Food plot

[jeff9366]

I think next weekend I will get the spreader and top cast the remaining 25lbs of seed and then 2 bags of fertilizer. Last year I put out one 50lb bag on it and it seemed to be pretty thin when it came up.

I would take soil samples and get a soil test. You may find the addition of one or two specific nutrients will double or triple your seed germination rate.

Where I live, Boron is deficient. You never know without a soil test.

 

[Zerk]

I bought a couple books on food plots, though I really haven't followed it. They do talk about getting soil tested, finding what grows best.

 

[PoorPlowboy]

I've got a 30 acre pasture and a few years ago I made over a dozen 1 acre foodplots with specific seed broadcast in each one to find out what they liked the most in my area. Bar none, they didn't touch anything else until the hard red winterwheat was grazed down. After that, they seemed to graze the two with plain oats and the Biologic chicory/rye mix about equally. The turnip, rape, milo, clover, radish, and the rest were untouched as long as they were presented with any of the first three.

The bossy "alpha" does would fight like crazy over the winterwheat plot and try to run everyone else out. The "beta" does would seem to gather at the oats and rye until the alphas would get their fill before sneaking their way back over to the wheat. The young bucks would follow the does whichever way they went, and the big boys never had food on their mind when they would stroll out.

 

[clemsonfor]

Eddie. Have you tried winter wheat?

Around here that works well. Seams like all the "deer" mixes have wheat in them.

cause wheat looks good and is cheap so its filler in the seed mixes. They do eat it as well.


Eddie, lime takes 6 month, fertilizer is much quicker than that. results can be seen in weeks!! just put it on a growing plot, where you put it is deep green and taller!

 

[EddieWalker]

I've tried winter wheat and think it looks real pretty out there, but I haven't seen anything that indicated the deer care for it. I know some guys in other areas of Texas swear by it, but I haven't had those results.

I've fertilized in the fall before and haven't noticed any difference in how my food plot grows compared to lime and fertilizing in the spring only. I have never tried fertilizing once the plants start to come up, and might give that a try this year.

To me, food plots are all about experimenting and trying new ideas!!!!

 

[coobie]

Had a few visitors in my food plot this past year 2014.Seen a few more this past spring 2015.They love the clover..

 

[farmer2009]

I've tried winter wheat and think it looks real pretty out there, but I haven't seen anything that indicated the deer care for it. I know some guys in other areas of Texas swear by it, but I haven't had those results. I've fertilized in the fall before and haven't noticed any difference in how my food plot grows compared to lime and fertilizing in the spring only. I have never tried fertilizing once the plants start to come up, and might give that a try this year. To me, food plots are all about experimenting and trying new ideas!!!!

Maybe it's the population around you. I have some very heavy hunting pressure around me. My land joins public land. I see very few deer and in 6 years I've seen one buck. This summer actually. I can't move during hunting season without seeing a hunter. Now small game and turkey I'm covered up in. Very little hunting pressure there.

 

[clemsonfor]

Had a few visitors in my food plot this past year 2014.Seen a few more this past spring 2015.They love the clover..

nice group of bachlor bucks

 

[clemsonfor]

Maybe it's the population around you. I have some very heavy hunting pressure around me. My land joins public land. I see very few deer and in 6 years I've seen one buck. This summer actually. I can't move during hunting season without seeing a hunter. Now small game and turkey I'm covered up in. Very little hunting pressure there.

that sounds bad. hate that. i honestly hate that certain parts of public land are so hunted out and no deer and people shoot anything they see. but i guess if all i had was shot up place i would shoot anything i see too? This is where states need to regulate better limits and less younger bucks.

 

[kebo]

Thought I would post some updated pic's I took last Saturday of the same food plot I put in about three weeks ago. It's coming up nicely after all the floods we've had here in SC the last couple weeks. Here at my house in Lexington, I've had about 24" of rain over the last three weeks! In the upstate where my plot is it got about half of that over the same period.

Looking towards the east:


Washed out section from all the rain we've had:


Other end looking west:


And here's the money shot.


Last Sunday morning was the opening day of rifle season for the upstate on private land, so I sat in the condo from sun up until about 11:30am and saw 10 deer I think. I saw a 4pt early on, then mid morning I watched a spike cross the gas line (which is in the pic above) and then later on had a decent 6ptr cross at the same location as the spike did, only he was going in the opposite direction. He was a buck on a mission with his head down to the ground and walking at a very steady pace.

I'm taking off work this Friday, will be back there all day and Saturday too.