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Early Season Food plots?

B

Bowtech Freak

Guest
I am going to plant 2 food plots this year,

(preferably in the late winter/spring)

the problem is one of these plots will be in a shaded area and I can't really get equipment in there to do the job.

Also the time I will be able to hunt this particular farm is early season sept 15, to the first week or so of October so I need something that will realy attrack deer early season.

What would be best to plant? I thought about Clover but there is a bean feild 300 yards away and I don't know which the deer would prefer
confused.gif
. Thanks for any info.
 
Sounds like you have a great food plot already with the bean field. Clover will be your best bet for the shady plot. I would try to open the tree canopy up as much as possible though and frost seed when the ground is freezing at night and thawing during the day late this winter. The other plot may be a candidate for a late planting of soybeans, Austrian Winter Peas, and oats or a mixture of them. Prep the ground by whatever means you have, broadcast them, and roll them with a lawn roller or cultipacker three weeks before season and you should have young, tender, attractive hunting plot as long as you get some precipitation during that time so timing the planting will be important. Remember these will turn out best with the proper soil preparation by checking the ph and fertilizing properly.
Check out Dbltree's response in this link regarding clover in a previously asked similar question. Clover plot suggestion
 
Another option would be a small rye patch. Take this spring spray your plot let it die off work up to the best of your ability. Spray it off once more during the summer (it will need it) and try to work it up a little more maybe just pull a peg-toothed drag across it. Then plant some rye between Aug. 20 and Labor day. You will have a nice little green patch come Mid sept.

The chance you run with the rye in the late summer is that if you get no precip. between time you plant and the time you hunt it wont be worth anything for you. Clover isnt a garentee on the growing either but your going to get it to grow some, even with a lack of water, during the summer which is likely to attract deer from June to October.

I would say the rye will be a bigger attraction than the clover come hunting season but you also run a bigger chance of getting nothing out of it.

Dean
 
I also had real good luck with oats in little "scratch em up spots". As Dean noted, spray the heck out of it early on, which you can do with a backpack sprayer.

Given enough time and perhaps several bouts of RUP you can possibly sow oats and/or rye in mid to late August for an early season draw.

You can add clover or frost seed it into the oats or rye later in the winter.

It's a whole lot better if you can get an ATV in there to work it up a bit but it doesn't take a whole lot for grain to sprout.

You can see wheat sprout up after it's been combined and some goes thru with the tailings...so being able to work up a plot is not always necessary.
 
It looks like clover would be better for the shady plot my other plot is going to be about 100 yards or so from the shady plot and it gets a litle more sun light on it,

Can I mix rye, wheat and oats together?
thanks again
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Yes, here is a link to a stand that was planted in the last week of August this year.

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Wow thats a great looking plot.
 
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