Sunday, September 4, 2011

Food Plots

Deer season is here.  Well for most of us it is here.  I could have been hunting since August 15 but lets face it is just too hot for that.  However we did get the food plots planted. 

Wile I mostly hunt ducks with Buckman and the rest of the Briary River gang, deer hunting is a little more spread out.  I do hunt with them some but I also have another little piece of property that I hunt with my dad, and sister. 

Where I hunt is a small timber tract with pines so we have to plant food plots or put out corn(*Disclaimer* baiting is legal where we hunt so don’t start whining about it).  And with corn being $8-12 a bag this year, well I'm going to go with the food plots as much as possible.  Or as much as I can get to grow.

I know that it is a little late to be planting a food plot, almost 3 weeks into bow season.  But this is the first chance we got.  It started off that it was just too hot to do anything in the woods.  Then Daddy had to work all the time and we could not get out there.  Then it was the tiller.  Like I said we hunt a small tract of land and we have small food plots.  Basically they are planted shooting lanes that we are trying to get all we can out of. 

Well the tiller runs great and I just knew that it was going to be a lot easier than trying to get a tractor in between those pine rows.  The last time we tried we almost took the fenders off of the tractor.  So we get the tiller and a few other things and make the trek to my stand.  My stand is only about 100 yds (150 yd walk due to curves in the trail) from my parents house so it is easier to just walk it in, especial since it is self propelled. 

To say that tiller is slow is like saying the Atlantic ocean is damp, but we made it.  I got set up where I wanted to put the plot and dropped the tiller in.  And the fun began.  I had not made it 2 feet when the starter clutch stuck causing the pull cord to back feed until it was out of cord and sheer the flywheel key. 

Soooooo, I had the fun of dragging that heavy so and so all the way back to the the house over all of the tree rows and everything else in the way.  When we finally got it back and began the tear down to find the problem  I found out about the sheer key.  We still had know idea about the starter clutch.  However with it being Sunday we had no way of getting a sheer key and had to hold off until Monday after school. 

Monday afternoon we get the tiller rebuilt and I head back out again.  Luckily this time God was merciful and let it tear up with me while I was still 30 yards from the shed.  We broke it down again and I realized that starter clutch was causing the problem.  I asked Daddy how much they ran, he said about 5-10 dollars so I said no problem I would pick one up for it and the other tiller that we had and realized it had the same problem. 

Lets just say he was a little off on the price.  $23 bucks later I have 1 starter clutch to go on the good tiller and a pack of sheer keys. 

Thursday I finally get back over there to get it put together and finally get my food plot tilled before it gets dark.  Last Sunday we got together and tilled all of the food plots and planted them.  The tiller worked great and we got through without incident.  We planted a mixed bag of clover, oats, rye, and turnips and threw in some split peas.  When I check on the Wednesday my plot was about 2 inches tall, my sisters was about 1 inch tall and Daddies needed water and luckily it looks like rain. 

Next year I am getting them done earlier one way or the other.

Also, I will let Buckman tell about his, but I will tell you this much.  He has already MISSED one over it.  That is what you get for talking trash about me slinging sticks at deer. 

Joe              

No comments:

Post a Comment