Whitetail Food Plot

Turkey hunting tips & tricks that have worked & can help others.
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CamoMan4025
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Whitetail Food Plot

Post by CamoMan4025 »

OK, I know this may to broad of a subject, but I looking for some advice or direction. We lease about 400 acres in the Northern part of Virginia. It is approximately 60% apple trees, 15% corn or soybeans (switches every year back and forth), 15% hardwoods and 10% just open fields. There are two small ponds on the property also. So we are looking to put in 3 whitetail food plots each about 1 acre in size. I have looked at biologic and whitetail institute. There are 6 members in the club and none of us have ever done a food plot. We are mainly looking for antler growth. Any info on what you all have used; good, bad or indifferent would be appreciated. Also, we are looking for a perennial over a annual. We probably have a 1:1 buck to doe ratio, with a lot of "scrub" bucks. We plan on tilling the ground and fertilizing it.

Thanks,

Kevin
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redarrow
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Re: Whitetail Food Plot

Post by redarrow »

Just a personal opinion here but the two you mentioned are over priced versions of many other available products. Icededturkes has had good results with much cheaper products and I am sure he will get into that soon.Myself I have had excellent results with Buck Forage Oats and Winter Peaz.With the 2 products you mentioned you pay through the nose for the innoculant they coat their seeds with.That extra weight also reduces the amount of seed per pound.
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Re: Whitetail Food Plot

Post by Spuriosity »

I hope this doesn't sound like an infomercial for Whitetail Institute (WINA). I can assure you I have no affiliation with them whatsoever. But I do have a lot of experience planting their products. I have none with Biologic, although I'm sure they have good products as well.

First, do a soil test if at all possible and amend the soil as recommended. Follow the instructions...short cuts will hurt your plot. Lime is more important than fertilize and is much cheaper. Lime raises the pH of the soil and unbinds the fertilize from the soil so the plant can use it. If your soil is too acidic (needing lime), your plot will not do well no matter how much expensive fertilize you put on it. Lime also takes time to work. You can broadcast it when you plant your plot, but it will be much more effective if you can disc it in several months before you plant.

Annuals produce a lot of tonnage in a short period of time. They are useful if you have weed problems and do not have the luxury of being able to spray your plots with appropriate herbicides to control weeds. You are instead controlling weeds by discing the plot twice each year. (Annuals must be replanted every year and are usually geared to produce in either hot weather (soy beans, cow peas, lab lab, etc) or cool weather (oats, winter peas, brassicas, etc.) Perennials can last 3-5 years with proper maintenance. What is proper maintenance? For a crop like clover, proper maintenance would include bush hogging and fertilizing twice a year and spraying with selective herbicides (not Round-up) to control grass and broadleaf weed infestation. If you can't get to your plots to provide that maintenance, you may be better off planting annuals. I have had very good success with Eagle Brand Round-up Ready soybeans if you really want to put some horn on your deer over the summer. They are a forage type bean that means they are engineered to produce lots of foliage, not lots of beans. They can withstand hard grazing by your deer without being killed. Regular ag beans that are engineered to produce lots of beans do not do well in small food plots. The deer will graze them when they are young and kill them. WINA has a good forage bean as well, but I have not used them. Round up Ready means that you can spray Round-up or any glyphosphate substitute right on the growing beans and kill all the weeds in the plot without hurting the beans.

WINA perennials that I have had great success with include their Whitetail Clover, Extreme, and Alfa-rack Plus. Call them and describe the area you want to plant and what your goals are (including how much maintenance you are willing/able to do) and they will tell you what to plant. That desision depends largely on soil type. Clovers tend to do well in dense soils that stay relatively moist. Extreme and Alfa -rack do better in hilly or well drained soils. Extreme can survive pretty serious drought. I have had it thrive on a mountain top log landing in WNC with sandy soil from which all water drains quickly after a rain. I get the advertised 3-5 years lifespan out of all three of those products, but I am pretty meticulous with maintaining them. I have friends that have had poor success, because they took short cuts (not enough lime) or did not spray with selective herbicides and the plots became choked out by grass. All three of those products produce lush growth a foot deep in spring, and need to be bush hogged 2-3 times. However, my plots are generally small (less than 1 ac), and the deer eat them absolutely down to the dirt this time of year. These plants go dormant in cold weather and the deer are hungry. All produce tremendous tonnage in spring and fall, but suffer during the heat of summer and especially during extended cold snaps. They will, however, bounce right back when conditions improve. If you want to provide winter forage, it is hard to beat a brassica type product like WINA Wintergreens or a similar product from Biologic, but they are of course annuals.

Finally, don't forget minerals if you want to put bone on your deers' heads. And I'm not talking about white salt or even mineral salt. Deer need lots of calcium and phosphorus (at a 4:1 ratio). Salt just makes it palatable or attractive. Deer in the midwest get those minerals from the plants they eat that get them from their rich soils. Our soils in WNC are pretty poor, so fertilize helps, and good mineral licks help. WINA markets well balanced mineral supplements such as 30-06, and I'm sure other companies do as well. But they are pricey. I get a 4:1 Calc/Phos supplement at the local feed store and mix a 50 # bag of that with a 50# bag of white salt, yielding 100 # of mineral for about $25. Data suggests you should maintain one mineral lick for every 80 ac. Put it out in early spring and replenish mid summer. Deer will use the site better if it is in a high traffic area in or near dense cover.

I do believe you get what you pay for with food plot seed. Seed from the established companies is guaranteed fresh and has the proper innoculants the plants (such as clover) need to convert nitrogen from the air into a form that the plant can use. Product support at WINA is also first class. Call them and talk to an expert that will walk you through everything you need to know. And that's probably more than anyone wanted to know about food plots.
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Re: Whitetail Food Plot

Post by redarrow »

Without a doubt I should have said get a soil sample first.Otherwise like Spur said your wasting your time and money planting in an area that won't grow what you want.
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Re: Whitetail Food Plot

Post by ICDEDTURKES »

Alot of good information above.. I have little interest in deer hunting but food plots interest me greatly and I spend countless hours reading and reading.. I may get back into plotting.. I started plotting in about, 98 I have quit for a number of years now but it was alot of fun..

I have to ask, Why perennials only? As evidenced above it sounds easy plant 3-5 years later, plant again, but there are many many hours of labor required to keep up a perennial plot and keep it more attractive than anything around for years.. There is a reason 2nd and 3rd cutting alfalfa costs more money than first cutting. Additionally and I have witnessed this so many times with alfalfa the 1st and 2nd year are the money years.. Across the road from the house the lil old lady had a 3 acre opening.. Another neighbor put it into alfalfa each and every evening it was flooded with deer, it was nothing to hit it with the headlights and see 50 deer in this small field throughout the fall and into snowfall.. 2nd year was close to the 1st, 3rd got much worse and from than on out no deer.. I have seen this so many times and as mentioned above it still takes money and sweat equity to get years of attractiveness out of those plots.

In my situation with abundant agriculture I really do not really care what deer eat in the summer.. You would be shocked even in agriculture areas how much of a deers diet is still woody browse... My whole purpose will be late fall attraction.. I do not care where the bucks are in the summer, I cannot kill them then.. I want the deer feeding on my place in late fall early winter when they are most dependent on a quality food source, quality food sources are waning and I can kill them..

IME annuals on average are much easier to grow and as mentioned are much more aggressive and surpress weeds. I will most likely be doing a couple of blends.. One will be Brassica blend of a mix of tillage raddish, Purple top turnips and maybe a lb or 2 of rape.. I did a heavily rape skewed blend for years.. It would grow beautifully.. Deer would not touch it in the warm months.. And than good lord the first frost every deer for 5 miles would come and mow that thing to the ground.. The blend above will still provide this yet the radishes and turnips will still be under the earth providing later forage buying the food plot more useful time. Its similar to the Tall Tine Tubers by whitetail institute.

Another blend I will do will be a cereal grain mix containing some combo of oats, wheat and rye.. When our farmers take off oats sometimes they do a a pretty poor job with many oats falling to the ground.. The seed volunteer seeds if the rain is right and grows back to 5-6 inches before stalling.. It is the single most attractive fall attractant I have ever seen.. It will out pull alfalfa, clover and even corn in my area.. Problem with oats they nuke easier than rye or winter wheat when it gets cold.. You may not have that problem in Virginia.. Winter wheat in my area is a huge draw when the snow hits same can be said for rye to a lesser extent... IT will stay green and provide food to your deer throughout the winter and will be the only green thing in the spring providing your deer a jumpstart on growing season.. This may be more important than providing them nutrition in the summer.. Additionally the soil benefits of rye are unmatched and your soil may be so poor you may be best planting it before other things will thrive.

In your situation I would at most have 1 annual.. I would rotate the plots and have different things in different plots to provide forage for your deer for a longer period..
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Re: Whitetail Food Plot

Post by ICDEDTURKES »

Kevin when ya got time, maybe a week or 2 free start reading

http://iowawhitetail.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=45
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Re: Whitetail Food Plot

Post by CamoMan4025 »

WOW....I mean DOUBLE WOW.....This is why I asked here and I am in WAY over my head. Dang....running a Prostaff is a lot easier than food plots.

This is what it boils down to. We lease the land and don't own it. There are 6 members in our club. I was just looking at an perennial thinking it was easy......disc, plant, grow and shoot deer.....replant in 4-5 years. I am not a farmer by any means. I admit that I was totally ignorant to the amount of work it requires to plant a food plot. I will now look at the annuals per the advice I have received here. I am extremely overwhelmed by the amount of work it will require and can't thank you guys enough on here. I will review more info and take in to the other 5 members and see where it goes from here.

Thanks guys,

Kevin
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Re: Whitetail Food Plot

Post by ICDEDTURKES »

CamoMan4025 wrote:WOW....I mean DOUBLE WOW.....This is why I asked here and I am in WAY over my head. Dang....running a Prostaff is a lot easier than food plots.

This is what it boils down to. We lease the land and don't own it. There are 6 members in our club. I was just looking at an perennial thinking it was easy......disc, plant, grow and shoot deer.....replant in 4-5 years. I am not a farmer by any means. I admit that I was totally ignorant to the amount of work it requires to plant a food plot. I will now look at the annuals per the advice I have received here. I am extremely overwhelmed by the amount of work it will require and can't thank you guys enough on here. I will review more info and take in to the other 5 members and see where it goes from here.

Thanks guys,

Kevin
What kind of equipment do you have available Kevin? All you really need is a tractor and a disc or rototiller for annuals and maybe a cultipacker but you can get around this with other homemade things or using the rain to your advantage..

On 1 acre type plots its work but you can spray, lime, fertilize by hand or one of those yard fertilizers you push.. Our Coop rents a lime spreader for cheap and it does take a ton of work out of it however if you need alot of liming..
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Re: Whitetail Food Plot

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Hey Tom. Can a lime spreader be used with a truck or do you need the 3 point and pto shaft ?
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Re: Whitetail Food Plot

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redarrow wrote:Hey Tom. Can a lime spreader be used with a truck or do you need the 3 point and pto shaft ?
PTO there is a gravity fed lime spreader out there.. Its like a giant box with slots cut in it and the lime falls through....

I cannot understand for the life of me why nobody has designed one of those ATV hopper spreaders that is compatible with lime.. I believe you can use pelletized in them but that stuff if pricey next to good ol ag lime. Spreading by hand I have done out the back of a truck and it is alot of work and of course is not as even as a spreader.
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Re: Whitetail Food Plot

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I have a drop spreader for my ATV that hold s maybe 200-300 lbs.I can close the auger up pretty tight so I might be able to use ag lime.
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Re: Whitetail Food Plot

Post by CamoMan4025 »

Tom,

We have access to about any type of farm equipment. The farm we lease is one of hundreds the owner has. Also one of our members hauls farm equipment for a local huge company, so he can get whatever else we need. As far as the fertilizer goes, we are going to have the guys who come fertilize and lime the apple trees swing a little wide and cover our plots.
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Re: Whitetail Food Plot

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I would grow an acre of winter wheat, deer out here love it while green and then gorge themselves on the heads after it is ripe. Will survive the winter with no problem, seed it in the middle of september so it can establish a good root system. It will only require about 1 bushel of seed and for an acre, it can be spread with a surface broadcast type spreader and then mixed in with a harrow. It will also be an attractant to turkeys and they could survive on it alone.
What ever you decide good luck with it.
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Re: Whitetail Food Plot

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CamoMan4025 wrote:Tom,

We have access to about any type of farm equipment. The farm we lease is one of hundreds the owner has. Also one of our members hauls farm equipment for a local huge company, so he can get whatever else we need. As far as the fertilizer goes, we are going to have the guys who come fertilize and lime the apple trees swing a little wide and cover our plots.
Thats awesome.. I would do the soil test as recommended.. Fertilize, lime, spray.. It might be a good idea to get in there in the spring and plant buckwheat in the plots. It will put a good deal of organic matter in the soil as well as suppress weeds until you plant your fall plantings.. Till that down and go to your fall plantings..

How cold do you guys get and how much snow?
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Re: Whitetail Food Plot

Post by CamoMan4025 »

Our weather is crazy. Today it's 55, tomorrow it's suppose to be 20 and 6" of snow. Temps are up and down and snow is from an inch to 3'.
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Re: Whitetail Food Plot

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I have nothing to add.

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Re: Whitetail Food Plot

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MKW wrote:I have nothing to add.

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Re: Whitetail Food Plot

Post by Rockhound »

It doesn't get very cold here and the farmers that border our 300 acres usually have about 5000 acres of winter wheat.

That being said we have around 15 acres of food plots, we will be using wheat, oats, and daikon radishes this year
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Re: Whitetail Food Plot

Post by ads1 »

I have only a small tidbit which has already been mentioned but may get lost in the abundance of information. You said "We are mainly looking for antler growth". Antler growth needs mineral supplementation so in all your efforts don't forget the calcium, phosphate and salt. Putting out a good mineral supplement may give that added plus to give the antler growth desired. Several good ruminant mineral supplements are available at local agricultural stores or feed companies. Companies like Vigortone and Moorman make good cattle minerals that have some fillers that facilitate getting adequate consumption. Straight calcium, phosphorus and salt is not real palatable so you may need something to increase consumption. Soybean meal mixed into the mineral will increase the consumption.
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Re: Whitetail Food Plot

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Cheapest way to go that I found is to buy a real good bright spotlight and hunt the neighbor's food plot.
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Re: Whitetail Food Plot

Post by CamoMan4025 »

Grumpy,

That's probably not a bad idea. Oh well, it seems the drive to plant a food plot has pooped out by the other members. I guess we will just have to hope the neighbors plant a good one???
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Re: Whitetail Food Plot

Post by Grunt-N-Gobble »

I'm a big fan of Whitetail Institute clover. My buddy and I planted 3 acres of that stuff a few years back before we had kids and we shot some real nice bucks during the years we planted and kept up with the field.

Plus, the turkeys love the stuff. We shot several toms outta that field as well. If you have the time, $$ and equipment.........clover is a good way to go.
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Re: Whitetail Food Plot

Post by Reloader »

Food plots aren't really that complicated. You can get technical and spend alot of time and money to make the TV quality plots, but just putting in food plots is a fairly simple task. We gave up on getting too fancy with plots many years ago. Our soil sucks to say it lightly. We could spend tons of $ to get the levels just right and several more steps in planting, but I've found over the years that winter wheat and oats do really well with easy prep in just about any soil. We plant all of our food plots in one or two days every year(quite a few plots) with only 3-4 guys. After bush hogging everything, I disc with my little tractor and 5' disc while a couple guys drag behind me on ATVs(Cyclone fence with a couple fence post tied on). As soon as we're done dragging, we seed with On Time Bumper Buddy spreaders on ATVs(Usually two passes). As soon as seeding is done, we drag again. You can fertilize if you want, but if the PH isn't correct, you're spinning your wheels. Theses plots come up soon after the first rain and continue to grow as deer mow them down. When the spring green up hits, they'll come on up and seed out some times if the weeds don't over take them.

I agree with the others on the proper way to do them, but learned long ago the easy route worked as well with the right seed and deer love them. Heck, I've hunted in areas with much better soil and they get killer plots by just discing and planting.
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