Pumpkins

[BigGuyNY]

Has anyone tried pumpkins as part of your food plot. I have a friend of mine from New Jersey who claims that the deer love them.

[Suilleabhain]

I've heard that too, they step on them to break them. My brother had a peice of his graded and seeded with clover and rye, this spring he's putting in berry bushes and pumpkin, not for a food plot, just for kicks. Bet they don't last long. Squirrels like them too. They come up my step and eat holes in them.

[Doc]

I saw a farmer over in Ionia that was feeding pumpkins to his sheep. They seemed to like them, so I would suppose that deer would go for them as well. I have thrown out old butternut squash that had gone bad, but found that they would eat them quicker if I broke them up first. And then they would disappear in a couple days.

[Gthphtm]

Pigs like them also.

[HectorBuckBuster]

Deer love them. Have you ever been to a u-pick pumpkin patch and seem the pumpkins that are all smashed up with deer tracks around them.

[noodle one]

They want the seeds . Reason the squirrels eat a hole in them to get at the seeds.

[landtracdeerhunter]

Have planted pumpkins in with the field corn for several years now. Space according to packet inst. right in the corn rows. No weed spray can be used, as I don't use them anyways. Outcome depends on year. Dryer late summer, they hit ripe ones early, think for the water content. Last year, was that type of year.Got them planted late June, because of wet ground. Grow faster when I use liguid fert. esp. in dryer soils. Always harvest a few for jack o laterns, so had to get out early. Deer went off of them through most of bow season, hitting them hard again, in shotgun. They eat holes in them to eat seeds, then go for the pulp. They don't leave any unless, handled, hitting them last.

Also. decomposed manure under the hills work well at holding moisture. Add more nitrogen when doing this.

Edited January 22, 2012 by landtracdeerhunter