The two young men in the photo are not very impressed with the stand of soybeans that remains after the application of Round-Up 10 days earlier. The weeds were too well established and they stunted the soybeans severely. What you see in the picture is pretty much a total food plot failure. Below is another photo of a corn food plot that got too weedy and was heavily over-browsed by wildlife – these kind of plots will never be productive. Sometimes it is best to throw in the towel and start over.
Thankfully mid-July is not too late to re-formulate a food plot plan. Here is our recipe to salvage your food plot failure sites. The target date for our plantings will be somewhat weather-dependent, but August 1 is a good average date to perform the following food plot tasks:
#1. If necessary, mow the weedy debris so that your tillage equipment can handle it.
#2. Till the soil.
#3. Apply fertilizer and lime as needed per your soil sample results. Work in the fertilizer and lime as needed. Plant the seed. We use a mix of brassicas (plants that gain palatability after a killing frost) such as rapeseed, turnips, sugarbeets, radishes, etc. These seeds are found in our best-selling seed mix, “Bladed Tine Brassica Blend” by www.backfortywildlife.com Other seed to consider in an early August/early September planting would include clovers, alfalfa, chicory, winter oats, winter peas, winter wheat, etc. Check with your seed vendor, as some of the aforementioned seed should be planted later than August 1.
After the seeds have hit the ground, we like to drag the site and sometimes we use a culti-packer implement to ensure good seed to soil contact.
In summary, a food plot failure may turn into a blessing in disguise. Because now your plot site can offer lush, tender, green forage while everything around it will be coarse, stemmy, and unattractive. Follow these steps and enjoy food plots that look like the one in this last photo. Happy plotting!
