How to Make Your Food Plot Explode Before Hunting Season

Sometimes our first reaction when a food plot looks thin or appears to be struggling is to replant or overseed it.

However, if you already have a decent stand established, more seed may not be the answer. Sometimes the plants and soil simply need a little help.

Whether you have an established perennial plot, a fall annual blend such as Carbon Load, or you haven't planted yet, there are several ways to help maximize growth by feeding the seed, soil, biology, and plants.

Step 1: Start With a Soil Test

A soil test is the best thing you can do before making fertility decisions.

It tells you whether pH, phosphorus, potassium, sulfur, or other nutrients may be limiting growth. It also helps prevent you from spending money on products your soil may not need.

However, we understand that not everyone has a current soil test available.

If your plot is already planted and observationally appears to be struggling, you can still take steps to support the soil and plants. Just recognize that any application made without a soil test is a general maintenance application rather than a precise fertility recommendation.

Help the plot now, then use a soil test to guide future applications.

Step 2: Evaluate Where Your Plot Is in the Growing Process

Your approach should depend on whether the seed is still in the bag, beginning to emerge, or already established.

You may be working with:

An established perennial plot such as Premium Clover+
A newly planted annual plot such as Carbon Load
A plot that has emerged but appears thin or stressed
A field that has not yet been planted

If the plot is already growing, whether annual or perennial, you can absolutely feed both the soil and the plants.

If you have not planted yet, you can start by feeding and inoculating the seed.

Step 3: Feed the Seed

If you haven't planted yet, start with the seed.

We like using Spectrum+Myco, Seed Armr+, and Seed Feed to give the seed and developing root system a strong start.

Spectrum+Myco adds beneficial fungi and microorganisms.
Seed Armr+ provides a biological inoculant along with humic compounds.
Seed Feed supplies NPK and humic compounds in organic forms to support early plant development.

Establishment is one of the most important stages of a food plot. Giving the seed access to biology and nutrition from the beginning can help get the plot off to a strong start.

Step 4: Feed the Soil

If your plot is already planted and appears to need a boost, No-Till Nurture is a great option for feeding the soil.

Apply 40 to 80 pounds per acre, depending on your goals and the plot's condition.

No-Till Nurture provides slower-release fertility while feeding the soil biology responsible for nutrient cycling and residue breakdown.

This can help:

Support continued plant growth
Feed soil biology
Help cycle nutrients
Help break down clippings and surface residue
Provide fertility throughout more of the growing season

This can be especially useful in perennial plots after mowing, where clover clippings and other plant residue remain on the soil surface.

Step 5: Feed the Plants and Biology

Once plants are emerging and actively growing, we can also feed them foliarly.

Revive RX is used to feed and stimulate biological activity, while BioCharge and Regen N are used to support growing plants.

For perennial clover plots, Revive RX and BioCharge are a great combination. Because clover can fix atmospheric nitrogen through its relationship with rhizobia, we typically don't approach it the same way we would a nitrogen-hungry cereal grain or brassica plot.

For annual plots containing cereal grains and brassicas, BioCharge and Regen N are a great combination when additional nitrogen and plant nutrition are needed.

The goal is not simply to apply the same products to every field. Match what you're applying to the plants you're actually growing.

Step 6: Consider Combining Fast and Slow Fertility

Sometimes you really want to give a plot a boost heading into hunting season.

Synthetic nitrogen sources such as urea can provide a faster nitrogen response. One option is to use roughly half the rate of a synthetic nitrogen source along with half the rate of No-Till Nurture.

This gives you two different approaches working together:

Faster nutrient availability from the synthetic source
Slower-release fertility from No-Till Nurture throughout more of the season

If using urea, timing matters.

Do not spread it over wet plants. Granules can stick to wet foliage, increasing the risk of burning plants.

You also want to time urea applications ahead of a dependable rain. Without rainfall to move that nitrogen into the soil, you increase the risk of losing part of your investment.

This is one of the advantages of slower-release and organic nutrient sources. They may cost more upfront, but they can provide more gradual nutrient availability and reduce some of the risk associated with a large, immediately available nutrient application.

Step 7: Time Your Applications Around Moisture

No matter what fertility program you choose, water matters.

Granular products need moisture to begin working into the soil and root zone.

Foliar applications need enough time on the leaf before a heavy rainfall.

And, of course, newly planted seed still needs adequate soil moisture to germinate and establish.

Whenever possible, watch the forecast and work with Mother Nature instead of against her.

Step 8: Make Sure Fertility Is Actually the Problem

Before assuming your plot needs more fertilizer, look at the entire system.

Ask yourself:

Does the plot receive enough sunlight?
Is soil pH limiting nutrient availability?
Was the seed planted too deep?
Is there adequate moisture?
Are weeds competing with your desirable plants?
Are deer simply consuming the forage as fast as it grows?

This is where an exclusion cage becomes extremely valuable.

If the plants inside the cage are thriving while everything outside remains short, your food plot may not be struggling at all.

The deer may simply be eating the results.

The Simple Formula

If you want to help a food plot explode with fresh growth:

Start with a soil test whenever possible.
Determine whether you're dealing with seed, emerging plants, or an established plot.
Feed and inoculate the seed before planting.
Feed the soil with No-Till Nurture.
Feed the plants and biology with the appropriate foliar products.
Consider combining fast-release and slow-release fertility when a stronger response is needed.
Time applications around rainfall and moisture.
Use an exclusion cage to make sure browse pressure isn't the real reason your plot looks short.

Sometimes overseeding or replanting is absolutely the right answer.

But if you already have a good stand established, don't overlook the opportunity to feed what is already there.

Feed the seed. Feed the soil. Feed the biology. Feed the plant.

Then let the system work.