Decided to try a small deer/turkey food plot this year, figuring the practice at breaking new ground on a hillside would be worthwhile since (a) I've never done it and (b) we have more ambitious plans for other parts of the property.
Patch is about 40x40 yards or maybe a bit more than 1/3rd of an acre.  
Hill is 15-18 degrees - no joke on a my smallish Kubota L3800.  Get the downhill wheel in a dip or put the high side on a bump and things get interesting PDQ.
I'm pretty used to the hills having hogged them for a few years now - and by "used to" I mean I have great respect for gravity.
As usual, being short on time, funds, talent and the proper equipment are no barriers to giving it a shot.
The trail leading in:




The plot is the cut area on the top right - I didn't take a picture before cutting, but it was as high as the surrounding fields.




The field (again top right).  I have since put a ladder stand in the group of trees in the center of the frame:




Mowed/hogged plot:




First pass with a single point sub-soiler/chisel plow.  Rocks, rocks and boulders.




Dozens of bucket loads of rocks:




Figures, I seed and the forecast calls for no rain for the next 3 weeks...
800' of 5/8" irrigation tubing and assorted 100' hoses later:




I know I could/should have sprayed herbicide... just hate to use the stuff.
I had fantasies of hooking up my plow and tilling the field, but ran out of time and wasn't sure I got enough of the rocks out - maybe next year.
Also intended to run the culti-packer over it after seeding, but it was in disrepair and I was out of time.





I seeded a bag of radish mixes, along with peas, some oats and an unholy assortment from my garden stash - no telling what it will look like, if anything.





A lot of folks use clover, but I already seed my fields with several varieties for both my bees and sheep - so another plot of clover wouldn't be a draw.



Oh well - not much lost besides a few dollars in seed and a bunch of calories - and I've already learned a few things... theory into practice and all that.





 
 

positive comment: Great looking plot- they can be a lot of work, especially breaking the new ground - that can be tough. Be careful on those slopes- as I am sure you know things can go bad fast. That irrigation will have those radishes sprouting in no time, likely with no ill effects of not using the cultipacker.


more critical comments: you will have much more success with soil testing (maybe you did this and did not mention it?). Also, do not be afraid of herbicide - a little glyphosate can save you a lot of time on radish and rye plots - its not all bad.




reality comment: I have tried multiple methods of putting in plots, with and without testing, and I find it to be the most fun I have in the woods, regardless of my results. I am surrounded by agric\culture, and know my food plots do not really attract deer as well as quality cover would - but I keep planting stuff and love watching it grow. Make sure you get a camera on your plot - watching deer or whatever eat from food I planted makes me happy!




Question - are  your wheels loaded, and do you think it is of benefit on those slopes?




Buckwheat planted about a month ago:












Brassica planted about a month ago:





My Kubota B7200 I use for plots:





 

Thanks for the reply and no worries about being critical - feed back is why I made the thread!



Yes - my rear tires are loaded R1 (ag tires) and set to the widest.  And yes it makes a huge difference on the slopes as well as ground engagement.  I am seriously considering adding 4" spacers as well to the rears... it may shorten the life of the axle or seals, but I'd rather replace a few seals or even the axle than me!



And another yes - I did take a soil sample.  In fact, I had all my fields sampled when I bought the place.  



That said, I didn't pull the report for this little plot    Didn't I mention the time/budget (and talent) constraint for this project?  



From memory I knew it needed lime and was rather poor overall.  I didn't have lime on hand... but did have a bag of 16-16-16.



Should have seen me trying to use my lawn grade EasyGreen 3000 spreader on that slope...



Good times...



Thanks for reminder to get the game cams out... I keep forgetting!



 

Good looking property!

Seconded.  I wish we had the room at our deer lease to do this.  The spots where its open enough, the soil is so poor grass won't even grow.  

I hunt in a pine stand/thicket.  Thinking of doing something small, like a few rows of peas.  I've heard good things about carrots too.

Thanks all for the show of interest.



I checked on it today while I was setting up a nearby broadcast feeder and was happy to see a lot of sprouts already.  



I'm assuming its the radish mixes - they seem to always come up first in the garden.



There was an equal amount of growth even outside the range of the sprinkler, which was surprising.  I'm sure longer term growth will show a difference.



Of course I didn't have my camera with me - but I'll get some tomorrow.

Thanks!





And yes, the hills are no joke.  Every year there is at least 1 fatal rollover in the news around here.  Tragically it tends to be older folks - I think familiarity breeds complacency.  





I always belt in and keep the roll bar up and weight as low as I can get it.





Not exciting, but encouraging progress none the less:










 
 

Your plot looks great! I thought I had rock problems until you posted your pics.


I have the exact same tractor. My dad has rolled it and I've come close. You aren't kidding when you talk about that front and rear tire.

What part of KY are you in? I'm headed to Western Ky this weekend.

 
Thanks - yeah, we have a few rocks around.


We're up north of Lexington.



While the whole plot is sprouting, it isn't hard to see what the sprinkler can reach:











It's a start...

 
Same here - they keep calling for chances but so far zilch.




Luckily a little irrigation every other day has helped my plot.




Looking down from the stand:







The well watered areas:







Just outside the reach of the sprinkler:







From afar:





 

Thank goodness for inexpensive irrigation.

























 

Not flaming but you really need to pay attention to burn bans , they are put in effect for a reason. Four years ago we were DRY and there was a burn ban in effect...the tenant at the ranch decided that it would be OK to burn some trash after I commented a few days earlier that a ban was in place... I was still working, graveyard shift, when he calls " Hey the place is on fire and I've called 911" ,I threw some clothes on and headed out about 3 hours before my shift. I could see the flames from town and led the FD in. Not something you ever want to experience and I'm still dealing with the after effects. Don't be THAT guy!!

Not my friend but my tenant. He said that he burned early in the day and watched it until he thought it was out. Later that night he said that he heard something popping and looked out...it was paint cans blowing.  Burned one of my buildings to the ground and did major damage to another. Came close to burning  the whole ridgetop. FD stopped the flames about 4-5 feet from my barn...the flames were going right toward where a tractor was sitting.
A friend had a somewhat similar event happen. He'd built a very nice house in an upscale neighborhood and BBQ'd by the deck one evening...30 hours or so later the house is on fire...FD said that it looked like it had started in the area of the deck and had probably originated as a spark that smoldered for many hours. They saved his house but there were many $1000s of damage.

Myself I do not burn if it's dry, even if there is no burn ban. Every winter I'll burn brush piles...I wait until there's snow on, check for rabbit tracks and if none found call in to let them know that I'm doing a controlled burn and where and then light it. Pretty hard for it to spread with 6" of snow on the ground but I've still spent many a night sitting in my truck watching and waiting.

 
Hi Kittie - we did, though like you it wasn't much.  Small pockets of heavy rain that were hit or miss.  Quite the reverse of our lush spring!

Wow that's neat.
Care to share pics of your kubota and implements?

coming up nicely! put a camera up soon over it

Rainbird makes a LF sprinkler in their agricultural line that would be perfect for that area. Very long throw, low gpm, low pressure requirement.

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Great thread, going to be doing my first 1/3 acre plot in the spring.... very excited to try it myself.

Didn't see a description of the dogs- did I miss it?  I'm guessing Mountain Cur.

Good guess, similar build - they are Rhodesian Ridgebacks (sisters).

I'll look for it, thanks.

Nice tractor.  I have the slightly smaller L3200.  That slope looks terrifying to me!  I nearly rolled mine using the bucket to pull t-posts.  Around slopes I'm extra careful (and nervous).  Good looking plot!