While it’s true that building and maintaining food plots, especially those measuring an acre or more in size, is easiest with machinery (i.e. ATVs and/or compact tractors with implements), you can still experience food plot success with almost no equipment.
In the 5-minute YouTube video below, Nathan from Midwest Outdoor Experience shows how he plants a clover plot measuring one-fifth of an acre. As you’ll see, the existing plot is adjacent to a forest, so leaves from the previous fall cover the plot. Instead of spreading clover on the leaves and then hoping the seed somehow works its way to the soil, he ensures better seed-to-soil contact by first cranking up his leaf blower.
Nathan spends 90 minutes blowing leaves off his plot. Will the leaves eventually blow back in? Sure. But that’s irrelevant, because by then he will have already spread the clover seed.
As Nathan explains, timing is the key to this project. Frost seeding, as the name implies, works best when the temperatures are bouncing back and forth from freezing to thawing. This causes the soil to expand and contract, which helps draw the tiny seed into the soil.
Would Nathan still experience success if he skipped the leaf blower step? Maybe. But with the price of clover seed these days, why risk it? Of course, instead of using a leaf blower, he also could have cleared debris from his small plot with a standard leaf rake. Having a helper would cut the prep time in half, so keep that in mind as you tackle frost seeding projects.
Reminder: Frost seeding isn’t something you can put off until later. Watch the forecast and take advantage of temperature swings above and below freezing.
P.S. If you’re wondering what brand of seed Nathan is using, it’s Whitetail Institute Imperial Whitetail Clover, which is one of the top-selling brands in the food plot industry. The seed has a Rainbond coating, which keeps moisture next to the seed as it germinates. This coating is bright blue (see top photo), which is tremendously helpful when broadcasting seed because you can easily see how well you’re covering the plot as you walk.
