Plots with fourwheelers

[rednecklb69]

I recently picked up a honda rincon with intentions of making some deep wood small plots. Are any of you using quads for plots? Im looking for a disc and wondering what yall use to till up uour plots.

[mrbb]

well I have been using my honda 400 foreman for 13 yrs now to build food plots
I have done small one's and up to 2+ acres with just the atv
AT my hunting camp we have done the same and have bought a bunch of atv implements

first off, a ATV is NOT a tractor, so t takes a LOT more time to prep a site with just an atv
the heavier the disc the better it will work, same goes for how big the disc are, bigger blades work better and take less passes to work the soil into a good base
BUT bigger heavier the disc, the harder your atv will be working
best suggestions I have is start all food plots early just after winter as the ground is just thawing out, it is the softest it will be
and then keep turning it over every couple weeks if you can till planting time
will make life a lot easier, and be a one pass deal come planting time

as for things to buy
well, if your on a tight budget, as made for ATv things are not cheap!!
you can look for older farm Harrows, and just remove a section
I will try to take a pic'c next time I am at the farm of what I use and did
BUt I found a 3 piece(about 10 foot wide) pull type harrow off a local farmer for 50 bucks
took it apart into one small section, and one (two parts) bigger/wider section
and drag it with my ATV
the smaller section gets used 99% of the time, its about as wide as the ATV, and it will dig into the ground about 4-5 inches , with pending how hard the ground is, one or 10 passes, all depends on how hard the ground is! or rocky it is!
the deeper it gets into the ground, the more restance it has, the harder the ATV has to work, even on small plots
change your oil a lot and use GOOD oil in the ATV, will help a lot on temps, and over heating! and use low range and go slow

if you want to buy a ATV designed tool
get a Tuffline or other WELL build heavy disc that you can adjust, and has slotted blades on it
they cut the best
a good one will weight 300+ lbs or more
and well again, they do work the ATV hard, but smaller one take forever to do the same wok, if at all, many just don't weight enougn to sink into the ground and just ride on top, being useless, and waste of money, so buyer beware!
if your good with making things, odds are you can find a old farm pul type disc, and again take a section off and make your own, for a lot less
a good ATV disc is about 700-1,000 bucks
a cheap old farm one can be had for about 250 bucks and has a crap load of extra blades if ever needed
but will make you work to make it!

next thing to buy for an ATV
is a good sprayer
them 15-20 gallon one's that mount on the racks work OK, BUT again, you get what you pay for
they will be fine for plots up to an acre
but a bigger sprayer you tow, comes in handy, and can be pulled most places an ATV can get to
I personally have a 45 gallon one, paid like I think 500 bucks for it, and can do non stop an acre or more at a time
only has a 5 ft boom, so I end up over lapping a lot to make sure I don't miss things
bigger the boom the better
the sprayless booms work OK, but miss a lot more, and really suck on windy days over one with a boom
and trust me, never fails days you wnat to spray its always windy!

advantage of a bigger sprayer is not having to make trips to re fill a BIG time saver
I learned to get some 55 gallon drums and fill with water, and keep in my truck , makes re fills on a tank a ton faster than filling up with a hose at remote places
Most chemical places will give you them for free too, just make sure you know what was in it first
lots of liquid fertilizer one's in my area, so they don't hurt anything I spray! other chemicals can kill or leave behind things that won't let things grow for a LONG time, so watch that

but a sprayer is almost a must have, between/ for round up, and keeping weeds in check
this food plots stuff is adicting, just like trail camera's
once you get started and see how well they work, you will be hooked
so might be better to get better stuff from the start?? lol
good thing is many guys start every yr so used things sell pretty good

next thing to look for is a mower, if you do any larger plots, and want to keep them looking good, there almost a must have
its one of them things, that you have to such up the costs up front
a good food plots can cost a bunch to make, letting weeds take over and re doing gets pricy fast and one or two re planting is more than a mower costs
so they pay for themselves fast, but you can get by without, with a weedeater and a lot of sweat
or again spraying weed killers as they come up
and they will come up!
a bag seed broadcaster is alos a must have
and trust me, a hand operated one is the way to go unless your doing more than 2 acres at a time
as seeds are NOT cheap, and you do not want to be wasting them on a electric spreader that mounts on an ATv , as bumps cause extra to spill out

and a tow behing broadcaster is also a much have, for adding fertilizer, but again, a bag spreader can get you by, just a LOT more work
just be sure to wash out after spreading fertilizer or lime, as that stull will rott out the gear fast, take care of it and it will last a long time, both my spreaders are a good 10+ yrs old
up my hunting camp, where folks are lazy, they go bad every 2-3 yrs!

Lime is a problem these days, almost every planting needs it, and pelletized lime isn't cheap at all
BUt pulverized lime is a bitch to spread without specialized spreaders
you can again get by with a push drop lime spreader,but most only hold , and work with about 40 lbs at a time
most new food plost need about a 1200 lbs of lime per acre and many will need a LOT more
so you see lime is the hardest to spread cheap, unless you can buy in bulk, and have it spread in bulk, they its a LOT cheaper, about 50 bucks a ton, as to about a 120 a ton for pulverized by the bag, and about double that for pelletized lime you can spread in a broadcast spreader??
so lime is needed and hard to get down

best time to be adding lime is more or less is right now, so it leaches into the soil, and then more as you prep the site
and trust me, best advice I can give you is do a soil test and prep soil to what it calls for, not doing so is just wasting money and a lot of hard work!
and there only 10 bucks!
and lime is one of the least understood parts of plantings
lime actually has to touch every part of the soil to lower PH, so it needs to be blended in best as possible, and it takes TIME to actually work
so more time and more you work it in the better!

so, sorry about being long, but just trying to help
been doing food plots for about 20 yrs now, so I have for sure learned a lot the hard way, and willing to help take that out for new guys if I can help
feel free to ask me anything, glad to help if I can!

[mrbb]

here is a picture of a plot I did this spring with JUST my atv
it was about 2 acres in all of soybeans
this is a cultipacker I grabbed off an old farm , there good to have too on bigger plots but not needed, you can make a decent drag, to do the same thing more or less out of some chain link fence, and some boards
just to show you it can be done
I will try to get a pic of the harrow I used too next trip to the farm

http://i1190.photobucket.com/albums/z457/mrbb1/2012-05-25_19-44-36_49.jpg

http://i1190.photobucket.com/albums/z457/mrbb1/2012-05-25_19-35-29_110.jpg



and about a ton of rocks, this ATV get worked hard, and having nothing but a low range standard trans I think is whats saved it over the yrs
we killed 2 or 3 other atv at camp some bigger CC but belt driven doing same type work
so heads up, working food plots will add a lot of wear and tear to an ATV
but it can be done!

http://i1190.photobucket.com/albums/z457/mrbb1/2012-05-25_12-26-15_406.jpg

[rednecklb69]

My rincon is an auto but i can manually shift but i have no low range but i do have the 680 cc motor. I did some searching and came across a disc called a groundhog and its got some decent reviews and videos on youtube. Check those out and tell me if you think thats not exactly what i am after or if the old farm equipment would be better. Thanks for the reply.

[Big_Holla]

Head to any used farm equipment places around you and see what they have. You may find a decent tow behind disc that you can rig up to be pulled behind your 4 wheeler. If you know anyone that can fabricate things you may be able to use a section of a disc and fashion it into a tow behind as well. Find yourself a good tank sprayer that you can mount on the back rack and use weed killer before you try pulling that disc thru. Any decent spreader will work, hand held, push or even a tow behind.

[mrbb]

well here is my take on that disc
IT WILL work on soft fround that isn't very stony or has any roots
which is rare
its disc blades are just too small, and they are counting on your ATV to provide down force for it to work, and its super narrow, making you do tons of passes to get anything done
again IT will work
but I wouldn't buy one
Moltrie made one just like it, on a so called 3 point hitch set up same basic design, and it didn't do crap here

I would recommend one that looks more like this, this was a quick one I found, it only has 14 inch dis, they have better models that have 16 inch disc
the bigger idisc always seem to work better
and you can alwyas add more weight to it if your ATV can pull it
its adjustable to control cut /angle of the disc, and thats a BIG deal on controling how deep or agressive you want to get
but even this model is to me much better than that one you found!
again, just my opinion, but again , been doing this stuff for a LONG time

as for your ATV, yes the 680 will have the power, BUT you have to remember that ATV's are not made to make lots of HP going slow, and pulling thungs for any amount of time is very hard on motors, and makes tons of heat
ATV"S are designed to use moving air to cool them, so going slow, doesn't do that very well
we had bought a polasis 900 atv sportsman when they first came out, and it had the power, but would over heat like crazy, so it was useless for food plots
but again, you can get by with that for sure, just remember to stop when it gets REAL hot so it last for you!

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200414728_200414728


here is a second link with one with the 16 inch blades
and as you can see they ain't cheap
and like big Holla and I said, if you have some skills, you can likly buy a old farm tractor pull disc for a lot less and make one
but ?? it will take time and work, and maybe cost you close to the same after all is said and done, but never know
seen old disc get sold at auctions for 50 bucks so??

http://www.basspro.com/Tufline-ATVD-Series-Discs-for-ATVs/product/40887/?cmCat=CROSSSELL_PRODUCT

[mrbb]

here is a little more info for you

OK did a little quick looking
this is the type of spring harrow/cultivator I use more than anything behind my ATV

http://for-sale.yakaz.com/drag-harrow-for-sale

this is a 2 section one, I use a a one section type,
al I do is un bolt one side to it, to make the ATV work a LOT less,yakes more time/passes, but doesn't kill the atv so much
these things are super super common on old farm, most are 3 section or even bigger!~
they manually adjust for depth control, and pull easy
and normally can be had dirt cheap, as NO real farmer will ever use them again, due to better stuff these
but again, if you drive about in farm country odds are you will see tons of these things sitting about
stop in and ask, , give it a good look over and see how much work will be there to separate them and make one
odds are good you can get one for under 200 bucks, and maybe a another 100 if you have to pay for welding and such, or maybe even a lot less!
but then your 300 bucks in and have 1-2- or 3 of them??
they do NOT work as well as the disc type I mentioned, but if you start on ground that is soft, like spring thaw, they will be all you need to turn ground over! and then just keep working it as time allows till planting time and you will be fine!
its what I do on a lot of my plots!
they DO NOT work well on hard ground or ground with heavy vegetation , as they are just too light and have little down force as to a cutting angle of a disc!
so know this , as if you have them condition, and you use one of these you will not be happy at all!
now if you spray round up and give it time to work and , they will do better on harder ground. but again, not as well as a disc
but like I said odds are you can get one for a LOT less than a disc set up
and then later on you can add a disc too, and then have two piece 's of equipment
and odds are you can sell it again without much effort
as food plot ATV things are hot items these days, and pulling premium prices at auctions anymore too!

but here are a couple to look at if you like

http://for-sale.yakaz.com/drag-harrow-for-sale#cc=US&cname=Type&s=10&ts=1355854040&univ=miscellaneous&v=txt&what=drag%20harrow%20for%20sale



http://for-sale.yakaz.com/drag-harrow-for-sale#lo=4&docid=0008htadaadk9bta


http://for-sale.yakaz.com/drag-harrow-for-sale


http://for-sale.yakaz.com/drag-harrow-for-sale#lo=4&docid=000ak40q13ioplb4

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Used-7-Ft-Field-Cultivator-WE-CAN-SHIP-SO-CHEAP-IT-WILL-SHOCK-YOU-/160857354960?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2573d872d0

[rednecklb69]

Thanks for all the info

[mrbb]

no problem glad to help if I can
I really enjoy doing food plots, so I learned a lot over the yrs!
personaly feel if more folks planted them, they would se the difference they can make , but they do spoil you some what

[rednecklb69]

i didnt realize how expensive it would be to do this. I was planning on turning some dirt up along a couple year old logging road through the woods i hunt and planting some clover style seed that doesnt need alot of sun and there is a spot towards the center of the woods where alot of light comes through where it was thinned out from logging and throwing in a plot there but its nowhere near an acre, prolly something like a half acre if im lucky. I just want something to keep them close when the crops get cut around the woods.

[mrbb]

well like every thing, you can do a cheap way or the right way
and many times the results are based on how you invest
that said, it can make a difference doing even just a cheap try
meaning you can just frost seed the roads with clover seeds in the spring time, and sure some clover will grow
but by hunting season, most will be over taken by weeds
you can just spray with round up in spring and keep it dead till a summer planting, and then again just scuff up the ground with an old piece of chain link fence and fertilize and lime and seed, and again clover, and many other things will gorw,
you just will not get great takes
BUt deer will still find it and feed on it, as it will be an improvemnt to the area for them
nothing is cheap these days,
but if you look at it as an investment, its easier to swallow
any thng you plant will improve your hunting lands, even cheap ass plots
but like I said, once you start to see what they can do, you tend to get more involved and go bigger, like most hobbies
the possitive like I said, is almost anything you buy, you should be able to sell pretty easy, and hunters every yr do food plots more and more!

good luck

[rednecklb69]

i found this thread while doing a google search. it basically makes alot of points about how i was thinking i could make plots and it kind of goes in the opposite direction of how you do it. it is more about spraying and no till seeding and its definately worth a read.... http://www.qdma.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13531&highlight=sold+tractor

[mrbb]

i found this thread while doing a google search. it basically makes alot of points about how i was thinking i could make plots and it kind of goes in the opposite direction of how you do it. it is more about spraying and no till seeding and its definately worth a read.... http://www.qdma.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13531&highlight=sold+tractor



well I read a little of that, and to me I think its very miss leading
and to honest a lie, or deceiving (not bashing here)
here is my reason, to plant NO till, you have to get seeds in the soil
and any NO till planting seeder you will find even used is going to cost several thousand bucks, and I have never seen one that can be pulled by an ATV, they require hydraulic's to operate the down force
a NO till drill works by having enough down force to make a hole in the soil to drop a seed in and then cover it all in one pass, thus not requiring the soil to be worked over
that is what NO TILL planting is!, planting without working over the soil!, a good NO till drill can add fertilizer and even liquid lime all in the one pass as it seeds too!, thus not needing to work the soil over to get it to the seed and or about it!

thus him saying NO TILL is a better way
well that part I agree with 100 %, to a point
what I mean is when its possible, yes thats a great way to plant, saves on soil errosion too a lot!
BUT
all crops
sooner or later,
will have to be rotated, just due to how they use the nutrients in the soil, so you will either have to be adding a ton of what there using to keep like crops in that area, or you will have to rotate sooner or later

secondly
if the soil PH of where ever you plan to plant is BAD, it will simply not allow "X" seed to grow, or grow properly
thus you will be wasting your time and money , clearing and prepping a site and the money you are paying for the seeds

third, seeds need to have contact with the soil, some need to be buried to a certain depth, something a NO TILL drill does super well, and again why I agree they work if you have one to use, and its simply a FACT, they disturb a lot less seeds already in the soil, by not having to turn the ground over, and thus causing all them un wanted seeds to start to grow

BUT if your site needs lime, to correct PH<
IT is impossible to correct soil PH with lime, without mixing it into the soil
that's a fact
some of the liquid Lime that's out there will help the top some, but it still works tons better if its sprayed on turned over ground

and last
even if you spray down a site with lets say a round up type chemical
and then clear the top , leaves, and debris of it
if its never been worked over, it simply might be too hard for many seeds to grow in it, being too compacted
now I am not saying SOMETHING Won't come up
as there is always some seeds that will find there way to soil and sprout

BUT in NO way shape or form will you have a great take
thus again meaning you will have wasted a lot of time and money on something that will not last long, or provide much feed to your critters


so again, to do food plots, PLOTS that will be productive for you
you have to
1.) do a soil test and get PH correct, this is by far the most important deal maker or breaker here
2.) get the lime and fertilizer it needs mixed into that soil
3.) gets the seeds into contact with the soil, as THAT Seed requires

how you do them 3 things , doesn't really matter, but they need to be done if you plan to have plots that last and produce amounts of food that will help your deer
other wise you adding little to cause any realm effects

Not bashing anyone here, just trying to help you from experience
its always better to do a small plot RIGHT than a bunch of them wrong, will save you tons in the long run, and get you much better results
you can do plots with an ATV, that's 100% correct, and you can do plots without one too
a tractor is always best on most plots too, anyone that say's other wise, never had use of a tractor
and a small tractor costs a lot less than a bigger ATV too, and will do 10 times the work without as much labor or time too, or wear and tear on it!
but there not needed either
many folks do them with just hand tools and HARD work
using power tools, tillers, ATv's, tractors all just make it easier and less time consuming
so does the type of land you have to make them on,
lots of things can be rented too, and not purchased too
as well as asking local farmers to do the work for you for a price too
I think that is one of the most over looked options
but to plant NO till correctly,it takes a tractor and a NO Till drill to do so
anything else is more or less , whats called frost seeding, and or just throwing seeds , and praying and hoping they grow!