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fertilizer

vrod said:
Am I really going to have to spend $200+ an acre to fertilize for a food plot?
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Maybe so, depends on how much the soil test calls for to get optimun yields for whatever you are planting.

You can always spend 100 or even less to grow a plot, but it will not do as well.
 
We have never taken a soil sample or applied lime. The only fertilizer we have applied was before planting corn plots. All our other plots (beans, brassicas, oats, rye, etc) have been just put in the ground and have done quite well. Would they have done better with lime/fert? Quite possibly, but probably not enough to account for the extra expense to us.
All I can suggest is do some experimentation and see if you feel it is worth it under your circumstances.
 
Iowa_Buckeye said:
We have never taken a soil sample or applied lime. The only fertilizer we have applied was before planting corn plots. All our other plots (beans, brassicas, oats, rye, etc) have been just put in the ground and have done quite well. Would they have done better with lime/fert? Quite possibly, but probably not enough to account for the extra expense to us.
All I can suggest is do some experimentation and see if you feel it is worth it under your circumstances.
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I couldn't help but notice your location, east central iowa. I live in central iowa and have had really good luck planting clovers turnips etc without fertilizing. I own a few farms in southern iowa and tried that there and have had horrible luck. I would soil sample at the very least and atleast figure out what you are lacking if anything and then go from there
 
We have never taken a soil sample or applied lime. The only fertilizer we have applied was before planting corn plots. All our other plots (beans, brassicas, oats, rye, etc) have been just put in the ground and have done quite well. Would they have done better with lime/fert? Quite possibly, but probably not enough to account for the extra expense to us.
All I can suggest is do some experimentation and see if you feel it is worth it under your circumstances.
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Ecellent point guys, at home in central Iowa anything will grow well without much at the the farm in So Central Iowa it's a whole diffrent game with everything. like SWBUCKHUNTER said at least see what's missing and experiment with what works where your at.
 
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Iowa_Buckeye said:
We have never taken a soil sample or applied lime. The only fertilizer we have applied was before planting corn plots. All our other plots (beans, brassicas, oats, rye, etc) have been just put in the ground and have done quite well. Would they have done better with lime/fert? Quite possibly, but probably not enough to account for the extra expense to us.
All I can suggest is do some experimentation and see if you feel it is worth it under your circumstances.
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Here is the way I look at it, for my area anyways. I could grow 20-30 bushel beans per acre not doing anything. Could increase those yields to 50 bushel or better with soil sampling/fertilizer etc. This allows me to plant half as many acres (hypothetically of course) to get the same amount of feed to deer.

I guess it really just depends on the motives. Is a guy wanting to just attract deer for November? Get them through the winter? Keep them more on the property all year? Those would all require different levels of food plot "maintenance" to get the required results.

My 2 acre bean plot was gone by early January and it was fertilized/tested to get optimum yields. How long would that have lasted had I just done the "throw-n-grow" method without any fertilizer? Probably not nearly as well since the soils are good, but not fantastic.
 
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