How to Plant a Food Plot with Minimal Equipment

The truth is you don’t need large acreage or large equipment to create a small food plot for whitetails. With a few acres and some hand tools, you can plant a food plot in no time. Whether you’re making a small kill plot for your kids or beefing up your current property, here’s how you can cultivate a food plot with minimal land and equipment.

When I say that small acreage is suitable for food plotting, I mean small. My previous home property only consisted of one and a half acres but featured a few trees along a tiny creek. Luckily, I knew the neighbors and already had permission to track any deer that might run onto their property. With tracking rights on the neighbors’, I planted about 500 square feet in a food plot on my property, which attracted a few deer and turkeys.

Ideally, you’d have at least a three to five-acre property, unless you have cool neighbors like me who don’t mind you tracking a deer across their property. For hunters in residential areas, make sure you contact the appropriate officials to confirm that hunting is legal. Firearms are usually a no-go in most residential areas for good reason. However, you can often bowhunt in neighborhoods; just check your local regulations first.

Depending on where and what you plant, you’ll want to consider the amount of sunlight your food plot will get. Existing openings in the canopy create ideal situations if you’re working with wooded areas. On that home property I mentioned, it already had an opening in the canopy and saw direct sunlight from mid-morning until late afternoon. This spot required minimal clearing, and the direct exposure made it a suitable spot.

If your property doesn’t have an existing opening or sufficient sun exposure, you might have a little more work ahead of you. For small food plots (3/4-acre or less), consider using a chainsaw or a pole to get some sunlight on the ground. You won’t need to cut a ton, just enough to get three to four hours of direct sunlight.

No-till blends are typically the best option for small, minimal equipment food plots. Fall-annual blends such as Whitetail Institute’s Bow Stand, Secret Spot, or No-Plow only require seed-to-soil contact. Clover also does quite well in various sites and with minimal seedbed preparation. Unless you own a walk-behind-tiller, you’ll want to avoid seeds that require tilling. Even then, crops like corn and soybeans thrive in open field settings with maximum sun exposure.

You should also consider the crops on adjacent properties. If the neighbors have corn, soybeans, and alfalfa, plant something different. If deer can have food and cover on another property, they won’t need to venture over to yours. Instead of planting the same thing, give the deer something different. Just make sure you can prep the seedbed with the tools you have.

Tillers can create ideal seedbeds. But, even if you don’t have a tiller you can still accomplish a lot with a garden rake. Most seed bags suggest killing existing plants before prepping the soil. I’m not a fan of spraying toxic chemicals for health reasons, so I typically do this manually by pulling or weed-whacking. After mowing it down you can rake the plot over and remove any remaining debris.

If you want to take it a step further, you can perform a soil test to determine your soil’s acidity or alkalinity. If it needs it, you can apply some lime to the soil. Most seed blends also suggest fertilizer application. Again, I avoid this for health reasons, but if you’re comfortable with it, knock yourself out.

Once you’ve prepped the soil, you can seed it. You can do this the old-fashioned way by hand, but if you want even broadcasting, use a seed spreader. I’ve recently switched to a Solo spreader, which I’ve found works best, but a cheap one will do.

When you’re seeding a food plot, make sure you go by the suggested rate on the seed bag. In this case, less is more. Too much seed will yield stunted plants that die off. I know from personal experience. You’ll need to calculate how much seed you need based on the size of the plot.

Even small-scale habitat work can make a big difference. If you’re not convinced, hang a trail camera (if legal) immediately after you finish planting your food plot. Deer are drawn to freshly worked dirt, so don’t be surprised if you get trail cam pics within a few days. It might not look like the huge commercial farms down the road, but it’ll be more than enough to draw a few deer when fall hits.