Thanks

When food plots got popular a neighbor planted
deer clover and rape seed. Several times I watched
them travel through it to feed on regular alfalfa.
Some things like crown vetch, they hit after hard frost.
With no acorns, apples were tops early..

Great info

If you want an early season plot, clover,alfalfa,rape,radish.
If for later/ cold season, pumpkins,sqush,corn,beans,turnips.
I would not waste time planting beans,corn on less then 3_4 acres.

Question for the ones that plant pumpkins in food plots, how do you keep the deer from mowing down the vines during the summer?

There's a couple people here in the county I live in that raise pumpkins to sell in the fall and if they don't keep them sprayed with something all the time the deer eat the vines down to the dirt during the summer, and from what I've herd it's pretty expensive stuff they have to use.

I plant about 40 acres of food plots each year. I am in the south, so it would for sure be different up north. I also did this at work for 34 years. After doing this for 45 years, I have determined for me and my ground, simpler is better. In the south, our stress period is late summer - hot and dry and often succulent native vegetation will die during that period. Stress period up north is winter time and different plant choices are required.

I dont like corn in the south because it provides little sustenance during the summer - and the hogs will eat it all. Soy beans are great, but if you have high deer density, you have to efence, and hogs can also be a problem, and they require spring planting - which it may be too wet in a lot of planting areas. Brassicas must be planted around 1st of Sep - which is usually 100 degree heat and dry as a bone - and doesnt produce most of the time for me. It is also too early to plant cereal grains because the army worms will get them. Buckwheat requires its own planting date and higher deer density. Cowpeas will be eaten as soon as they come out of the ground. Pumpkins provide no benefit during the summer stress season. Milo is a summer crop that requires a spring planting and the hogs will rip the seed heads in the milk stage. I could go on.


I like wheat and clover. They are planted at the same time - in early fall. Cereal rye is ok if you dont turkey hunt - but in my ground, it gets tall mid spring and my gobblers will not get in it at that time. Oats are ok, but they dont produce a seed head that doves prefer in the summer. I use no fertilizer because the clover fixes nitrogen for the wheat to use. This combination provides a good quick fall greenup for me to hunt over, and provides a high protein food source during the summer when does are nursing fawns and bucks are growing antlers. Even the ducks will feed on the wheat and clover when flooded.

I grow pretty good food plots but the dog hunters keep the deer nocturnal. If they would just let us bowhunt and muzzelloader hunt, it would be OK, but they don't so no more food plots for me.

Deer love turnip greens, but, feral hogs love the root.

in WI alfalfa , a nice hay crop grows nice deer it grows for years it is high nutrition forage almost any time it isn't covered in snow
you can take cuttings off of it to help pay for the planting

it greens up early and keeps nutritional value even after a freeze till it is covered in snow

a small not visible from the road hay field is a deer magnet with a few good areas for bedding down near by

Not sure what your soil is like there but if it's sandy like it is here, you'll need lots of fertilizer. I put at least 500-pounds to the acre of something like 10-10-10 and plant around the 1st of August. The best plants for bow season (Sept-Oct) have been turnips and daikon radishes. They do well if they get good rains, and then when they get a couple hard frosts the deer attack them like crazy, which usually happens the end of September during archery season.

Until we get the soil where we want it I’ll most likely be planting No Plow as that’s what I have worked with in the past. In SD No Plow does OK but I’ll do more prep this season as I’m learning more about what needs to be done. MO is a different story that’s a whole new challenge with the soil we have to work with.

I agree with bucks n bears on soybeans,if your food plot is less than 5 acres it will be gone before your ready to hunt on it.

I had good results with purple top turnips and daikon radish mix this year.

… I hate to give away all my secrets.. but deer like to eat these things… and the best part is they’re free

… that thing should be in the freezer already

The best results I ever had were with oats. Had about a half acre in a pasture. Deer would run across the pasture and slam on breaks when they got to the oats.

Hahahaha letting him grow one more year