start. Ideally, I like to work with natural openings which require less brush and woody vegetation removal and already enjoy a good dose of sunlight. But sometimes I’m forced to get stubborn. One of my friend’s plots next to the creek (mentioned above) was basically hacked out of a gnarly little stand of box elder trees. For that task I hired a buddy who owns a skid loader and a bucket. Mark ripped trees out of the ground by their roots in an hour’s worth of labor, and the $100 I paid him was chicken feed compared to the labor of cutting trees and digging out stumps by hand. Of course, your time/labor investment will be much smaller if you focus your efforts on natural openings. Here, the main concern is usually eliminating grass and weed competition, a job that’s usually a snap for a sprayer loaded with a quality herbicide. In most scenarios, I like to spray the plot and let it sit for a week or two, which allows stubborn broadleaf weeds and grasses a chance to absorb the chemical in their roots and get a great kill. When the plot has “browned up” nicely, tillage is much simpler and more effective. One of the most frequent questions I’m asked about starting food plots like these is, “Can I use an ATV to do the job?” I confess I’m torn and spoiled on this issue. As far as being spoiled, I’m blessed to have friends, neighbors and hunting buds who possess — and know how to run — some serious equipment. This means I can turn to them, point to a brush-choked thicket and say, “Hey, do you think it’s possible to get a tractor in there and work that up for me?” I’m devious this way, as I’ve learned my buddies take these tasks as a personal challenge; a test of their farming skills, as it were. The next thing I know, there’s a John Deere in a place where it shouldn’t be, turning dirt. Back to the “torn” half of the equation. I know some guys who have good ATVs and top-of-the-line accessories. In most areas — I’m stressing the word “most” — they can till up a small plot just fine, assuming they let the herbicide do its work and aren’t battling a root system quagmire. The
process just takes a little longer than it would with heavy equipment. This, of course, is fine. But every once in a while there’s a nasty, brushy, rocky patch where an ATV is just not a big enough gun for the game. In such cases, seek out someone who’ll bring in the artillery you need and you won’t regret the cash it takes to get the job done right. One surprising thing I’ve learned about small plots is the amount of continuing weed control required. When I first started planting these miniplots, I figured that when the initial weed-war was fought my headaches would be over. Wrong. In fact, I feel that small-plot farmers face even stiffer weed competition, not because of what we spray or till in the plot itself, but the stuff we ignore on its borders. A classic example is a plot I planted
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