What kind of tools does it take to grow a great food plot? You may be surprised! Here are the hand tools that you need to succeed if you want to create a beautiful field of green for this Fall…
*For hand tools to major equipment, all 12 of our NEW WHS Seed Blends are available for purchase right now! Check out our new seed blend website!
https://www.whswildlifeblends.com/
*Do you want to learn how to build and transform your food plot program for this Fall? Check out my advanced whitetail strategy classes:
https://www.whitetailhabitatsolutions.com/classes/hills-thermals-whitetail-hunting-web-class
*Jeff and Friends Talk Deer Podcast:
I wanted to talk about using hand tools To create a food plot And you'll see food plot videos out There from time to time by how to use Hand tools to create a food plot And it sounds you know easy let's just Go do this Um we're going to use these hand tools To create an open space throw some seed Down and we're going to have a great Catch and we're going to have this sweet Little honey hole for a food plot that Rarely ever works out that way so a bit Of caution about using hand tools that Unless you meet still the minimum Requirements of establishing a good food Plow which would be good seed to soil Contact weed control getting enough Sunlight to that plot and choosing the Appropriate type of seed for that plot Gives you more of a monoculture because If you put too much of a blend each is Fighting each other and uh and you don't Want 15 seeds in a blend 10 seeds in the Blend you need to have a purpose for That food pot so I have it a purpose Creating sunlight to the plot good seed To soil contact and making sure that you Control your weeds and of course you Have to have moisture to that location Too let's talk about using hand tools Now let's say you have a space that has A lot of leaves on it well you could go In there with a hand rake
And just keep raking over and over again To get those leaves off the plot How about a leaf blower It's a battery operated DeWalt right Here This a lot easier to get those leaves And debris and you probably already have One at home or a lot of people do Anyways So if you're clearing leaves and getting Something off I'd prefer much prefer to Use this Than this hand rake right here now You have to look at though going back What does it mean if there's a bunch of Leaves on the food plot typically means That there's a lot of canopy over the Food plot leaves are drop dropping from The trees usually those leaves aren't Blowing from 150 yards across the field And settling in an open area and you're Cleaning the leaves so it sounds great Let's use a leaf blower and blow out This spot unfortunately that signifies Typically That there's a lot of canopy So what does that take let's say you Have this perfect little honey hole in The woods and I'm saying a honey hole I Still want that to be 50 feet by 40 feet you know 2 000 square Feet something like that 2 000 square Feet is still only one twentieth of an Acre but it might be enough if you pick
The right seed to get a food plot Growing so in that case we might have Initially clear those leaves off with a Hand rake or even a leaf blower then we Get it down to soil what do you do next Well because the leaves are there that Signifies again that you don't have Enough sunlight so you have to use a saw Now I prefer to use a chainsaw here's my Old steel right here I have other Steels That I use regularly but bottom line is You have to use a chainsaw or saw to Make sure you look to the southerly sky Get about a 90 degree window with your Arms and just imagine if you get 30 Degrees here 30 30 at average averages Up to or adds up to 90 degrees get Enough sunlight on that plot to now Support whatever food plot or whatever Food plot variety seed you want to throw In there now some food plot variety Seeds are a little bit more shade Tolerant than others and but that Doesn't mean they don't need full sun The Clover for example is more shade Tolerant Rye but you still want to have Four or five hour Sun at least per day Something like Brassica Brassica needs Full sun soybeans need full sun in that Case you want to get six seven to eight Hours per day bottom line still a lot of Sun if you're hitting that six seven Eight hours a day that's where you want More of a 90 degree wedge but even
Clover Rye still has its limits you Still need to get a lot of sun in there So using a chainsaw Handheld rake leaf blower Now you're getting that soil exposed now What happens then you're getting that Soil exposed to sunlight maybe you're Clearing area out in the field maybe You've used a handheld line Tripper like We have right here maybe you've burned That down to the ground you're getting Sunlight it's already there you've Cleared that old weed debris getting Sunlight down there but now what happens When you get sunlight to soil you get Weed growth and you can clear an area Out of the Woods or clear an area out of The fields you get that work down Whether you're using hand tools a line Trimmer to get those weeds out even a Sickle if you just want to use a hand Sickle and break it down you're still Now that you're getting sunlight to the Soil or in your soil you're going to get More weed growth and that's where your Problem comes in because if you don't Get those weeds out You're going to be in trouble so what You're left with in that case you can go Rent a rototiller you can rototill out That 20th of an acre tenth of an acre Quarter acre food plot wrote it till it Out and then hand rake when weeds come Into the future just like you're
Clearing for your garden get those weeds Out of there hand pull them you can do That that is a way but you have to take Care of your weeds we'll talk about a Better way at least with the weeds when They're concerned here in a second you Have weeds taken care of you have good Seed to soil contact you're getting Sunlight to that area now it takes Planting before rain A lot of a lot of food plot seed Varieties that you plant you're going to Have to plant With moisture in the forecast for Example if you plant clover in the Spring you can get Clover to come up but If you get Summer drought it can kill That Clover very easily so you have to Use a cover crop of oat something like That and then you have to mow those Holes out I've mowed an acre at a time With a handheld line trimmer like the Steel right here And that takes about two hours per acre From experience So I want you to think about all these Variables I keep going through another Step here when it comes to weed control What do you do you can rototill over and Over again you can come in here with a Hand rake get those weeds off and the Area I'm talking about in the woods when You remove leaf debris get that sunlight Down there by cutting trees around there
Get the soil exposure going to get weeds You could tell that spot Could use a backpack sprayer backpack Sprayer with herbicide glyphosate two Quarts per acre So the thing about a backpack sprayer You're only going to kill about an Eighth of an acre at a time because the Inefficiency of that backpack sprayer It's one nozzle you're going back and Forth takes a lot of chemical there's Usually four gallons in the backpack in Order to spray so you're really not Spraying a lot if you think about that At a time just by eighth of an acre is Perfect for that four gallon backpack Sprayer two quarts per acre you add the Appropriate amount of chemical so you Have an eighth of an acre you really Only have I hope it makes sense but You're only a quarter of a quart In that backpack and then you're killing That eighth of an acre we'll talk about Calibrating your sprayer in another Video if you look up calibrating your Spray you'll find videos that I've Created about how to do that it's not Ounces per gallon thing it's how many Gallons it takes to spread with your Given machine whether it's a backpack Sprayer an ATV or side by side how many Gallons it takes to actually spray an Acre and then you're adding the Appropriate amount of chemical per acre
That's that's how you do that that's how You calibrate and how you spray so you Come on over here we have a big UTV Sprayer right here we use we have one on The side by side outside that we use And then also there's an ATV sprayer Right here ATV sprayer I prefer Now of course not a hand tool I've used Backpack sprayers in the past I've had Them leak all the back down the back Side of me and I just don't prefer to Use them the seals eventually go bad and Again it's very inefficient this isn't a Bad spray right here it's got a fold out Boom It's got five nozzles on here what's Great about those five nozzles is they Really reach out they allow you to be Efficient this is a 25 gallon sprayer Now an ATV costs money this one was a Used one I got a back many years ago but It was uh cost me 3 400 so it was pretty Expensive as far as hand tools go and Equipment but I prefer it much over Backpack sprayer I used to have an ATV Back in the day I wish I still had it it Was a Honda 350 rancher and it cost me About three thousand dollars new I sold It for 1500 used and I really wish I Would have never done that because I'd Love to have that now it was only two Wheel drive it turned on a dime and uh It was lightweight a very good spraying Machine the bottom line is once you get
That sunlight exposed to the ground Whether you're weed whipping that Sickling it out blowing it with a leaf Blower or raking it cutting down some Timber to get sunlight to it in the Woods you have to take care of the weeds So what I prefer to do instead of Tilling over and over again I'm going to Run a tiller is I want to spray with a Backpack sprayer or an ATV sprayer if You can borrow that from somebody put it On a lawn tractor or whatever it might Be but get that sprayed out and you have To wait a while for the sunlight to come In so going back to the timing thing This is perfect to start now in may Because you can clear that area and then Towards the end of May once you get Sunlight to there to that ground over About a four week period you're going You're going to get weed growth then you Can spray it one time with two quarts Per acre glyphosate now in an area that Hasn't had a preachable weed growth for A long time then you're going to get Weeds growing after that four or five Week time you spray it you could Probably wait about eight weeks and Spray again and then plant at the same Time that gets you into a fall spring A lot of those little plots I like using Our clover Blends we have our perennial Clover blend over there that we use Quite a bit
And it's a perennial mix got Clover Chickens other other goodies in there But that's a great crop to put in a Small plot like that because it Withstands a lot of grazing pressure When it gets cold it starts diminishing Growth stops growing all together and Then you can throw 200 pounds per acre Of rye on it so an eighth of an acre Plot put about 25 pounds out per acre or Per plot an eighth of an acre and that Works out perfectly and so that gives Your your plot in the fall a one-two Punch we have the Clover coming in and Then you have that rye following up you Put that out about September around Labor Day to end of Labor Day or end of September depending on where you're at In the country so that's a great one-two Punch But again to get there you have to get Rid of the weed Weeds now to plant that Clover in the fall the Clover is not Going to do anything for you this year That's going to be a next year type Thing so you want to get it established So I look at a cool season annual we Have a product specific to that where It's Nebraska Clover blend you plant That in August sometime and then you're Left with Clover the following year you Have the Nebraska for that really good Attraction here in the fall but on a Little plot like that that brass is
Going to get eaten down really quick so You might want to just go buy 100 pounds of Oats per acre plant that Around Labor Day put your Clover down And then you're left with that Clover Blend the following year we also have a Fall power greens blend that's really Good in leafy goodness greens you want To follow that up a month later with 150 Pounds of Rye per acre you can establish That Clover blend right underneath it All you can put it in right at the same Time that's around August 1st and August Depending on where you're at in the Country later towards the South but you Put that in there you're left with a Clover base the following year you kill The Rye out mow it you can actually mow It to kill it with a handheld line Trimmer a sickle get rid of the Rye and Then you're left with pure Clover going Into the following year I like planting in the fall too because You can take advantage of fall moisture Patterns you get Clover established get Your food plot established you only get Increasing moisture as the fall Progresses you get another great shot of Moisture in the spring by the time Summer drought hits the following year Then your clover will be thick enough And have its roots established enough to Withstand any drought that mother nature Can throw its way should you be planting
With hand tools there's a case can be That can be made that you can do so I Like the example of the plot in the Woods where you're blowing leaves out of The way not using a rake using a saw or Chainsaw to get sunlight to the ground You're coming back in with a backpack Sprayer spray it a couple times Throughout the summer to keep it down to Soil because once you get that sunlight Those weeds are going to come in then You're planting in the late Summer by Establishing a base layer of clover with A cool season annual like oats like our Fall power greens like the Brassica Blend you're left with pure Clover the Following year if it gets light going Into September you can add 150 pounds of Rye right over the top of it you've got Sunlight to it you've taken control your Weeds you're planning to get an Appropriate time to take advantage of Moisture patterns and you're using a Product that's specific or a type of Seed blend that's specific to a small Area you know no beans no glamor crops That have 15 different crops in there or Different seed varieties using really Strong leafy green mixtures following up With some rye creating that Clover blend And then even then you're using ride to Safeguard that plot in the future but You're going into it with realistic Expectations and even though this is a
Very small plot you can get a good plot Growing but again you have to have Sun You have to get rid of the weeds you Have to plant when you can take Advantage of moisture patterns and you Have to plant the right seed blend for a Small area like that and you too can use Hand tools to create food plots might Use a chainsaw I mean heck you could use A hand saw if you wanted to or some type Of saw it might take a little while or Hand saw like that I prefer to use chain Chainsaw can always use a backpack Sprayer heck they have the little ones That you can pump up I think are about a Two gallon sprayer you can carry those Around and spray if you want that's a Lot cheaper too so you can plant food Pots in a budget you're not going to be Able to plant very appreciable plots With much but you can get it done that's A way you can use a combination of hand Tools but again it goes back the basics Of food plots if you follow those Basics And always keep those in mind seed to Soil contact sunlight increasing Moisture patterns taking care of your Weed controls picking the right seed for Your food plot then you will have Success even with hand tools on a small Scale and it can be done all this year Still you have plenty of time to have a Great little food plot and honey hole Right next to a stand location for this
Fall now I don't know if you've checked Out our main website lately Whitetubattetsolutions.com but we've Really had a lot going on including hats Books our web class and certainly our New seed company whs Wildlife Blends When you click on seed on our site it'll Take you right to our brand new site for The seed company we have all 12 Blends Available so check it all out though I Encourage you I appreciate you checking It out whether you buy anything or not Really appreciate you visiting the site And seeing what's going on and continue To watch because we have big things Coming later this year