It's also a good idea to start a record book with each food plot listed. Enter the dates and types of plantings, when they were fertilized and limed, as well as animals harvested or observed on the plots. Winter is also the best time to take a soil sample-if your soil is not frozen or covered with snow. Determine lime requirements, and spread the lime while the ground is solid, before spring thaws and rains make it impossible for heavy lime trucks to get to your plots. It takes time for lime to be effective, and for many plants such as legumes and clovers, lime must be spread six months or more before planting.
Late winter is a good time to fertilize existing food plots.
And this is the best time to clear areas for food plots. Widening old logging or farm or ranch roads is one tactic. Clearing old fields that have grown up in brush and poor-quality forage to create new food plots is best done at this time. Overseeding with legumes can also be done during the winter months when the ground is frozen. Make sure you establish minerals and salt licks for deer by late winter.