What to plant in acidic soil

I have a food plot that is very acidic. Is there anything I could get to grow for a fall food plot as I try to adjust the Ph of the soil moving forward? Thanks for your thoughts and good luck in 2018.

You have a few options. There’s a little more to this answer as well as I do want to at least mention options to address your underlying problem.

1) I would immediately start with pelletized lime. It is broken down within 30 days. It’s generally applied around 10% the weight of Ag – lime. So, for example, if someone needed 4,000 lbs of Ag-lime to get to 6.5-7 pH, for this season you would be fine putting down 400 lbs of pellets per acre. It’s cheap and works fast for one year. Ag-lime will be your long term solution if you want avoid the yearly applications. But, for many plotters, yearly pelletized lime is not much of a hassle. It’s cheap, readily available and easy to apply. Make sure you know your pH to know how much you would need. Any amount is better than nothing, but a soil test will tell you the exact amount. Again, it will likely give the number in pounds per acre of ag lime, not pelleted lime. Just divide by 10.

2) if you are dead set on not using pelletized lime, the Autumn Quick Plot has many components that will tolerate low pH. Winter rye for example will likely be just fine. There’s some perennial clovers as well that can tolerate low pH.

3) If you do adjust your pH, your other option is Brassicas. Big N Beasty as many that can tolerate some variance in pH but not going to be as tolerant as rye, etc.

4) Make sure your fertility is maxed as well. Nitrogen especially. P&K is critical but you need to correct pH so the plants can utilize them.

5) I would also stress planting a blend. Not a monoculture. This insures diversity for attraction and gives you more options for low pH tolerance. Again, plant Frigid Forage Autumn Quick Plot plus their perennial clover blend (Pure Trophy Clover) if you are going with no pH adjustment.

Good luck this season and I hope you get your plots dialed for this fall! Skip (7-9-18)