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Planting chicory for deer
Posted By: larrywaugh
Planting chicory for deer - 08/04/21 11:08 PM
Has anyone tried it? What were your results both in ability to draw deer and ease of growing? Where did you get it? I have several plots of latino clover although the deer eat it they dont seem to love it. I had a guy tell me that a deer will walk through a wheat or clover patch to get to chicory. So I am thinking about trying it.
Posted By: BigBob
Re: Planting chicory for deer - 08/04/21 11:13 PM
Have you considered planting Turnips, Wheat, or Oats?
Posted By: Pike River
Re: Planting chicory for deer - 08/04/21 11:26 PM
chicory is nice because it draws more than just deer....if you like diversity.
Posted By: keystone
Re: Planting chicory for deer - 08/04/21 11:38 PM
I’ve never planted it alone, but i planted what’s called fusion from whitetail institute, it’s a blend of white clover and chicory. I planted it this spring and it’s came in great. I took a walk through the plot last night and i could see where the deer were eating the tips of the chicory. So blended with imperial whitetail clover it’s been a great plot so far. It’s held up to heavy geese and deer use very well.
Posted By: larrywaugh
Re: Planting chicory for deer - 08/04/21 11:56 PM
I tried turnips last year couldn't get the deer to touch them. If chicory draws in more than deer that would be great especially if its turkeys.
Posted By: TurkeyTime
Re: Planting chicory for deer - 08/05/21 01:08 AM
If you have the ability to spray roundup, or a big enough patch to have the co-op spray, not much can beat soybeans.
Posted By: warrior
Re: Planting chicory for deer - 08/05/21 01:56 AM
I tried turnips last year couldn't get the deer to touch them. If chicory draws in more than deer that would be great especially if its turkeys.
My experience is that turnip must be an acquired taste for deer as they generally leave it alone if other stuff is available but come hard frost when everything but the brassicas are gone they'll hit the turnips good. Even then kale and rape seem to be preferred.
Posted By: Owen156
Re: Planting chicory for deer - 08/05/21 01:57 AM
I planted chicory and diakon radishes last fall, They ate the chicory to the dirt and then ate the radishes. They hardly touched my soybeans until both were gone. The chicory came back this spring and I let it go to seed. Chicory is a perennial so it will come back year after year. I tried turnips but my deer wont eat them, but they love the daikon radishes.
Posted By: TurkeyTime
Re: Planting chicory for deer - 08/05/21 02:03 AM
It must be a different variety of chicory. We get a lot of chicory that grows wild around here, grows in yards this time of the year. I have never noticed deer to flock to it. The horses will eat it. Now a soybean field is a guaranteed magnet this time of year. Turnips aren't touched around here until about January.
Posted By: 330-Trapper
Re: Planting chicory for deer - 08/05/21 04:00 AM
I’ve never planted it alone, but i planted what’s called fusion from whitetail institute, it’s a blend of white clover and chicory. I planted it this spring and it’s came in great. I took a walk through the plot last night and i could see where the deer were eating the tips of the chicory. So blended with imperial whitetail clover it’s been a great plot so far. It’s held up to heavy geese and deer use very well.
That Sounds Great!
Posted By: cfowler
Re: Planting chicory for deer - 08/05/21 01:02 PM
It must be a different variety of chicory. We get a lot of chicory that grows wild around here, grows in yards this time of the year. I have never noticed deer to flock to it. The horses will eat it. Now a soybean field is a guaranteed magnet this time of year. Turnips aren't touched around here until about January.
I notice the same things.
Posted By: Bigfoot
Re: Planting chicory for deer - 08/05/21 01:42 PM
I like orchard grass mixed with red and white clover . The blades it puts up summer and fall are sweet enough they taste good to me and it comes back every year .
Posted By: TreedaBlackdog
Re: Planting chicory for deer - 08/05/21 02:03 PM
I like cheap plots that stay green into November. Oats planted in late August do pretty well for me in the woods. I throw in a few pounds of rapeseed and medium red clover as well. There are too many grain fields around me to worry about a grain crop. So, I prefer more of a green browse attractant later in the year. Does will bring their fawns around and feed in the plots and then the bucks will usually scrape and rub around the edges as they set up their travelling corridors.
Posted By: Brian Mongeau
Re: Planting chicory for deer - 08/05/21 04:41 PM
I don't know much about food plots, but the guy down the road plants sugar beets. I've consistently seen up to 20 deer in the field in the evenings. I hunt the adjoining property with a huge swamp. I intercept the deer as they transition. Bellies so full of greens they look pregnant.
The deer in my neck of the woods pound the turnips, but it’s usually after the first good frost they’ll start eating more of the tops, and then eventually paw the turnips out. I’ve also seen them devour half an acre of tops before they even produced any sizable turnips. I would imagine it depends on available food and such. I know they’ll run past the apple trees in my yard and eat every pear they can reach from the pear tree. I’ve also seen deer flock to my dads garden during rifle season to eat leftover brussel sprouts right off the stalk, after many frost and cold spells.
I’ve never planted chicory alone, only in a food plot blend I had bought. They seemed to keep everything mowed down, can’t say they were there just for that.
Every areas a little different, can’t hurt to call a local deer biologist to see if there’s anything they recommend. .
Posted By: charles
Re: Planting chicory for deer - 08/05/21 11:31 PM
I really like oats. Never tried chicory. Turnips and radish do best for use in late season.
Posted By: larrywaugh
Re: Planting chicory for deer - 08/05/21 11:58 PM
When I planted turnips last year they didnt touch the tops. In February I finally pulled a bunch and spread them around still no action. The reason I planted them is several years ago I was trapping on a deer lease that had a turnip patch and it looked like someone had taken a tiller to the ground.
Posted By: grisseldog
Re: Planting chicory for deer - 08/06/21 03:16 AM
Deer have eat down my turnip greens the past 3 years, didn’t leave enough for a mess.
I have winter wheat, oats and winter peas in a small field for them and they still mow my turnip greens down.