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Utilize
Your ATV / UTV to Prepare a Food Plot for Hunting
::Continued::
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Seeding
can easily be done by hand with the use
of any equipment |
If your plot is level and free of many trees, you
may be able to use a readily available yard spreader
to speed things along. They will attach to your
ATV just like a garden tractor and will save you
some walking. For us, uneven ground and narrow strips
in the woods means spreading by hand. I use mainly
oats and after seeding, will use a drag (an old
wooden pallet turned upside down works great) to
cover the seeds just slightly to assure seed to
soil contact. If you can time it correctly, planting
a day or two before a rain is all that’s needed
as the rain will push the seed in and away you grow!
Now it’s up to Mother Nature to help with
some rain, and you can check on the plots for
the first few weeks to see if any bare spots need
over seeding. If you have picked the right spot,
you will start seeing more wildlife almost immediately
after things green up. I base my fall plantings
around Labor Day and try to have everything ready
to plant over that time period. By using Oats
and Winter Wheat in the woods, I can usually have
a nice 10-12 inch tall planting grow well into
winter. While cold weather will slow down the
growth, these plants are designed to grow through
the winter and emerge come spring for harvest.
This works well for the hunter as deer and other
animals will forage on them when there isn’t
anything else green in the woods! A nice surprise
when daylight arrives and your small plot gets
visited by a big buck looking for a snack on a
cold day!
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| Depending
on rain and sunlight, your new plot should
show growth in 7-10 days |
If your plot will be in a small clearing, or
at the edge of a larger field, Clovers, Chicory,
Rape and Rye (not rye grass, rye oats) will be
on your list of things to add to the plot.
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| With
the growing popularity of UTVs, OEMs are
making more and more accessories available
for land management like the new Grappling
claw for the Polaris Ranger UTVs |
You won’t always be able to use your ATV or
UTV in the creation of the plot, sometimes they
are just the pack mules from which you carry in
your chain saw, metal rake and the needed bags of
seeds and supplies. Once you start doing the work,
you will learn quickly as to what tasks to send
the machines way and what ones will require a more
hands on approach. As this practice grows even more
in popularity, the manufactures will be all over
attachments for your machines to help in the process.
Polaris and its popular Ranger line of UTV’s
already has accessories that will be a huge bonus
to one wanting to clear land and move brush as its
new Grapple attachment and Bucket will fit in nicely
to this type of work.
A little planning, a little work and the enjoyment
of knowing you are helping to make the wildlife
in your area get some high protein forage will pay
big dividends. I started with a small 30 x 30 opening
in the woods and now have over 4 acres planted every
year and use nothing more then a 4x4 ATV and UTV
to work 90% of it! The deer are flocking to the
plots and our hunting has been spectacular, and
it’s right outside our door! Put your favorite
trail machine to work this year and treat yourself
to seeing more and more wildlife where you want
to see it!
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