Heres a good article on it and the same method of using the pail and different methods for mixing it in and spreading it out. This says 50lbs covers 100sqft but I took into consideration that the deer will sink into the soil a little too so I wanted to make sure I had a good liner of it down. http://www.farmersassociation.com/farm-supply/miscellaneous/bentonite-clay-50lb-bag

I have sandy loam soil and have had this water hole for 2 years now. I have not had any issues so far so I am happy with it. If you can find a liner for a decent price it may be worth it but so far bentonite has been working great for me. I took a 5 gallon bucket and drilled some holes in the bottom of it that were about 3/8" in diameter. I then filled the bucket up with the soil type I was making my water hole in. leave about 6 - 8" space from the top of the bucket for pouring water. I filled the rest of the bucket up with water and watched the water slowly drain through and out the bottom of the bucket. I dumped out the wet soil and added dry soil back in. Then I weighed out 1 pound of bentonite and spread it out on top of the soil in the bucket. After that I mixed the top 1" of soil in with the bentonite and then added another pound of bentonite on top of that but didn't mix that in. Then I filled the top of the bucket with water again. I let it sit over night and the next day the water level never dropped. I ran a stick through it a few times and never saw any water level loss. I went with about 2 pounds that I mixed in and then another pound I figured as a top layer. If you do try it I would test out your soil in a bucket to give a better estimate on how much you need to get. The diameter of the 5 gallon bucket is really close to a square foot. This test tells me how many pounds of bentonite I need per square foot of soil. Also you want to use sodium bentonite (bentonite clay) and not calcium bentonite.

WOW! WI_Plotter, that's an awesome looking food plot!!!!

Yeah, hoping I don't run into that. With temps in upper MI not warming up till beginning of June, it was planted a little later than wanted.

Was told it would never grow up there, I guess I like to take those challenges and try anyway lol.

The 2x4 is 8' long to show height. Planted June 10th.

Very Nice!

I love the GRO liquid plant foods! Nice looking plots WI_Plotter!!!

No problem!

The site has been updated to show it now. Also you can click on "More" for further directions.

If you are asking on how to mix the 9-4-9, it ends up being around 1- 3oz per gallon of water or 1 - 2qts per acre. It should also say on the jug itself when you get it.

AWESOME!!!!!

Nice!

To all, note that the date for Grandpa Ray Fest in Feb is on the 10th and not the 11th.

Very nice!

Awesome! Looks like a great mix!

Can't wait to see pics of it in a few weeks!

Welcome

Awesome!

I would mow it.