When do you dose your plots

With a second round of fertilizer?

Is there a better product for this than just using urea?

Thanks!

We hit them with Nitrate right around Christmas or early January depending on temps/weather and what they are looking like.

Ammonium nitrate or urea before a rain in mid to late dec. Normally, 100 lbs/acre of ammonium nitrate

I've done this for decades, and nothing makes a plot green up better than a good dose of N. However, I've usually done it late November or early December. If you wait until it gets really cold it may not do as much good. Choosing the best time also depends on the part of the state you are in.

17-17-17 the ammonia nitrate is good but it’s a quick fix. We started using 17-17-17 and it holds or fields over until about March or so.

First good chance of rain in December here.

Another reason I plant in late October. Plant 3rd to 4th week in October. Fertilize early November. With clover in mix good for season.

My plots are up about 2 inches, I plan on hitting it with 100lbs/acre ammonium nitrate Tuesday evening and pray for rain. I've already put out my p and k, at planting. I don't put out nitrogen at planting. I want it there when the plants are actively growing. I'll ad another round early December.

All the T&M food plotters should be seeing an improvement in soil health and organic matter. An application of N or blended fertilizer applied after mid-October, along with some legumes in your seed blend, should be fine with only one initial application. Later applications of N will make plots a lil greener but I don’t think the powder is worth the pop. Healthy soil holds N much better and releases to plants as needed. Also the legumes (maintained year round) provides lots of N credit

I use AN in late December but never until there is a high chance of rain in the forecast. If you apply it and you don't get any rain, you will likely burn it up.

Where yall finding ammonium nitrate?

All I can find without a bunch of paperwork is ammonium sulfate.

Why not use urea. Not many folks carry nitrate anymore. Dept homeland security shows up too much

34-0-0 is carried at all the co-ops in my area. You just pay for it, get loaded and leave, no paperwork.

Didn't want t start a spinoff, When do ya'll dose the first round? Before you seed, after you seed or during seeding?

During

P,K, and Ca are nutrients I try to keep running within good to optimum levels throughout the year. I don’t till and have built up pretty good holding capacity in my soil so I can get away with only adding P every 1-2 years now and K about every 10-12 months in order to bump those levels back up. The Ca or lime is has held for a few years. I'm just watching tests to see how many years before needing more.

Nitrogen is a little different than those other nutrients. I usually add a little bit at planting to help compensate for biomass tie up and then come back about 6-8 weeks later with a heavier application to really boost growth through the last part of hunting season. If you’re struggling to put out any growth in your plot then you can come back with N applications ever 7-8 weeks during spring and summer as well….although I don’t do that anymore. It seems like I have enough organic N in my soil now combined with the clover N credits that natural summer veg looks healthy.

How well your plot does or doesn't hold these nutrients is completely dependent on your soil type along with your management practices.

Try growmo

Bumping this up for some info.

With all of the rain we have had, could I dose my plots this afternoon with urea or would I burn them?

Thanks!

N will not burn long as foliage is dry. Don't put out in the morning dew or late in day. Make sure there good rain chance before you put untreated urea out. It volatilizes fast if not with all this moisture in the ground now.

Can you even find Ammonia Nitrate, even with a paper trail ?

We use what they call high nitrogen fertilizer, it's 33 0 0, a blend of ammonium sulphate and urea.
I'm sure they created it to get around the paperwork of ammonium nitrate. after the Oklahoma city bombing. It works fine

We put approximately 100lbs per acre of urea Friday with the rain forcast. Got about an inch Friday night should be greened up pretty good in a week or so and hopefully get some growth during the next month just in time for the rut.

Plan on doing mine next couple of weeks.

Got mine done today.

Started raining about an hour after I finished spreading it.

Hope to see a big boost.

I got all but 2 bags put out before my spreader broke yesterday. Not gonna get repaired this season. It’s just deer plots after all.

Snuck some fertilizer out on my wife’s plots this morning before the big rain this afternoon. I’m sure her mongrel horses will be happy.

Gave me a chance to use the new pull spreader, which I really like so far.

Does it have a manual gate opener for when the fertilizer corrodes that electronic one?

I have a 7 yr old stainless one that hasn’t corroded, so I have high hopes. Silicone spray after a wash seems to work well.

But yes is the answer to your question, just like every other spreader made.

What did that bad boy run you?

Looks like a fine rig.

Man you must have some nice smooth plots. If I tried using that on my raggedy arse plots at the speed I run with the spreader mounted on my Polaris it would be airborne most of the time.

Yep. I think that's why mine only lasted 2 seasons.

I have a 150 pound model and my buddy has a 250 lb. we replace the hitch with a trailer ball coupling and tighten the nut on the bottom of the hitch so it’s tight on the ball. I have flipped mine once in 3 years. I don’t think he has ever flipped his. And let some air out of the tires so it won’t bounce so bad

You mean these throw n mow plots in this thread aren’t smooth?

I don’t throw n mow.

It takes common sense not to flip one. Which ain't too common anymore.

Y’all must be doing some crazy driving to flip one. I have a spreader just like the one above, and food plots that have several dozen stumps in them, and I’ve never been close to flipping it.

My place is super hilly and I've never come close either

I had a cheaper Brinkley model and it was top heavy and bad about flipping on the slightest hill or bump. It needed a wider axel.

Yea narrow wheel base and non float tires could be bad.

Pretty obvious where the one pass was applied.

That is even.

In the middle at least.

I put some out last Wednesday and it is showing it's effect with the rain and warm temps.