by Eric Hall

Wet May and June weather in NE Ohio has hampered my efforts to revamp my food plot.  Choked with weeds, it needed to be killed off prior to replanting and you cannot spray very effectively with rain in the forecast.  I know that Roundup has a rainproof claim, but I just wasn’t willing to risk it.  So, I waited.

Using my lawn mower, I mowed the plot down to 1.5 inches and removed the cuttings from the plot by going over it with the mower until I got a clean plot to spray.  Due to more rain in the forecast, I ended up waiting three to four days before spraying Roundup to completely kill the plot.  Midweek the weather was dry for four or five days, allowing my spray to sit unaffected on the plot and providing a thorough kill.

Once the plot was dead, I began working the plot ground to loosen the soil and further remove the dead grass and weeds from the seedbed.  I anticipated it taking a bit of time to loosen the soil and remove all the debris and I was right.

The hardest part was keeping the plot clean until I planted in July for a fall/winter forage.  Winter peas, purple top turnips, and forage rape were planted in the plot this year.  I added lime and fertilizer to the soil and I  worked the ground weekly until I planted.  This accomplished two key tasks.  One, it kept the weed growth under control and the soil loose enough for planting.  Two, the amendments added to the soil were worked in and ready to go for my July planting.

Planted in early July, here are the 30-day pictures.  The forage rape and turnips are up and doing well.  The Egyptian Wheat is growing well to provide a screen around the plot.

I will be posting more pictures of the progress as well as pictures from my trail cameras placed on the plot.