Need a little help from you guys. So, I am a newbie at buying seed and fertilizer for plots and have a few questions. I have done a soil test and they all need lime but that will have to wait until the spring. I am more looking for general rules of thumb here in order to get my plots in the ground.

I have about 1.7 acres to plant total across 4 plots. The plot sizes are approximately .30 acres, .40 acres, .30 acres and .70 acres respectively. I am planning on just using a blend from the co-op for the seed, not sure what I wil be using yet. This is located in northern Covington county.

Questions: How much seed and what kind of seed should I look to buy? How much and what type of fertilizer should I buy? How much seed and fertilizer should I put out on each plot?

Just looking for some general recommendations and guidance, I am sure that I will learn a lot the hard way!

Thanks for the help!

Three bags of seed and 3 bags of triple 13 should cover them. If your PH is below 6 I would come back with liquid fertilizer after the you have about 2-3" of growth. Most people plant to much on small plots and they turn yellow after about 3-4 weeks.

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50lbs per acre is fine

The co-op u buy from can guide u also

I used 13-13-13 for years - widely used

Just see what he got in a 3 or 5 way mix

I just planted 3 fields - small fields are prob .3 to .4 - I used 3 bags 13-13-13. The 3 or 5 way will tell u how much per acer r ask co-op
I planted a larger field - prob .85-.9 acer - I used 4-5 bags triple 13

Thank you guys for the info. I love this stuff and am just trying to learn all I can.

Thanks again!

I’d plant 2 bags of seed per field for your smaller plots and 3 bags on the larger field. I’ve never had a field turn yellow.

Buy a couple of bags of one of the best mixes out there - WMS Deer Magnant . On your size fields use a half bag per field. Put down 13-13-13 and do all this soon. This seed is a great mix and will last thru next spring with ease. Then next year you can add lime and other additives. Seed comes in 50lb bags

I still don't understand why you are asking about fertilizer if your soil samples came back that you didn't need any. If you want to maintain the current levels then see what each crop or mix you are putting in will uptake and then you can put that down. But I would just top dress the plots later if that is a concern.

You have already stated that your fields are acidic, so adding more of N,P, and K will likely result in it just getting locked up anyway. Seems like a waste of money.

Here is a copy of the soil test results ... for me it is like reading greek. I would imagine this gives a clearer picture of what I have and maybe what I need to do. I am not looking to raise a cash crop here, just looking to feed the deer so by no way do I have to get everything perfect but I would like to improve the land, habitat, wildlife, etc ... the best I can as long as I am the steward of this piece of ground. Thanks again for all the help, assistance and suggestions.

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Save your money on fertilizer or use liquid. Liquid doesn't care what the PH is because it's applied to the plant.

Here is a easy quick fix and everybody may scream but I done shot a lot of bucks over it

Get u a bag of rye and spread it and say screw it to the fertilizer if u need a quick fix - it will come up on concrete and look green and my deer always hammered it 😀

I personally used magnet w diff covers and some turnips this year

Your soil sample calls for nitrogen, phosphorus and potash. You would be better off to get some urea (46-0-0), DAP (18-46-0) and then a high yield potash fertilizer (0-0-46).

The problem is your PH is low, so most of the nutrients will be locked up. If you can find it, some procal turf pellet lime is fast acting, and short lived, and it would help. It used to be about $15/bag. 4 bags raises ph 1 point on an acre. Or you can put out some pellet lime, any lime you add now will help.

Look under the recomendations section, it tells you how many pounds per acre per field. In urea, there is about 25 pounds of nitrogen per bag. In triple 13, there is 6.5. Don't put out urea until right before it rains. Then come back in about 6 weeks and add some more.

You could always plant cereal rye and crimson clover.

Unfortunately with that ph the fertilizer is not going to be taken up much at all, if it was me i would get lime on it ASAP, you can use pelletized lime since the fields are small. Plant a basic 3way/5way/7way blend. If the fields start to yellow in december/january add a bag or two of 46-0-0 per small field, maybe 2-3 for the bigger field and that will hopefully green them back up for the season, but as far as actually benefitting the soil, you are wasting money until the ph is corrected, the soil simply will not absorb it at that ph.

Most people will recommend ammonium nitrate in december/january but it is actually acidic as well so it will hurt your ph even more. The 46-0-0 is a little slower reacting but is much less acidic.

Once the ph is corrected, then it is time to attack the P and K to get those corrected.

The N is not an actual soil measurement, it is simply a recommendation based on what you are planting, it leaches so fast they aren't actually measuring it, just giving you a recommendation. So you only need to get the p and k correct once the ph is correct.

At the end of the day its just a deer, but if you are going to spend the money, knowing some basic soil science will prevent you from wasting time and money.

Im a believer in prescribed fire if that’s an option for you