Buck Hollow Sporting Goods - click or touch to visit their website Midwest Habitat Company

Beginner food plot

gunhunter

gunhunter

PMA Member
After reading up on food plots all winter and much planning I would like to start my first plot. I already have a spot for it but need some help on what to plant. This plot is going to be deep in the woods and I cant get any equipment to it this year. The goal of this plot is to have a little something for them to use as feed and hunt over October-November. As that is when we will be removing the corn fields. This farm has lots of alfalfa close by as a food source.

Back to the original question what is everyones opinon on what to plant. I am open to anything and its not a huge deal if it fails. I was planning on frost seeding clover but it got to late and I got to busy. I am currently thinking of brodcasting beans then hand raking them in, then come fall i would seed rye into them.

Any help is greatly appreciated and I am excited to learn:)
 
I would really stay away from beans for two reasons. First beans need full sun and you arn't getting that deep in the woods. Secondly, what did come up would get browsed so heavily that you will end up with nothing at all. There are many options that I think you would be happier with....clover, oats, rye, etc.
 
A brassica mix wouldn't be a bad idea, plant it in July. And since brassica's take very little effort to grow, would be a great plot!
 
"deep in the woods", "can't get any equipment to it"

To me, there is only one answer...clover. Almost everything else is going to require more sunshine than what it sounds like you would have and clover is probably the easiest thing to establish with minimal tools/equipment.
 
Totally agree with clover! Easy to start & doesn't take a lot of sun. Even a little clover patch will give the deer a secluded spot to grab a mid-day bite and will become one of the spots frequented by cruising bucks during the rut.
 
Last year we puts oats in a small (maybe 0.15 acre), heavily shaded timber plot and had excellent growth and deer movement through it. Just as an experiment, this year I plan to broadcast beans heavily in it the first or second week of September. Deer just love freshly popped beans, and if it grows even the smallest amount, it should make for a dynamite early season spot.
 
If I decide to go with clover I am assuming would be best to plant in the fall and just not have anything for this fall? I like the idea of oats any thoughts on seeding peas with them
 
I just threw some white clover seed in a new waterway last week & it's green already... Suit yourself, but the bigger the seed (oats, peas etc.), the more you are going to have to work the soil with a rake to get it planted if you can't get even a little tiller or disc over it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom