In the 4-minute YouTube video below, Jim Deegan explains how he dealt with challenging conditions when preparing to plant a 1-acre food plot on his 30-acre hunting parcel.

He mentions food plot expert Jeff Sturgis, whom I’ve highlighted on this website several times. Sturgis is host of the popular YouTube channel Whitetail Habitat Solutions. Note: Since joining YouTube in 2014, Sturgis has published nearly 1,000 how-to videos, many of which focus on food plot advice, as well as strategies for designing whitetail properties. Sturgis has more than 200,000 YouTube subscribers.

In contrast, Deegan’s YouTube channel has only 24 subscribers (at the time of this writing), but that doesn’t mean you can’t learn something important by watching his video. I’ve been following Sturgis’ food plot advice for 8 years, and planting my own food plots in Wisconsin for nearly 25 years, so I consider myself decently informed on the topic. That said, I found Deegan’s info new and helpful.

Like Deegan, I don’t live near my hunting property. I have to plan weekend trips to work on food plots, and sometimes the weather doesn’t cooperate, or I’m surprised by the status of weeds, etc. After watching Deegan’s video, I now have more confidence that when push comes to shove, it’s possible to have a successful food plot if you’re forced to spray, fertilize and plant all in a single day. Think of it as a 1-day food plot rescue plan.

Note: In the video, Deegan sprays first, then fertilizes and then broadcasts the seed last, all in a 5-hour window before a heavy rain arrives. As one viewer notes in the comments section below the video, Deegan could have broadcast the seed before spraying. This is because glyphosate (the active ingredient in Roundup and other kill-everything herbicides) affects living plants only; it doesn’t harm seed.