Food Plots - What to plant?

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Vitz
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Food Plots - What to plant?

Post by Vitz »

This will be my first time planting food plots and I was curious what folks would recommend I plant. Let me hear it!
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Red Beard
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Food Plots - What to plant?

Post by Red Beard »

Vitz wrote:This will be my first time planting food plots and I was curious what folks would recommend I plant. Let me hear it!
What size? What kind of ground? Any prep work done? Do you want to prep the soil first, or a no till mix? Do you dove hunt? What kinda budget we looking at?

Rabbit hole got deep quick..


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Vitz
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Re: Food Plots - What to plant?

Post by Vitz »

Red Beard wrote:
Vitz wrote:This will be my first time planting food plots and I was curious what folks would recommend I plant. Let me hear it!
What size? What kind of ground? Any prep work done? Do you want to prep the soil first, or a no till mix? Do you dove hunt? What kinda budget we looking at?

Rabbit hole got deep quick..


About an acre each. Former farm land that had pines planted. Trees and stumps have been removed, I've disked it once and sprayed round up a week ago. I do dove hunt but this would be for deer hunting. I don't have a budget in mind but I didn't think it would be so much I'd need to worry about it. Maybe I'm wrong? School me!:)
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Red Beard
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Food Plots - What to plant?

Post by Red Beard »

With a good plot you can plant annuals; wheat, oats, rye (quick to establish but will have to replant next year) or perennials; clover, chicory (slower time to develop but can last years)

You need to think about what you want out of the plots. Are you wanting to attract deer for an easier hunt or are you trying to grow antlers and healthier deer (takes season and seasons with proper herd management) Maybe not the way to go if your hunting land isn’t big or you have trigger happy neighbors.

Also think about water, do you have a way to get water to the plot if a drought comes? If not picking a more tolerant crop may be your speed.

You can even model your plots around the early, middle, and winter part of the season to help provide a good mix of foliage and food to keep the deer fat and happy until Spring.

Dove/Turkey hunting is something to keep in mind, you can integrate corn in your plots which can be a legal means of attracting dove. (Once the corn grows let it stand and dry out, a week before season bush-hog it down) I always liked doing a few rows of corn around the edges and a strip down the middle. But that was on the farm in KY, and we had good fertile dirt and plenty of resources..

If your in this for the long haul a few fruit trees or oaks in the plot can bring a big bonus with patience.

Before planting I’d work in some trip 13 (13-13-13 Fertilizer) Pine needles will make the soil on the acidic side; so working in some lime could help in the long haul..


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Red Beard
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Re: Food Plots - What to plant?

Post by Red Beard »

Also..

Something to think about, if your going to hunt over your food plots and than spook the deer away with gunfire you may do more harm than good...


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slow motion
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Re: Food Plots - What to plant?

Post by slow motion »

If you have the time I would get a soil test. The right ph allows the plants to take up the nutrients from the soil as well as your fertilizer more efficiently. Pelletized lime works faster and you will need less of it however it"s effects won't last as long, i.e. reapplying yearly. If you can't get a test I would lean toward acidic and plant something that could grow well with poorer soil. I would go with a cereal grain and clover mix such as oats, rye (grain not grass), or wheat and crimson clover. If you have soil that is neutral or close to neutral you might have better results with other things but these will tolerate a wider range.
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Re: Food Plots - What to plan

Post by Tom Keels »

Second a soil test. But I can tell you with nearly 100% certainty you will need lime and probably a lot. Pine forests are generally acidic and you need to neutralize that if you want anything to grow.

I assume these are just fall/winter plantings. I’d so I would go with a nice mix of winter peas and winter wheat. That should give you good coverage and variety. Follow that up with a 10-10-10 fertilizer. Per acre with lime, seed and fertilizer you are probably looking at 200 bucks to do it right.

The next question is, are you planning to manage the deer heard or you are just doing attraction? That’s a another can of worms.
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SHOWBOAT
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Re: Food Plots - What to plant?

Post by SHOWBOAT »

All good advice. The comments about lots of lime and a soil test are right on. How many times per year do you want to plant? I’ve tried perineal clover, row crops (ie corn) and all kinds of other stuff. A Pennington 7 seed Rackmaster blend is what I plant now. Awesome results. Just don’t expect to have for opener of bow season. It will burn up if planted in early September...

Good luck and let us know how it goes.
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Vitz
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Re: Food Plots - What to plant?

Post by Vitz »

Wow. Lots of info here. A few responses to questions posed in the thread and a couple questions of my own:

I don't have a way to get water to the plots.
My only experience with food plots is hunting over them from condo blinds with a feeder in the middle of each plot. I was thinking that I was going to do the same thing but you all are making me question that now.
I own the property and plan to keep it for many years.
The property is surrounded by ag fields, last year planted in corn and this year planted in peanuts. In my novice mind, I was thinking those fields would provide plenty of nutrition for the deer and I would plant the plots to try and draw deer for an easier hunt. I was thinking that these plots/stands could be used for younger hunters accompanied by their dads.
I'm initially thinking just fall/winter plantings but I'm not opposed to planting things in other times of the year. I enjoy being on the tractor in the woods.
I'm not currently a bow hunter but the property is just over the state line in GA and I think gun season opens in mid-October.

Now for my questions:

Where/how do I get a soil test done?
Where would you recommend I buy seed/fertilizer/lime in the Bainbridge/Quincy area? Or do you mail order it?
reelbad
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Re: Food Plots - What to plant?

Post by reelbad »

Google soil test for North Fl. and South Ga.
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big bend gyrene
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Re: Food Plots - What to plant?

Post by big bend gyrene »

Few thoughts to add / emphasize those of others. Some are somewhat random, but lessons that I've learned at least as applies to my place.

1) If you're not going to bow hunt then I'd STRONGLY recommend holding your planting until close to season. Due to life being busy I've literally planted just 2 or 3 weeks before season and had deer feeding on tender new growth by opening day, though that's dependent on being blessed with a rain or two. I make the recommendation for a few reasons. First, our late summer and early fall can be Hades hot and dry so putting seed down too early can contribute to a less successful plot. Another reason for delaying planting until closer to season is simply to maximize the length of time it will be attractive during season. Deer LOVE tender new growth and feed heavily on it for the first few months of growth, but ultimately will slow their feeding as the plants become less tender / less palatable.

2) If your area isn't plot heavy but instead is ag crop heavy you want to maximize the length of time yours will stay green as it can be a draw ALL season. If corn is all around you, small amounts of corn on your place won't be the draw that greens will be, as deer being browsers love variety and will seek out your green tender growth when crops are harvested / dry up. I'm very much in the same situation as you are in this regard.

3) On the browsing note, I like mixing up my plots but one thing I include in every mix (or even pure stands in certain spots) is CLOVER. I really use it as the foundation of my plantings and LOVE it as it not only can be a draw in the fall but can also be such a blessing to the deer in spring and summer the following year. Even with clover, I like having 3 primary different types spread across my place. Crimson can be a big draw in fall and in VERY early spring and I absolutely LOVE the look of it in my fields (and the photo ops it affords me)... but, it's one downfall is it's pretty short lived. But just as it is drying up I have arrowleaf in certain spots kicking in and it's a bit longer lived than the crimson, and then finally as long as we don't get drought conditions I really like a Ladino clover called Ocoee that UF worked on years ago (but is darn hard to find now as most farmers simply want to go with white dutch). I STILL have some Ocoee growing / blooming RIGHT now in August. So clover's basically been feeding my deer from March through August after being planted in the fall (or in some cases distant falls), with ZERO care from me beyond targeted mowings when the seed heads dry to help spread them again to grow the next year.

View of clover in my back yard
Crimson Clover.jpg
View it affords looking out the window many spring mornings
Feeding Crimson 2.jpg
Not only helps buck with horn growth RIGHT as the horn growth starts, but really nutritious for does carrying fawns... so much so they'll fight over it!
Fighting for Clover.jpg
View of mixed clover showing crimson starting to dry as arrowleaf and some ladino are just starting to really grow.
Clover Mix.jpg
Ocoee ladino clover flowering into the summer months -- would say it likes spots that are somewhat shade protected from brutal late afternoon sun / spots that are less prone to dry up quickly.
Ocoee Ladino 3.jpg
4) What I tend to do as far as key hunting stands go is have those plots include the widest variety of mixed plantings for maximum draw over maximum time. For example this last year I had my primary plot planted with a mix of oats (they love the early growth but it dies off with first frost), wrens abruzzi winter rye (lasts through the season), triticale (hyrbid of wheat and rye that grows great on my soils), winter peas, some sunflower thrown in for kicks and giggles (they eat them to the ground quickly), rape in a portion of the plot, crimson clover throughout the plot, with a ring of ladino clover around the very outer edge of the plot.

Planted around mid-Oct this is what the plot looked like in mid-Nov as rut peaked at our place.
Food Plot.jpg
Finally a picture of a plot with triticale in it the following spring... once it gets tall / tough enough for the deer to quit browsing it in the winter it grows on up and seeds, with birds of all sorts picking it nearly clean after the seed heads go dry.
Triticale Plot.jpg
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big bend gyrene
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Re: Food Plots - What to plant?

Post by big bend gyrene »

Here's a graphic put out for Alabama plantings that can give some ideas on various mixes and planting rates for each seed.
Alabama Suggestions.jpg
Want a good read / appreciation of food plots in general the PDF that I grabbed the planting options can be found by following this link.

https://www.outdooralabama.com/sites/de ... dPlots.pdf
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Red Beard
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Food Plots - What to plant?

Post by Red Beard »

Boy did he get more information than he was ready for... even I’ve picked up a couple new good points off the input.

Down the rabbit hole we go...

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Hit-n-Miss
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Food Plots - What to plant?

Post by Hit-n-Miss »

:-D Here's my 2 cents. Most folks have a lot more money to throw at a plot than I do. So here is what I do. I never plant before the third weekend in September
. I let the plot go fallow all year after season and mow it 2 weeks before planting. I do not spray or fertilize. I plant wheat, oats, crimson clover and rape. I may add turnips or iron clays if get on sale. When planting I turn the litter and any green under making at least 3 passes. Then broadcast the seeds and lightly harrow in. I have a great stand every year and am successful. :-D. Image. Image
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big bend gyrene
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Re: Food Plots - What to plant?

Post by big bend gyrene »

Hit-n-Miss wrote::-D Here's my 2 cents. Most folks have a lot more money to throw at a plot than I do. So here is what I do. I never plant before the third weekend in September
. I let the plot go fallow all year after season and mow it 2 weeks before planting. I do not spray or fertilize. I plant wheat, oats, crimson clover and rape. I may add turnips or iron clays if get on sale. When planting I turn the litter and any green under making at least 3 passes. Then broadcast the seeds and lightly harrow in. I have a great stand every year and am successful. :-D.
Actually do almost the exact same thing, Hit-N-Miss, and my efforts are always 100% a one-man show, with all work other than tilling done by hand (I do hand cast out some fertilzer but don't spray, and cast seed by hand as well). Also let the fields go fallow after season, though I've got a few clover spots that stay pretty thick in clover thanks to partial shade and mowing (my house is in the middle of my hunting grounds so can easily mow versus if hunting property was miles away).

On the clover note, do think it goes back to Red Beard's question about whether goal is simply shooting deer -- most anything green and tender during season will accomplish that, OR if want to improve antler growth over time. Living on my property my goal's been to do both.

And yes, appreciating as Red Beard says the rabbit hole just keeps getting deeper... I'll add this bit of observational info from my place / seven years owning it. The first two years I lived on it I struggled to harvest a buck that'd make the FL registry (100pts+ net). Deer we harvested (and got camera card hits on) were somewhat scrawny, with just a nice buck or two in the mix.

So as time went by I both expanded my plots from maybe 1/2 acre to about 4 or 5 acres total (sleep WELL the few days I tackle planting in the fall), and as mentioned earlier I increasingly focused on having clover in the mixes / some dedicated clover plots for near year-round feeding.

Since expanding my plot acreage and focusing a bit on having clover spots productive year round, the local herd has really looked much more healthy / filled out and I have somewhat cherry-picked 1 or 2 bucks a year for registry entry.
Bucks.jpg
One of the bucks cracked the top 25 of the registry bucks entered one year, scoring around 130 net.
Bo(1).jpg
Just did some cutting a week or so ago and STILL had a spot of Ocoee ladino clover growing fairly well... patch has been feeding deer since late spring all the way into Hades hot August.
20200814_162847.jpg
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