well now is a great time to be planning, have lots of time to get ready, or??
I would get teh soil test done ASAP
reason being, right now winter time is the best time to be adding lime if you can
many bulk delivery companys can get on frozen gorunds they cannot get to any other time of the yr, and the both spread it for you and they charge about half or less than half of what a ton of pulverized lime will cost you by the bag, and thats hard to spread without a correct spreader for it
and about 3 maybe 4 times cheaper than pelletized lime by the bag, which is the easiest to spread with most atv pull type spreaders(pulverized will not work in a broadcast spreader, will just clog up and stop falling, all the more so if its damp at all)
OK after you get the soil test done
you asked how is the best way to get rid of tall grass weeds, ???
well if you have access to a brush hog type mower, and the crap is still standing, meaning no snow has packed it down flat
use that to get it into smaller pieces, as long strands of grass and what not's, will be a lot harder on atv type, even bigger pull type disc's andf harrows, it kinda forms like a carpet, and its a tuff bed to slice up
so that's the best call, to mow while standing as low as you can
next
come green up, it will green up in most places, long before its really planting time
thus, you can then spray said site with round up, or the likes to help kill what's coming up fast
you want a seed bed to be as weed free as possible, that means NOTHING green growing before your seeds do
if anything is green when you seed, odds are it will grow a lot faster than what ever you plant
that's how you bestwant the seed bed to be
NOW< back to the lime
if you get the soil test done NOW< take a bunch of samples from all over each plot site and keep each site in a seperate soil test, soils can change a ton in just a little didstance from each other(boilogic, does soil test fast for like 10 bucks each too, highly recommend them, can get there forms free on line too, just print and send and you will get back info, on how much of lime and fert you need to plant"X" sed too)
once you get teh soil test back
, if you can get that lime down NOW, and even better, disc that lime into the soil right now too, lime takes a lot of time to work, its not a magic pill, to fix PH, its a very slow deal, so sooner you get in down the better
plus if you can disc the site now after you add the lime, you will be way ahead on how easy the plot will be to do come planting time, will turn over way easier after having a till now, plus will help any matter on the ground to break up faster too, win win, doing this NOW
as for seeds, plant types to plant
clover is a great seed, comes in many types, some grow taller, bigger heads, some smaller and lower, but all clover makes a good plot, and add nitrogen to the soil for free too!, so its a good plant/seed to use for a food plot, will green up fast, grows yr to yr(some times up to 8+ yrs if you do your part right) and will stay green till a few heavy frost cause it to go into winter stage
it also holds well to lots of browsing too, to a point and many many critters will use it, from turkesy picking bugs, to deer, and other critters
draw backs, seed can be pricy(even off brand names, and brand names are NOT needed here either, don't buy into the hpye, sure there good seeds, but not really any better for the value)
clover, is a plot that can be over run with weeds very fast, and I mean very fast
it however can be managed for weeds by both mowing and spraying, and even both, mowing is cheapest way too
spraying can mean needing a bigger sprayer than a back pack too if your doing over a 1/4 acre, and if you buy a sprayer, but a good one, and about 40 gallon tanker too, smaller one's mean a lot of fill ups/down time, and they will come in handy after the plot bug bites and you plant more LOl
chemicals for spraying can be very pricey, for brand name, and fairly costly for off brand names, both work well when used right, so that's a plus, but many places getting a sprayer in and water can get tricky, but possible about any place
another good plot is chichory, it works a lot like clover, but tens to stay greener a hair longer into winter time, but also needs to be mowed and sprayed to make it last long and be full
these would be my two suggestions on seeds you don't have to plant every yr
NOW if you wanted a hunting plot, that is a plot you plant in the late summer, and they work a ton better, for two reasons,
one they are simply a new food to the area, deer like people get tired eating the same crap every dy, so anything new, and even betetr good food, is a hot spot
second, fall plots last as long as the deer don't eat it all, well into winter if you plant enough, and even into spring time, before green up happens every where else, making your land a hot spot, and a great place to find sheds
fall plots can be super easy to plant too
say you want to plant your two, 1/2 acre sites in spring time
well plant just a 1/4 of each in like clover or chichory, and the other 1/4 of each in like buck wheat
buck wheat will draw turkeys like mad, if your into spring gobbler hunting, or fall, and it will keep the soil in that site area, very soft
whick means come late summer, you can turn it over very easy, plant your fall plot fast and have all plots having done good for you yr round, buckwheat seeds are cheap, easy to plant, need very little fertilizer, or any maintaining once planted
deer eat it too, mostly while plant is growing, but by the time its done, its time for the fall plot, so no down time on your plots
for a fall plot, I highly recommend brassicia, it works the best for me, grows fast, can buy cheap rape seed(same deal) and have a great hunting plot for cheap
NOW if your into planting, adding corn , is always a plus BIG time come fall
you can get very cheap GOOD corn seed, by joining the NWTF, they sell left over prime seed for cheap to memebers, its all round up ready, making maintaining the corn simple
hardest part of corn is getting rid of the crap the next yr, stalks are a pain in the A$$ to get rid of
TWTF, also, many times has soybeans, sorghum, and other seeds for sale, even clover some times, winter wheat, buckwheat, and other's
all depends on what your chapter has on hand
NOW is the time to be contacting them if you want seed from them, they like to have pre ordered seeds, so they don't get stuck with a lot of extra, super way to get seeds for a plot
been planting food plots since 1989, so have a lot fo trial and error's over the yrs, and a lot of knowledge here
and glad to help if I can