^{By Bob Humphrey}

Okay, I realize it’s the dead of winter, and planting food plots is still months away.  But planning food plots begins now.  In the coming weeks we’ll discuss various aspects of food plots, from site selection to seed selection.  We’ll begin the series with this installment on implements.

In many cases, your biggest expense when it comes to building food plots (besides the land) is the equipment.  However, if you can downsize from a full-sized tractor to an ATV or Side-by-Side (SxS) vehicle and size-appropriate implements, you can save a considerable amount of money, possibly tens of thousands of $$.

Compact Disc
At the very least, you’ll need something to cut and turn over ground.  That means some type of tow-behind disc-harrow, and there are several options.  In general, size matters and bigger is better.  You want at least 14 inch notched or tine-bladed discs, 16 is better.  They are typically mounted in rows of three or four.  Dual rows, either side-by-side or one behind the other, are preferable to a single row. 

Also make sure you can adjust the blade angle and height.  The job is easier and you can save a lot of wear and tear on your equipment if you begin with a shallow, straight cut and progressively angle the discs as you loosen the soil.  Some adjust manually, which takes more time and effort, and can slow the work down.  Others use hydraulic or electric motors, which speed up the work and are much easier.  Bear in mind however that electric motors can be finicky.

Spread Out
Once the soil work is done you will be spreading lime, fertilizer and seed, which requires a spreader.  Options include hand-held, hand-held backpack, SxS vehicle-mount or tow-behind.  Which you choose will depend on your budget, ambition and intended work load.  The smaller hand-held and back-pack types are okay for spreading seed on small plots (< 1/4 acre).  However, spreading minerals, or seed on larger plots calls for a larger capacity spreader.  For smaller plots (1/4 - ½ acre) a 15-gallon SxS vehicle-mount type is fine.  Anything larger, or if you have multiple plots, you may be better off with a 350-gallon tow-behind model.  You can choose between manual or electronic opening adjustments depending on seed size and desired application volume.

Pack It In
Another handy SxS vehicle tool is a tow-behind cultipacker.  Packing the soil after seeding promotes better seed-to-soil contact and thus, better germination.

All-in-One
As an alternative, you can buy an all-in-one unit, like the Plotmaster or Firminator, that incorporates all of the above into a single unit.  The overall cost is about the same as doing it ala carte, but a plot machine can save you considerable time - no running back and forth to the barn to changing from one implement to another.  Bear in mind however that these machines weigh upwards of 1,000 pounds and will quickly max out the capabilities of a 700cc SxS vehicle.

Other
Depending on what type of off-road vehicle you have - 4-wheeler or SxS vehicle, you may also want to consider a small trailer to haul seed and fertilizer to and from your plot sites.  Another option for 4-wheelers is oversized racks and cargo boxes.  Eventually you will need a sprayer too.  Options include hand-held pumps, ATV-mounted or two-behind sprayers.  Plot size and amount of intended use will dictate required size and make.  The best compromise for the average ATV food-plotter is probably something you can mount on your ATV, roughly in the 15 - 25 gallon range.

The aforementioned implements should get you through the basic steps of establishing and maintaining your food plots with an ATV or SxS vehicle.  Beyond that there are numerous other accessories to choose from that can make that job easier, or possibly more cost-effective.