Why do you take soil test?
Filed under: Food Plots
I Love the Show and have asked a few Questions in the past and i have 2 more today.
#1 in episode 170 you were putting out antler dirt and you took some soil samples and said you did this so you would know how much to add or not to add. my Question is why wouldnt you just add the same amount each year?
#2 today i went out search for some stand locations and i found one that look pretty good and had some good deer sign but i found some deer bones i was wondering is that a good or bad sign? Thank you so much for your videos and hope to one day do exactly what you do!
Connor,
Good question about the Antler Dirt! Different crops require different amounts of nutrients. For example corn needs a lot of nitrogen. Soybeans or clover require very little nitrogen. Another reason to take soil tests is that different amounts of rain can leach different amounts of nutrients too deep in the soil for the roots to reach. In addition, the food plot crop rotation I use improves the soil. I rarely need to add Antler Dirt anymore except to newer plots due to improving the soil’s quality. It’s much less expensive to take a soil test than to add nutrients that aren’t needed – or not to add nutrients that are needed and a crop failure occur.
To address your second question, deer die all the time from predator attacks, injuries from fighting, cars, etc. I wouldn’t worry about finding a deer skeleton. Deer don’t seem to mind death like humans do. I’ve never noticed deer shying away from bones, etc.
Enjoy creation,
grant
February 15, 2016
