Soil Sampling and Successful Food Plots

Regardless of the task at hand, preparation and planning is a gateway for success.  Too often in the world of food plots folks try to put the cart before the horse.  Seed blends, food plot shape, planting methods, herbicides, all of these things are important but need to be addressed after the basics. One of the things that drives Mitch crazy is the amount of bad and/or misinterpreted information in the food plot world.  Many food plotters have a lack of understanding as it relates to fertility and properly preparing soil for successful plant growth.  Before you go purchase the next miracle juice or throw-and-grow mix, do the one thing that is cheap and yet provides the most information for getting started: TAKE A SOIL SAMPLE!

This week on the Pennsylvania Woodsman, Mitch invites his boss Eric Rosenbaum to walk us through the basics in food plot planning.  Eric is the owner and Senior Agronomist of Rosetree Consulting, a private agronomic consulting company that works with farms all throughout Eastern Pennsylvania and partly in Maryland and New Jersey.  A large part of the job entails making cost effective decisions with growers that maximize plant yield and profitability.  Nearly all of this begins with proper soil preparation!  Eric walks us through the basics of how to pull a soil test, where to send it, how to interpret results, how to address deficiencies in a cost effective but also efficient way (especially with minimal equipment), and more.  Lack of planning typically yields poor food plot results.  Pull your samples now, and plan ahead to achieve maximum plant quantity and quality.  Don't overlook the basics! 

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