably linked with your state’s institution of higher learning with a College of Agriculture, to visit the site or help pick a site. With several hundred years of combined experience in the food plot and deer management field, the Whitetail Institute is also a great source for free information and advice. Consultants can be reached at 1-800-688-3030.

Give a lot of thought to the food plot’s location. One way to save money, in the long run, is to do it right the first time. The food plot should be in a seasonal wetland area, and it is probably best to have it out of sight of any nearby public roads (no need to encourage poachers). Beyond that, factors such as nearby bedding sites, natural funnels, travel zones, and the like deserve careful consideration. 

In that regard, noted callmaker and call designer Jerry Peterson of Woods Wise Calls recently tendered some interesting and important advice. 

“One good place to have a food plot,” he suggests, “is in a location that might be called a ‘staging area’ for the rut.” 

He maintains, and the argument is a compelling one, that mature bucks have favored locations where they can keep an eye out for does and at the same time be ideally positioned to chase off rivals. Putting a food plot in an area that fits such requirements seems quite logical, and therein lies yet another argument for study of the terrain. You also want to be sure the food plot isn’t where heavy rains can cause significant erosion, that it isn’t sited where too much shade will hurt growth, and that placement of stands along trails leading to and from it poses no problem. In short, there’s quite a bit to think about and do before the first bit of soil has been turned, but most of it involves little more than common sense and a few phone calls.

PURCHASE OF SEED

In each of the other areas, the possibility of some short cuts or savings comes into play. With seed, that is not the case. You may be tempted to buy seed that is on sale or that is being offered at what seems to be incredible bargain rates. You can do that, but you’ll pay the price. It is almost certain that the seed you get will have a low germination rate, have been intended for planting the previous year, or a similar problem. When you want quality – and certainly that is the case with a food plot – the old adage of “you get what you pay for” certainly holds true. 

PLANTING

The planting process needs to be timed right and come after proper plot preparation. Because these essential considerations are duly recognized, there are some real opportunities for economy. Here are a few examples. For a hunt club leasing land for a farmer, the club may be able to work out a deal for use of his equipment in return for putting in food plots (if this happens, it probably would be wise to make sure you have at least a 2 or 3-year lease agreement). Thinking along the same lines, there is every likelihood that at least one member of a club will own (or have access to) a tractor. The club may want to consider a break on dues in return for use of the machinery. 

A more adventurous alternative, and it can work for either a club or an individual, is investment in some of the equipment available today designed specially for use on food plots. Finally, don’t overlook utilization of good, heavy-duty garden tillers. Provided the land to be tilled isn’t full of roots or rocks, a tiller with an eight or ten horsepower engine can do a decent job of soil preparation. It will take one man a few hours to till a quarter to half acre, but four or five club members acting as a “tiller brigade” can get a food plot ready for seeding in short order. It’s a different sort of approach to a club “work day,” but it makes perfectly good sense. 

On a personal note, and as a sort of index or gauge to this particular approach, I timed myself on the amount of time it took to double till (cover twice) my home garden. It measures a third of an acre and a thorough tilling twice took me just short of three hours and a tank and a half of gas. Admittedly the garden has none of the sort of rocks you might find in a newly established food plot, but if you are dealing with an old field or other open land, a tiller is certainly feasible. This is doubly true once a tractor has done the initial ground breaking.

MAINTENANCE OF THE FOOD PLOT

One of the smartest things you can do, economy-wise, is to pay close heed to food plot maintenance after it has been planted. Get the seed in and get it growing, but don’t make the mistake of then leaving everything to take its own course. An annual (and free) soil sampling is certainly recommended, as is the addition of lime as required. Judicial application of the right sort of fertilizer can also help, although the fact that clover is a nitrogen fixing plant gives you something of a break in this regard. 

Inevitably, you are going to get some weeds or seedlings that come up in the food plot. An annual bush hogging can help a lot in this regard, and be sure it is done before the noxious intruders have a chance to go to seed. Alternatively, at no cost but requiring more work, you can do things the way humankind has done through most of agricultural history. That is to say, weed by hand or use hand implements such as a hoe or mowing scythe to keep unwelcome vegetation at bay. Again, this is the sort of undertaking that lends itself to a club workday, and the late summer/early fall period, before the season opens and before plants go to seed, is the ideal time for the endeavor. Herbicides can be expensive initially, but help improve the health of the food plot and allow the food plot manager to get an additional year our of the perennial, which reduces planting costs.

A properly maintained food plot will produce lush browse and draw deer for several years running. Each year you extend the life of a food plot through good maintenance means a year you delay having to do new planting. That’s where savings on seed comes in — not in the cost of the seed but in the frequency with which you have to purchase seed.

As the above areas of coverage suggest, there’s no magic formula whereby you can have fine food plots without expenditure of much money or with use of little labor. On the other hand, by taking a calculated approach, doing homework in advance and following a practical plan such as is suggested here, it is quite possible to have fine food plots economically. Unless you have a lot more cash than happens to be the case with most hunters (certainly with yours truly), the budget way should carry the day.