Articles and Testimonials

Showing posts with label Articles About Soil Testing. Show all posts

Soil Testing: Now Quicker and Better

Whitetail Institute has made laboratory soil testing faster and easier by adding a download option so you can get kits immediately. Further, it offers a high-quality soil test probe that makes collecting soil samples a breeze. Soil pH and fertility are among the most important factors you can control to ensure food plot success. They can mean the difference between the best food plot possible and failure, so they should not be left to chance.

By Jon Cooner

When is the best time for a soil test? The answer to such a broad question is easy: Perform a laboratory soil test any time you want to make sure your food plots have the opportunity to perform their best. If you’re asking more specifically about timing soil testing during a specific process such as seedbed preparation and perennial food plot maintenance, the answers are different, at least if you expect optimum results.

Perform a laboratory soil test any time you are even considering buying lime or fertilizer. It can make the difference between the best food plot you can imagine and total failure and save you money at the same time.

Having your soil tested by a qualified soil testing laboratory before you buy lime or fertilizer can make the difference between the best food plot you can imagine and total failure.

By David Hart

Planting a food plot is as simple as turning some dirt and throwing down some seed, right? With some time and rainfall, you’ll have a field of clover, oats or a blend of deer candy in no time.

It’s not quite that simple, of course. In fact, turning a patch of ground into a lush, vibrant field of clover or brassicas can be a challenge. Don’t fret. I asked four of Whitetail Institute’s experienced product users to share their top tip for building a plot that deer — and you — will love.

By J. Wayne Fears

You finally have a tract of land to manage for deer hunting, and you can’t wait to locate and plant food plots. However, you must wait because you don’t have the budget to buy a farm tractor and the needed implements.

By Whitetail Institute Staff

It’s often said that death and taxes are the only certainties in life. We hunters and managers, though, know that there’s a third certainty: No matter how well we prepare our seedbeds, and plant and maintain our food plots, grasses and other weeds are going to show up in them at some point.

By Jon Cooner

If you’re a longtime reader of Whitetail News, you already know that almost every issue addresses soil pH and its critical importance to forage growth. That should give you an idea of how important soil pH is. In this article, we’ll touch again on soil pH and what it means to food plotters. Then, we’ll cover a question the Whitetail Institute’s in-house consultants are often asked: “What type lime should I use to raise soil pH in my food plots?”

By Tracy Breen

Putting in successful food plots is similar to baking cookies. If you want the cookies to turn out, a specific recipe must be followed. Cutting a corner by omitting a critical ingredient can cause the quality of the cookie to suffer greatly. A food plot is similar. For a food plot to turn out, a series of steps must be taken to ensure success. The single best way to increase the chances of having food plot success is by doing a soil test before you plant. A soil test is like having a recipe in your hand, because when you receive the soil test results and recommendations, you will know exactly which ingredients will be needed to ensure a lush food plot.

By Hollis Ayres

All Whitetail Institute forage products come with planting dates and planting instructions on the package. Those are also available at whitetailinstitute.com. The planting instructions are short and designed to be easy to follow. That means, though, that you should follow the instructions step-by-step and not cut corners if you expect to get the best results. Of all the factors that influence food plot success, other than using high-quality seed, none are more important than making sure soil pH is neutral (6.5 to 7.5) by adding lime to the soil if soil pH is low, and that any low levels of important nutrients in the soil, such as phosphorous and potassium, are brought up with fertilizer.

By William Cousins

Whether you’re a first-time food plotter or an old hand, you probably know that the planting instructions aren’t the same for all Whitetail Institute products, but they all contain at least one step calling for the addition of fertilizer to the seedbed. Have you ever stopped to consider why?

There is great news for us food plotters. Fertilizer costs are coming down after last year’s skyrocketing prices when we saw even the most basic fertilizers increase as much as 400%. As a consequence many food plotters just didn’t fertilize or cut back on what their fields needed to thrive.

Understanding Your Soil-Test Report

By Wayne Hanna, PhD

If you’re a long-time reader of Whitetail News, then you’ll have read these statements before: Having a qualified soil-testing laboratory test your soil anytime you’re considering buying lime and/or fertilizer is the best tool available to you for ensuring optimum forage growth, and saving money in the process. It can be the difference between having the best food plot you can imagine and total failure.

10 Reasons Food Plots Fail

By Brad Herndon

Don’t quit!

Success is failure turned inside out,

The silver tint of the clouds of

doubt,

And you never can tell how close

you are,

It may be near when it seems so far.

So stick to the fight when you’re

hardest hit,

It’s when things seem worse, that

you must not quit.

By Jon Cooner

Q: I am looking forward to trying out Chicory Plus this deer season. I am in Michigan and had planned to plant Chicory Plus this spring, but the spring planting dates for my area expired on June 15. I had planned to plant over the July 4th weekend. We have had a decent amount of rain where I live, so won’t that make it okay for me to plant in July?

By: Wayne Hanna

If you’re like most of us, you don’t have extra money to throw away. Even so, that’s what some people do when they don’t test the soil in their food plots before buying lime and fertilizer. In fact, having your soil test done through a reputable soil-testing laboratory might not only be the best way to ensure success with your food plots but save a lot of money as well.

By Jon Cooner

One of the biggest benefits of Imperial perennial blends is they’re designed to last up to five years without replanting. Helping them last as long as possible isn’t hard. It just requires a little maintenance. In this article, we’ll look at how to set up an effective maintenance schedule. You can read a much more detailed version of this article, including an example of what a perennial maintenance plan looks like, in the Web version of this article, available on-line at www.whitetailinstitute.com.

By Jon Cooner

There’s no doubt about it - money is tighter for most of us these days than ever before. That doesn’t automatically mean, though, that we have to lose out on the benefits high-quality Imperial food plots provide. Instead, many folks can cut costs without giving up anything!

The Right Way to Perform a Soil Test

By Jon Cooner

When it comes to planting food plots, no other step offers the greatest potential to ensure optimum results and help save money as testing your soil through a qualified soil-testing laboratory. It’s simple and inexpensive, and it provides information that’s critical to food plot success. To get the most for your money, however, be sure that you prepare and submit the soil sample the right way.

Budget Plot Strategies You don't have to break the bank to create great plots and better hunting

By: Doug Howlett

I look back at those wasted years and want to kick myself. My dad and a hunting friend finally went in together on a piece of land our families could call our own. Only the owners and their sons would be allowed to come and go as they pleased. Through time, those sons — myself included — were able to buy into the dream and help expand our holdings to nearly double the size.

Subscribe to: Posts ( Atom )

Whitetail Institute

Articles and Testimonials

Soil Testing: Now Quicker and Better

When is the Best Time to Perform A Laboratory Soil Test

Save Money and Have the Best Food Plots with Soil Tests

Whitetail Institute Customers Do the Talking About Whitetail Institute’s Soil Testing Service

TOP TIPS: Decades of experience add up to great advice

FOOD PLOT PLANTING WITH AN ATV

KEEPING WEEDS IN CHECK Don’t Miss the Forest for the Trees

Lime: Facts and Fallacies

Simple Soil Test Helps Ensure Top-Notch Food Plots

Soil Tests Still the First Step to FOOD PLOT SUCCESS

Fertilizer: What You Need to Know

A Message From Ray Scott Soil Tests Save Money and Time

Understanding Your Soil-Test Report

10 Reasons Food Plots Fail

Ask Big Jon Common Questions - Straightforward Answers

Soil Testing Saves Money Too!

Set up a perennial maintenance schedule for longer-lasting plantings

Food Plots – Save Money by Eliminating Wasted Expenses

The Right Way to Perform a Soil Test

Budget Plot Strategies You don't have to break the bank to create great plots and better hunting