Food plot ideas...need some advice

[blackradio]

I hunt a 200 acre farm in 3G. Have a lot of nice bucks there already but me and the guy I hunt with want to plant 2 or 3 food plots to promote antler growth/healthy heard and to attract the deer to a few select areas. Area 1 is on the side of a hill and is a west facing overgrown field. Lots of prickers and tall grass. The second spot is about 300 yards away from that and is a small clear cut in a cedar thicket, also with lots of prickers and on a west facing slope. Both plots will be around 1/4 to 1/2 an acre.

 

Any ideas what to plant? We'd like to plant different things in either one. We're definitely looking to plant perennials and something that will come up this year.

 

Right now I'm considering Whitetail Imperial Chicory Plus http://www.whitetailinstitute.com/products/chicory.html

 

-Has 44% protein for antler growth and I can plant it in the next few weeks so the deer can munch on it all summer

-should last up to 5 years

-a mix of chicory and clover

 

For the other plot I was considering something I can plant in mid to late summer that will last into the winter months. Whitetail Imperial Double Cross (clover and brassica mix) seems good. http://www.whitetailinstitute.com/products/doublecross.html

 

I have no experience with this any brand so I'm not sure what is good. Frigid Forage seems like a good product as well. Just not sure if this big name stuff is better than the store bought product. Thanks for any advice recommendations.

[growalot]

I don't know what you consider a hill or slope ..but clovers tend to do better at the bottom of such...not on a slope...seeing you are looking at WTI stuff ....if your ph is where it needs to be for their seed...6-7...they it's good enough for alfalfa plus...which if you call them...and they will answer ....They will probably recommend that any ways...Alfalfa likes lots of sun and has to have good drainage....

[G-Man]

sounds like you need to do a bunch of prep first. over grown fields are a lot to recover there are lots of dormant seeds to deal with. looks like you'll be planting  this fall, double cross will work and i'm with grow... alfalfa on the slope. you may want to plant that with winter wheat if your looking to  draw deer this year. clovers and alfalfa really need a year to get fully established, and follow the seeding rate , to much seed and the plot will choke itself out.

[Gthphtm]

Do yourself a favor and go to a real feed and grain supply store in that area,not a big chain store and ask what grows in the area you want to plant.Not everything grows well in every part of the state.And first have the soil tested.I would love to plant winter wheat and winter oats on my land but it just won't make it.The soil and weather conditions vary in each part of NY.

[blackradio]

I don't know what you consider a hill or slope ..but clovers tend to do better at the bottom of such...not on a slope...seeing you are looking at WTI stuff ....if your ph is where it needs to be for their seed...6-7...they it's good enough for alfalfa plus...which if you call them...and they will answer ....They will probably recommend that any ways...Alfalfa likes lots of sun and has to have good drainage....

 

Thanks for the reply guys.

 

It's not a steep slope at all, can't really estimate the slope of it but it's an easy walk up it. I guess we'll but a ph tester first and see if the ph is good. Who makes alfalfa plus? WTI makes Alpha Rack Plus which is Alfalfa, clover and chicory and they say, like you both did, that it's food for hill sides so that sounds like a good one to me. Plus we can plant it now.

 

I want to say that I'm not dead set on WTI, I've just heard their name so that's where I started looking.

[blackradio]

sounds like you need to do a bunch of prep first. over grown fields are a lot to recover there are lots of dormant seeds to deal with. looks like you'll be planting  this fall, double cross will work and i'm with grow... alfalfa on the slope. you may want to plant that with winter wheat if your looking to  draw deer this year. clovers and alfalfa really need a year to get fully established, and follow the seeding rate , to much seed and the plot will choke itself out.

 

First, we're going to spray it with Round Up, wait a few days then hit it with a york rake or roto tiller. I don't see why we can't plant in few weeks. Maybe I'll plant some spring wheat so it'll grow for this season. I just read that winter wheat is planted in the fall and will come up in the spring.

[growalot]

dbl post

Edited April 4, 2013 by growalot

[growalot]

Here's the thing...this all depends on time and cash.....not to mention how much activity you want to have in that area....So many factors to consider....How the deer have used the area in the past and now..buck or doe....will you be pushing deer out...these to name a few.

Back to actual planting as you can tell by responses and I practice this as well...going with annuals the first year ends in saving time and money down the road...Once a spray down occurs...you go in and disturb the soil...that brings old weed seed to the surface and BAM!...you have more weeds than you started with....for now, sun light and improved soil with liming , fertilizing and better water absorption ad up to great growing conditions...weed seeds can lay dormant for 10's of years besides the spring vs fall weeds....We usually find guys have better luck with a spray....2wk wait spray and 2wk wait to start with...and lime...it takes 6mos. to a year to really do its job in bringing the ph to good levels...There are some good annuals that deer love are less expensive and act as weed inhalators plants...winter wheat....ground hog radish ...buckwheat in the summer or a combination of these...Google the high lights and you'll pull up a lot of info.

There is only two ways to control weeds....through expensive spraying program or mowing at the proper times....before seed heads appear...but some weeds spread from roots and others mow them and they produce fruiting parts faster and lower to the ground....

[blackradio]

Thank you Grow. A lot of helpful info. We will test the soil this week before we decide on anything. I've been reading on qdma.com about plots and they recommend 60% perennials/20% annuals and the last 20% annuals based around your hunting stands. So the alfalfa/chicory/clover mix plus some brassica mix seems like it'll be a great combo. The alfalfa mix should hopefully feed the deer over the summer and the brassica in the winter. Everywhere I look recommends clover mix and some annuals too

[Zag]

I use whitetail inst alpha rack. U should be fine with round up and a york rake. My plot was an old field and thats all I did last yr. I also planted brassica's and the deer never touched them.

[G-Man]

Brassicas seem to take a year or two before deer learn what they are and when they do they are destroyed... good late season

[blackradio]

I use whitetail inst alpha rack. U should be fine with round up and a york rake. My plot was an old field and thats all I did last yr. I also planted brassica's and the deer never touched them.

 

They didn't touch them the first year or for a few years after planting too?

[growalot]

when I first start plant braccs...I'd read the same thing...they hit them hard in January the first year...Then wiped them out during bow every year after

That said...with the first planting and even now..... I will do a lite planting of oats or WW , WR then over seed with the braccs....The deer come for the grain planting and taste the braccs getting use to them...It also gives you extended feed and hunting opportunities...

 

[phade]

I think mixing radish and brassica shortens the deer learning curve. No doubt, I've seen more instances where brassica took two-three seasons before it really got hammered by deer.

 

Seems to be gnawed on earlier and with the exposed goodness above the soil, they'll quickly learn the brassicas are also good once that starch turns into sugar.