Red clay- amending soil?- deer grow?

[reffitt20]

There is an good portion of fellows on here from south east Ohio and I am curious what are some simple steps you have taken to get things to grow in this region?
Has anyone had success with the deer grow product?
I have not done a soil test but it seems like there is very little nutrients in the clay where I am at in Meigs county.

What does more good for the herd? Carving out a food plot in the timber or doing some TSI?

 

[Ohiosam]

Clay soils tend to be very fertile, especially if the pH is good (closer to 7.0 the better). Take a soil test first, if the pH is low the nutrients aren't as available. Get the pH where you need it before worrying about fertilizer to much.

The problem with clay soils is when its wet they don't dry out. If you do any tillage, or even drive on them when its wet it can turn to concrete and roots can't grow. You can have great fertility and compacted soil won't grow crap. Organic mater from cover crops, manure etc can help help loosen clay soils and let them dry better.

 

[bowhunter1023]

Best thing to do with red clay is to sell it to a clay pipe manufacturer and bring in actual top soil

 

[Big Weff]

I’m in meigs co. also and have a lot of red clay at my home property. I have a little plot in the middle of my woods and am currently in the middle of a several year ryegrass experiment. I’m trying to see if over the course of a couple years the rye can naturally mend the dirt. As a bonus the deer seem to enjoy it as well! I will be following along for more insight as well! @at1010

 

[Henry III]

I am in Athens County and have experienced good success with plots. I started with a Loblolly pine forest. First the trees were harvested and we bulldozed 20 acres for a plot. Ag lime was put down 3tons/ acre. Getting the organic matter up was important so I planted a lot of sorghum, rye, buckwheat and oats. Later I sprayed and planted purple top turnips and other brassicas.
Merit seed in Berlin is a great source for seed as well as Welter seed in Iowa. I buy fertilizer, chemicals, and pellet lime from Shade river. Hope this helps

 

[Jackalope]

I am in Athens County and have experienced good success with plots. I started with a Loblolly pine forest. First the trees were harvested and we bulldozed 20 acres for a plot. Ag lime was put down 3tons/ acre. Getting the organic matter up was important so I planted a lot of sorghum, rye, buckwheat and oats. Later I sprayed and planted purple top turnips and other brassicas.
Merit seed in Berlin is a great source for seed as well as Welter seed in Iowa. I buy fertilizer, chemicals, and pellet lime from Shade river. Hope this helps

You can't talk about a plot like that and not share a picture man. That sounds awesome.

 

[Henry III]

 

[Henry III]

 

[at1010]

1. Soil test and add lime to get ph up
2. As @Ohiosam mentioned clay soils are inherently high in cec - which means they are able to hold positively charged ions in the soils. Think CA, MG, Etc.
3. Higher cec soils can handle tillage a lot better than lower cec soils - however be cognizant of terrain and if you can reduce, min till or no till that’ll help.
4. When you get a soil test take a look at base saturations - CA -68-72% great MG - 8-12% great - don’t worry to much about K for deer plots, it’ll likely be 1-4% on those higher cec soils. This balance helps the soil structure in the chemical sense as CA helps the soil particulate to flocculate but still allows for porosity to form. Many heavy clay soils are far to high in MG which will create higher PH and tight soils. This is where gypsum can help and/or other calcium soils - whereas we don’t want to increase PH.
5. Lastly try to follow 6th soil health principles.

shoot me a dm anytime I can help. Ps. Above is just from tonight on my farm in SE Ohio. 18 cec soil and my OM is up around 6% there now.

AT

 

[Henry III]

This is all grown in 5.5 ph. A perfect ph isn’t everything. Organic matter can do wonders…

 

[reffitt20]

Very impressive Henry! Those are some nice bulbs anywhere!
i believe I am going to try some experimenting with rye, oats, and clover until I’m done carving out new plots or expanding a couple small ones on 60 acres. Then I’m going to do the soil testing and see what inputs I need with fertilizer and lime.

I appreciate everyone’s support.

 

[Johnny44]

I am no soilologist but from my experience in Georgia (I have no idea if it's the same red clay or not), we never tested although we should have, tilled and added 100 lbs of lime (none were more than an acre). We let is sit for 2 weeks and prayed for rain. We'd throw some Iron Clay Peas on it for early bow when it was still 100 degrees. We never really hunted bow but wanted something there for the nutrients and attraction. The deer hammered the peas; like so quick the never really matured. About two weeks prior to the long gun season, and accounting for weather, we tilled and threw a mix down (don't remember what was in there, got it from a local feed and seed guy I knew) with a couple bags of fertilizer on each plot. We always had really good growth of our plots. Again, I have no idea if this works for Ohio.

 

[Big_Holla]

The Growing Deer TV page has a lot of information on amending the soil.

Ep. 736: Two Big Bucks in 24 Hours

Two big timber mountain bucks are harvested during the rut in less than 24 hours!

www.growingdeer.tv

Albert's no-till thread has a lot on it as well.

No Till Food Plots - So Easy

As the deer population has increased on the farm and I continue to read more about the symbiotic relationship between plants and mycorrhizae. In laymen’s terms - roots and soil. Soil is alive folks!! So this year I left the tiller in barn. I created my own mix that balances the carbon to...

www.theohiooutdoors.com

 

[Bighoun52]

This is a first plot in an old pine plantation. Brassica grew well. Will do a soil test this year.

 

[at1010]

View attachment 170741
This is a first plot in an old pine plantation. Brassica grew well. Will do a soil test this year.

Looking sweet man!!

 

[at1010]

The Growing Deer TV page has a lot of information on amending the soil.

Ep. 736: Two Big Bucks in 24 Hours

Two big timber mountain bucks are harvested during the rut in less than 24 hours!

www.growingdeer.tv

Albert's no-till thread has a lot on it as well.

No Till Food Plots - So Easy

As the deer population has increased on the farm and I continue to read more about the symbiotic relationship between plants and mycorrhizae. In laymen’s terms - roots and soil. Soil is alive folks!! So this year I left the tiller in barn. I created my own mix that balances the carbon to...

www.theohiooutdoors.com

Thanks buddy!

I am happy to help anyone anytime. You’d not have to buy my seed. If you want help looking at soil tests DM me.

 

[gjs4]

About to embark on my Ohio Athen’s sand and clay soil improvement this spring. Lime and Vitalize appears to be the plan at this point. I have had luck with with Green Cover (Grant Woods) in the past.

 

[at1010]

About to embark on my Ohio Athen’s sand and clay soil improvement this spring. Lime and Vitalize appears to be the plan at this point. I have had luck with with Green Cover (Grant Woods) in the past.

Thank you for giving us a try!! Shoot me the soil samples when you get them and we can review them!

 

[gjs4]

Just ran the basic analytical, but will send them your way Albert

 

[at1010]

Just ran the basic analytical, but will send them your way Albert

If I have cec and ppm I can calculate base sats! No worries.