In the process of buying a deer camp in the hills of NW AL. Soil in the food plots is very hard and gravelly. Guessing it has been disced by a tractor last several years, but I don't have a tractor. Anyone have any experience with a pull-behind disc for ATVs? Understand it will take multiple passes, but do they work in hard soil? ATV is 24 hp.
TIA! --D

They work but you are correct, in most cases it takes several passes.
Normally they will never cut as deep as a tractor will, but if you are planting small seed like clover it should be fine. The more grass you have in the field really effects it also.

One of the chain type drags like Tractor Supply and Northern Tool sells would be my go to over a ATV disc.

Moist soil will make for better cutting.
Don't try it when it is dry. Moisture will be your friend.

I have and old set of King Kutter atv disc (had probably 19 years now) and i always loved discing in the rain. Didn't have to worry about disc clogging cause i could keep them babies turning lol.

Thanks, good to hear. AL Ext service said to cut the grass and leave it for at least a couple weeks to partially decompose. I'll give it a try.

Plan is to disc, then drag. Interesting that you would go with just the drag harrow. Would sure be easier!

Good advice. I was concerned about muddy clogs, but moisture certainly makes it easier. Thanks!

I'll probably be discing in July or August, so doing it in the rain would really be nice! "Keep them babies turning"---check!

I own a tractor and still don't disc. Buy a sprayer and broadcast your seed, and get an ATV pull behind mower if you want. I have great looking plots and never turn dirt. I've done side by side comparisons and there's no difference except time and diesel expense of turning dirt.

Yep! If you can time it right, disc after a rain.

Really doesn’t make a lot of sense anymore. Rye and wheat will grow in the bed of your truck.

What are you planting? August is to early to plant fall plants and to late for most spring plots

Once upon a time I disked all my plots with a four wheeler disk. The good=you can put a plot in almost anywhere. The bad=you will feel like you drove the Talladega 500 running around in circles before hard ground is disked to your satisfaction. Tips to make it easier. Remove as much grass and vegetation as possible. Mow, spray and burn or any combination that you can accomplish. The less vegetation the better. Wet or moist soil is your friend. Disk after a rain or during a rain.

My very best advice is find a local with a tractor you can hire.

I'll add discs are about weight , ATV discs aren't heavy enough , if they were a ATV wouldn't pull them. Don't expect too much from a ATV disc. Sandy soil with a little moisture will help though.

Not knowing what I'm doing (which is why I'm asking!), I read the pamphlet "Effective Food Plots for White-tailed Deer in Alabama" by the Alabama Dept of Conservation and Natural Resources. They recommended applying lime (if needed, I expect it to be) 3-6 months before planting and working it into the soil. My plan was to mow in July, wait at least two weeks for grass to start decomposing and then wait for a rain, then spread lime and disc it and the decaying grass into the soil. Lightly disc again in September (after mowing if needed) spread seed and fertilizer, drag it to lightly cover. The "Standard Alabama Seed Mix" is one of the recommended in the pamphlet, it is 45 lb wheat, 30 lb oats, 15 lb crimson clover, and 10 lb arrowleaf or red clover, per acre.

I like the idea of hiring a tractor at least once every few years to break up the soil. If I can find one.

Thanks for all the suggestions! --D

I'd spread the lime , then mow and not disc again till planting time . The lime will leach in under the thatch just fine.

Never plant till at least after Labor Day. If it's dry then, wait longer.

I have a groundhog max and have used a pull behind disk. The groundhog will work, better the faster you go. You will need a 4wd ATV to make it work, and plan on driving in circles or figure 8's for a while. I had to fab up a hitch for my ATV, because I kept breaking receiver hitches using the 1.25 in connected on the ground hog. It doesn't like rocks either, so plan on replacing bearings if you use it alot.

The pull behind was better in alot of ways. You need to find a way to add weigh to it in order for it to work well. The problem with adding weight is it can break off and or bend where the trailer ball connects to your ATV, depending on what type you have. I have a Polaris, an older model.

In the end, I was spending enough $ repairing my ATV that I could basically afford a tractor. So that's what I bought. As everyone said, disk while the ground is moist.

If you are going to lime it, I would start now, and spray the area's too. Burn everything back, and then when new stuff starts growing, spray it again. The more weedfree you are when you start a field, the easier it is to keep it weed free.

If you really want to do it right, you need to subsoil the plots. I would put lime down, then subsoil and leave it. Spray it to kill weeds and then keep spraying it as new weed growth starts. If you start early, plant buckwheat, it will be done in 45 days and add organic matter.

I am a big fan of not disking.

If they are gun only plots , never before October 15 is a good rule of thumb. I'm bout as far North as you can get in Alabama . I planted the first week of November last year , may have been best plots I've ever had.

I'd spray the plot now with glyphosate so that you get a good burn down of surface vegetation and also some decomposition of roots as well. This way your soil breaks up a little easier come time to till. Diakon radish grow very deep in your soil. Leaving them to decay in the spring leaves voids under the surface loosening your soil and making it easier to till.

Thanks for all the replies. Lot of options to consider. Sounds like it's easy to get a good food plot, hard to get a better one. This camp has a 1 acre plot and a 0.4 acre plot, so really can't screw it up too badly, and will be easy to experiment with different options.

Again, thanks the all the replies. --D

Back when diesel was sky high and time was short for me. I just scattered the seed and fertilizer first, then just cut the grass. Done. The cutting knocks the seed to the ground, the cuttings cover the seed and hold moisture. They always came up.

You can have a decent plot for $50 with a bag of wheat and couple of bags of fertilizer and a hand spreader. Everything else is just bonus points, but that'll get you some green.

I think there is a scientific name for this procedure

Spray heavily about a month before wanting to disc. I wouldn't mow before discing if I was doing it with an ATV disc, makes it harder for disc to get to the soil. The ATV disc I have that Summit made will float out cut and throw some dirt (no weight added) especially if you can get some speed.

The "Plot Mule" is what I had. Liked it a lot but someone needed it more than I did.

Field and Stream had an article that pretty much described exactly that. Link below. Sounds like a good plan!

https://www.fieldandstream.com/story/hunting/how-to-plant-the-ultimate-no-til-food-plot/