What can I plant in sand??

[WylieKy]

This year I am setting up in the sandhills of SC.  My lease is 3200 acres.  The other guys in the club primarily use corn on the cob as bait, and I would like to go the food plot route, if I can.  My needs are modest.  I would like to put out a few, very small (bow hunting sized) food plots.  The problem is that I have 0 experience in hunting in the type of terrain.  It is 75% planted pine.  There are a few flats that are scrub oak, brush, and prickly pear.  Also some hardwoods in the creek botoms.  I will probably concentrate on the creek botoms during bow season.  What grows well in sand??  I will not be able to do much with the area.

[wijim]

i am guessing you have very acidic soil if there are lots of pines and it's sandy.  two tons of lime per acre is probably in order to grow something good.  if it is mowable (the area you want to plant...access with a mower or haybine?)..id recommend a good quality ag type of clover...and hay it every so often...or alfalfa.  soybeans can do great too...but you gotta have a soil test done.....if you have acidic soil there.....get it under control or you will be just tossing seeds in the ground at and reaping about 1/4 of what ya plant...and they will be substandard plants.  

i am of the mindset...give them nutritious feed they cant get at every farm and bait station they would come in contact with...thats why i only plant corn on food plots if i mix it with sunflowers..(which is another good plant provided you have a ton of direct sun..but its probably too late this year).

and in sand...fertilize fertilize fertilize.

good luck.



my plots this year are, soybeans, clover, sugarbeets, and sunflowers.....i have the beets, sunflowers n beans all mixed..ran them through the drill at the same time.  the clover is planted under a few oak trees in about a 30 yard radius circle with the tree in the center.

[Hunter Mann]

Rye, Wheat and Buckwheat work best for us.

I agree on the fertilizer. We will break the total amount down into monthly amounts and broadcast it that way. Grow a spring crop and in the fall, plant a fall crop. If you double crop, you will build the soil organic matter faster.

Watch the soil pH. We have sand and pines. We had a pH of 5.1. Nothing would grow. We had the local feed store come and broadcast lime for us at a rate of 2 tons per acre.

Hope this helps. The soil pH is the most important factor. Without it, the plants won't be able to use parts of the fertilizer. The nutrients get locked up in the soil. You get an nutrient imbalance, and the plants will look terrible. Correct the pH. it's crucial.

Hope this helps.