Food Plots 2024 – It’s go time.

Okay, well, it’s getting pretty close to go time. For most of us, anyway.

I was up to the Midwest Monster Farm in Hinckley, MN yesterday and things are looking up. It was, however, wetter than I expected. I expected damp, but the fields and plots are outright muddy and wet at my place. If you add in today’s rain, there’s going to be at least 10-12 more days of very wet ground.

However! All of that is a good problem to have because I think we all remember last summer when it seemed like the last rain of the year fell in about April. Ug. That was awful. But don’t base any decisions only off of what happened last year. The only thing I know about the weather is that it’s never the same as last year.

So does everybody have their game plan ready for plots 2024? I don’t make many radical changes year-to-year, but this year I am trying a new Enlist soybean variety from Real World Wildlife Products. I want more weed control options so I’m going with Enlist this year to see if I can knock down a pesky grass infestation that seems to laugh off Roundup. Other than that, it’s the usual rotation for me. Last year’s soybean plots are this year’s Brassicas Bender plots, and so on.

I’m going to spray off the plots that I reserve for Deadly Dozen multi-species blend and then those plots will just sit fallow until late July. My clover plots are all in good shape, so the only spring planting this year will be soybeans.

We might be a ways from planting most food plot crops, but here’s a few to-dos.

1. If you have clover plots that need overseeding to fill in sparse or bare patches or just thicken up the plot, now is a great time to do that. Yesterday, I overseeded 3 acres of clover plots and just for fun I blasted clover out on some trails and fencelines.

2. If you have acidic soil (and most of us in the northern half of MN and WI do!), now’s the time to spread that lime. I laid out 2000 pounds of it yesterday and that’s not even half done.

Lime needs time to work, so getting it washed into your soil is a good thing. I spread with a UTV and the big Agrifab tow-behind spreader, so even on soft ground I can still spread lime without cutting ruts.

3. If you’re doing annuals like soybeans, get your seed and get your planter ready. When it’s go-time for soybeans, you don’t want to miss a good planting window by not being ready because one good rain can set you back a week or more.

4. Do your equipment maintenance. Nothing worse than having something that could have been prevented be the thing that stops you from getting planted on a good planting day.

Yesterday, I noticed my broadcast spreader could use some wheel bearing replacements, so I hauled it back to town and ordered parts this morning. Take no chances!

5. Get your supply of chemicals. We don’t sell chemicals at Midwest Monster, but like seed, now’s the time to get it so that you have it when it’s needed. Spring just flies by.

What are your plot plans for this year?

Plant something. It’s a lofty one, but you gotta start somewhere! We aren’t too far from you in Brook Park, and last year we got the plot cleared out, but never got back to put anything in the ground and am pretty glad we didn’t since it was dryer than a popcorn fart all year.

BigWerm wrote:

Plant something. It’s a lofty one, but you gotta start somewhere! We aren’t too far from you in Brook Park, and last year we got the plot cleared out, but never got back to put anything in the ground and am pretty glad we didn’t since it was dryer than a popcorn fart all year.

Yep, last year was difficult virtually start to finish. Hopefully, that kind of drought is in the rearview mirror for a long time. I managed to get some decent plots, but it wasn’t without huge effort. I believe everything I planted last year got replanted at some stage later in the season, so everything was at least 2x the effort.

Werm, see above item about getting your chemical supply and getting ready for weed control. With a new food plot, you’re going to have a tremendous bloom of weeds in most cases. It may take a while for them to get going, but be ready.

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

Werm, see above item about getting your chemical supply and getting ready for weed control. With a new food plot, you’re going to have a tremendous bloom of weeds in most cases. It may take a while for them to get going, but be ready.

Thanks. My general plan is to put down a ton or 2 of lime here soon. And then start on the weeds soon after with a couple treatments then turning them over and planting. Not sure if that’s exactly the correct process, but I’m open to recommendations!

BigWerm wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>TheFamousGrouse wrote:</div>
Werm, see above item about getting your chemical supply and getting ready for weed control. With a new food plot, you’re going to have a tremendous bloom of weeds in most cases. It may take a while for them to get going, but be ready.

Thanks. My general plan is to put down a ton or 2 of lime here soon. And then start on the weeds soon after with a couple treatments then turning them over and planting. Not sure if that’s exactly the correct process, but I’m open to recommendations!

You don’t need to dig lime in for it to be effective, so spreading lime can be done any time and sooner is better. In Brook Park, you will be acidic no matter what, so fire away with the lime.

Give your plots until early to mid May to “green up” and then spray and kill everything.

With new food plots, there is so much to do in the first full year and we all want the new plots to be a success. IMO, the best thing is not to rush in and try sprring-planted crops the first year.

Instead, spend your spring on lime, weed control, and plot prep in advance of late-summer planting of multi-species blends, brassicas, and/or grain crops. This way there isn’t a lot of rushing and pressure to get seeds in the ground right away. Also, if weeds aren’t properly controlled from the beginning, it’s just a mess and you end up burning up a lot more time and money trying (usually unsuccessfully) to control them later.

I had to do a mowing of my CRP this year and finished it yesterday. The local Pheasants for ever are giving out free corn and beans again this year so I pickup that Friday. I will wait until end of may to plant.