Food Plot pH - a Calcium Need Not Lime

Why are we SO OBSESSED with food plot pH? Is it the fact that it is indeed that important of a factor, or simply the start of any good food plot article? When you start researching, pH is simply a reading of soil health, one part of a true soil test, not the end all be all factor! The best way to explain this overly educated focal point of food plots in layman's terms is that using only soil pH to determine soil health is equal to a doctor only using a thermometer readout to treat heart disease…it doesn’t make much sense, unless it’s just one step the overall diagnosis.

For most food plotters, a pH of 6-7 is great for plant growth. This slightly acidic soil means most minerals and nutrients are “more” soluble or available for plants to use…the reason most soils become acidic or are acidic after years of neglect is due to rain leaching Ions like calcium and magnesium, or organic matter breaking down and creating weak acids. If you get a reading of 6-7, it's best to move on or you will likely get a recommendation to simply apply 1 or 2 tons of lime. This is where most food plotters could use a new pair of glasses, to look at the bigger picture.

Liming Food Plots

A soil pH readout and liming recommendation can often lead to limited food plot success the task of liming a plot can take valuable time away from the other needs of a plot, such as soil prep, fertilizing, or even focusing on weeds. We focus on soil pH because soil pH once adjusted can essentially release minerals and nutrients into the soil. However because lime, can be hard to apply with limited equipment, hard to get to the plot, or the fat that it takes one to two years to work absorbs a great deal of effort…leaving the other notable factors of food plot success behind. These other key elements of food plot success can for the most part make or break a plot, such as key nitrogen applications for brassicas during the right stages of growth or eliminating grass competition from clover. This is not to mention spending more time on hunting strategy, access, trail cameras, or other hunting strategies associated with a food plot. The solution of lime comes with many problems, all a great deal more than what a typical food plotter is willing or can handle. So to review lime:

• Takes 1 to 2 years to adjust pH
• Can be hard to purchase
• Is hard to apply or move to limited-access food plots

Increasing Soil Health With Calcium Instead

From the world of BIG AG, where soil health is everything, comes a genius solution for the everyday food plotter…increasing the nutrient values in soil with a spray. This spray magnifies the true power behind lime…calcium. Calcium is what is desired from a lime application, that is, an ION that can actually move the needle on acidity in the soil. By adding this calcium, you release nutrients, and improve water penetration within the soil, just like with lime, but in a much shorter time frame. This is not just liquid lime, but an entirely different source of calcium…DeerGro’s PlotStart®.

PlotStart® is a liquid calcium spray derived from a proprietary recipe of complex carbohydrates, and calcium chloride, and produces a highly chelated solution that can adjust soil health biologically and chemically at a surprising rate. Immediately after application PlotStart can notably change soil nutrients in as little as 3-6 months. Besides increasing soil health, the increase in calcium immediately helps plant growth and health with prominent increases in yield.

Changing pH With a Sprayer

PlotStart® solves several problems with lime, and overall food plot soil preparation, which stands for why it was brought from big Ag to food plotters in recent years. Now a food plotter can manage soil health with only a sprayer not thousands of lbs. of lime. No equipment? NO PROBLEM…By not only confronting soil and plant health and the limitations lime placed on food plotters, DeerGro’s PlotStart® can allow food plotters to plant exceptionally successful food plots on a limited budget, and with limited equipment. With just a 4-gallon backpack sprayer or sprayer on a four-wheeler, you can tackle installing and maintaining a food plot.

To review PlotStart®:

• Immediately adjusts soil health biologically and chemically, faster than ag lime
• 2.5 gallons = 1 ton of lime
• Can be applied with a sprayer

This year look at tackling your Plot with DeerGro’s PlotStart®, and focus your time on where it really matters…the food plot strategy, not just liming it. Go to DEERGRO.COM to shop now, and check out the other game-changing product for food plotters….DeerGro’s PlotBoost®