Post by: Friend on May 22, 2022, 09:11:31 PM
Please share which annual early and late season food plot make-ups have been extremely productive in your experience?
What annual food plots will you be planting this year?
Post by: woodchucker on May 22, 2022, 10:32:34 PM
My kid's buying a house!! 7 acres of rolling field (yard) with a patch of Pines, and Apple trees along the woodline.
Has another 80-100 acres behind him, that may (or not) be huntable this year... (got to ask the neighbors)
I think this "back yard hunting spot" might work out good!!?? :archer:
Post by: Sam McMichael on May 23, 2022, 09:01:54 AM
Post by: Mike Bolin on May 23, 2022, 06:15:30 PM
Trying a mix called PowerPlant this year. Won't get it out until next week due to the weather we've been having. According to the label on the package it should not be planted until soil temps are at a consistent 65+ degrees.
I am planning to do away with the plots for the most part next season. The 2 acre PowerPlant plot will become Native Warm Season Grasses and native forbs. If the PowerPlant grows as thick as they say, it should help with weed control for getting the NWSG started.
Post by: Zeebob on May 24, 2022, 06:53:23 PM
My clover plots are productive for 5-6yrs. When I need to restart a plot I wipe it out with Roundup and disk it up in the late summer. I plant a mix of winter wheat and oats, lightly disk the seed in, then broadcast clover and turnips over the top. I pack the soil down over the whole plot. The wheat and oats act as a nurse crop for the clover, the turnips provide a lot of cold weather feed. The clover really never makes much of an appearance until spring arrives.
Annual plots are a lot of work…once I got the clover figured out I quit doing annual plots..
Post by: gregg dudley on May 25, 2022, 12:19:17 PM
Cow peas
Peredovic Sunflower
WGF Sorghum
Sunn Hemp
Japanese Millet
Dwarf Deer Corn
Aeschynomene
I never get much results from the cow peas, as the deer mow them down before they get going well. Aeschynomene, Sunn Hemp, Millet, and Sorghum do well and keep the deer coming in. I really like the Aeshynomene (joint vetch) and will broadcast that in any random wet/damp part of the property as well as the established food plots.
I'll likely plant a brassica mix later in the fall.
Post by: Terry Lightle on May 27, 2022, 03:00:25 PM
Post by: Tom1958 on June 07, 2022, 03:16:23 PM
When I took the fence down, the hoof traffic was substantial so I broadcast a brassica/ clover mix into the plot. As the sunflowers were eaten away, the brassica sprouted and carried into late fall.all the hoof traffic also made seed to soil contact for the clover. It worked really well.
Post by: thumper-tx on June 11, 2022, 07:46:13 PM
Post by: Basinboy on June 13, 2022, 07:39:39 AM
Hancock's Seed Company Spring & Summer Food Plot Seed MixI’ve been thinking about trying their summer mix. But will likely just plant cow peas and Jointvetch for my summer plot and likely a brassica blend for fall.
Cow peas
Peredovic Sunflower
WGF Sorghum
Sunn Hemp
Japanese Millet
Dwarf Deer Corn
Aeschynomene
I never get much results from the cow peas, as the deer mow them down before they get going well. Aeschynomene, Sunn Hemp, Millet, and Sorghum do well and keep the deer coming in. I really like the Aeshynomene (joint vetch) and will broadcast that in any random wet/damp part of the property as well as the established food plots.
I'll likely plant a brassica mix later in the fall.
Post by: Mr.Vic on June 24, 2022, 08:34:50 PM
Post by: Friend on June 25, 2022, 07:36:48 PM
Perennials:
Three established AK Trophy Clover Blend food plots
One Clover and Alfalfa food plot
Developing new 2 1/2-acre food plot to plant Round-up-Ready Alfalfa
Annuals:
Three Whitetail Forage Oats layered with Cereal Rye food plots
Three Deadly dozen food plots
Three Round-up-Ready Soybeans
Four more undecided at this time
Spread 30 tons of Ag lime and tilled one Soybean plot this week.
Post by: Terry Green on June 25, 2022, 07:54:04 PM
Post by: Friend on June 26, 2022, 05:11:15 AM
Post by: Gun on June 29, 2022, 07:04:55 PM
Post by: Basinboy on June 30, 2022, 09:21:29 AM
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Post by: gregg dudley on July 02, 2022, 12:45:06 AM
Post by: Basinboy on July 02, 2022, 09:34:56 AM
Looks like you hang those trail cameras pretty high. I've been thinking about doing that. How are you mounting them?I just use a strap and a piece of limb to get the angle I need. No fancy adjustable mounts, can’t use anything that screws into the tree there :thumbsup:
Post by: Friend on July 09, 2022, 08:15:53 PM
Post by: Basinboy on July 10, 2022, 08:55:40 AM
Large scale operation you have there Friend! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:Food plots for my farm this upcoming season:
Post by: Friend on July 10, 2022, 06:03:57 PM
Post by: gregg dudley on July 11, 2022, 05:00:41 PM
Post by: Friend on July 11, 2022, 09:13:57 PM
My food plots run in size typically from ¼ to one acre…a half acre may consist of two different food plots and a single acre area with three different foodplots….one food plot is left to no hunting or no access hunting and there is one long clover food plot that leads to a hidden late season soybean food plot that only the clover plot is hunted with a blind 100 yards from the hidden soybean food plot.
With exception of a couple of food plots, my sets are access sets….the mature bucks do not typically show them routinely in the food plots until after the rut and upper late season….my favored time to hunt…successful late season food plots have often provided me more productive hunts in the late season than during the rut…. Some late seasons have provided me twice the number of mature deer sightings than from Sept. thru mid-November.
The deer certainly use the vast crops surrounding me. Today’s most efficient harvesting equipment however, bleeds them dry many times over the past. (Food plots are in far more demand from the deer standpoint than in years past).Also, the mature deer and many of the deer prefer to not show themselves during shooting hours. Also, cover is limited for nearly a mile radius.
Healthy sanctuaries are of primary importance. One 20 acre overgrown sanctuary is a major breeding ground where you may view several different bucks simultaneously running several different does from the ridge with appropriate optics…have decoyed into bow range 27 bucks in the past three seasons…24 bucks emerged directly from the sanctuary.
Note: When the guns fire off the Saturday opening day, new bucks start showing up about Tuesday…one to two are likely to be shooters…One season, 60% of the bucks during the rut and thru gun season, had not been observed as I may run 35 cameras with 12 being cellular to incur adequate reconnaissance
***Last season there were 4 resident shooters(140 P&Y or above) on the farm prior to the rut….There were 8 on the farm during the rut. Even 4 shooters on a typical 170 acre tract here would likely be seen of as quite hi.
***Have taken passes on 47 separate solid shot opportunities, from the ground, on bucks in a single season…three were shooters…did not loose an arrow that season, which is the norm yet enjoyed a most fulfilling season.
Hope I have shed some light. Has taken much experimentation over considerable time to come up with a productive plan. There have been many failures over the years. I still have much to learn. Also, my intention is not to expand on the actual results and only report the actual facts.
Post by: Basinboy on July 12, 2022, 01:30:32 PM
Post by: gregg dudley on July 12, 2022, 02:56:12 PM
Post by: Friend on July 12, 2022, 07:01:13 PM
Post by: dklug on July 12, 2022, 09:25:27 PM
Post by: dklug on July 12, 2022, 09:33:41 PM
Post by: Basinboy on August 03, 2022, 09:16:39 PM
Post by: dnovo on August 04, 2022, 02:17:33 PM
Post by: Mike Bolin on August 04, 2022, 03:38:17 PM
Post by: gregg dudley on August 27, 2022, 08:16:15 PM
Post by: Friend on August 29, 2022, 12:55:25 PM
Post by: dnovo on August 30, 2022, 09:19:57 PM
Post by: Tedd on September 05, 2022, 09:43:55 AM
Post by: Tedd on September 05, 2022, 04:20:54 PM
My theory is that we need something that attracts better than the usual food plots. For me that is chestnut trees. I have hunted over some chestnut trees and its like a magnet to deer.
We really need some rain. Our plots haven't grown much for a couple weeks. The chicory is the easiest thing we grow and drought tolerant.
The chestnut, hybrid oaks and sawtooth oaks are handling the dry weather pretty good so far. I just planted a dozen American/Dunstan hybrid chestnut that I grew from seed. Those will need watered a couple times until we get a heavy rain.
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This is a hybrid oak. It has been in the ground 2 yrs.
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The first chestnuts! only got them on one tree. [ You are not allowed to view attachments ]
I have about 65 chestnuts of this size that should be producing in 2-3 years.
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Post by: Tedd on September 05, 2022, 04:46:56 PM
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Post by: Tedd on September 05, 2022, 04:53:52 PM