Tips on food plots.

[deerhunter10]

1. Q: A friend of mine planted clover in his food plot and it grew incredibly well. My land is only 2 miles from his, yet when I planted the same clover exactly as he did, my plot didn't turn out as well. What happened?

We humans are pretty much alike. We want the magic fishing lure, deer call or food plot product. We want easy solutions to complex problems. It's no wonder, then, that when a trusted buddy tells you about having awesome results with a deer food product, you're ready to try it, too. While you have good intentions when doing this, always remember all soils aren't created equal. Even though you have land close to that of a friend, he might have planted his clover in a low-lying, moist area where clover will flourish. Two miles away you might have poorer soil on a slope that's well-drained, which isn't a good location for clover. You need a product for drier soils.

This is why I always recommend first determining your soil type and then getting recommendations as to what products will grow best in it. This is easy to do-and free. Simply mark on an aerial or topographical map exactly where your food plots are located and then go to your county National Resources Conservation Service office and have a staff member pull out a soil survey map. They can tell you exactly what type of soil you have, and thereby can recommend the products that will do best in your food plot.

To give you an idea of how many different types of soils exist, in my area (Jackson County, Indiana) we have 72 soil types. There are approximately 600 different soil types in the state of Illinois alone!

2. Q: My food plots came up exceptionally well, but they never grew as tall as I'd expected or hoped. Why?

A: I've had this happen. In my case, and in many cases, the person has far too many deer on his property and they're eating the crop as fast as it will grow. Hunters like to see large quantities of deer, so it's relatively easy for the whitetail population to quickly get out of control. When this happens, your food plots will be eradicated, along with the understory of the forest. Deer overpopulation is the biggest danger to any quality deer management program. The easiest solution is to shoot plenty of antlerless deer.

3. Q: "I'm a farmer," noted one deer hunter, "and I have outstanding food plots and some mature bucks, but I can't seem to kill them. What am I doing wrong?"

A: Most often when property owners have lush food plots, and plenty of them, but can't kill mature bucks in the area, they're either poor hunters or didn't give much thought to food plot location. Make sure your stand sites can be entered and exited with a minimum of disturbance to the deer. Also make sure your stand sites take advantage of prevailing wind directions. Instead of one big plot, plant two or more smaller plots in locations that will allow you to ambush deer in "choke" points within your terrain as they travel from plot to plot, especially during the rut. Long, narrow plots are better than big square plots because deer feel safer when they feed in a field close to a wood edge.

4. Q: I use a handheld broadcast seeder to plant my food plots but can't get even seed coverage, which results in open spots within the plot. How can I avoid this?

A: Here's a neat trick to solve this problem. Fill your seeder and then walk a few feet while broadcasting seed. Have a friend help you measure the width the seed was spread. Let's say it's 12 feet (6 feet to your right, 6 feet to your left). Now tie a rope around the waist of both you and your friend, making sure you're 12 feet apart. With each pass your friend should walk parallel to your route while keeping the rope taught. Your first planting walk should be 6 feet from the edge of the field. From then on all you have to do is walk in your buddy's footsteps from his previous pass and you'll have complete seeding coverage.

5. Q: I need to determine my food plot's size so I'll know how much seed, fertilizer and lime to order. What's the best method to determine its size?

A: An acre contains 4,840 square yards. A square-shaped acre is about 70 x 70 yards. Using a laser rangefinder is the fastest way to determine food plot size. Then it's a simple matter of taking the width times the length (in yards) and dividing this number by 4,840. Example: Let's say your food plot will be 20 yards wide and 120 yards long. Width times length-20x120-equals 2,400 square yards. Taking 2,400 and dividing it by 4,840 equals approximately .5. In other words, your food plot will be about a half-acre.

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Copyright © 2005 North American Hunting Club

Just some information I thought I would share with you guys.

[bozz]

Re: Tips on food plots.

Good stuff.....I just planted some Whitetail extreme seed for my low PH level heavy clay and dry soil.....its a L shape plot between some cedars out my back yard.... 10 yards wide by 120 yards long.....added some lime and fertilizer.....hope it grows.....its some nasty hard clay for sure.

[dogdoc]

Re: Tips on food plots.

some good info there--thanks for the tips!

todd

[Ravin R10 man]

Re: Tips on food plots.

Even I learned a couple tricks..Thanks!!

[RangerClay]

Re: Tips on food plots.

Thank you! Those are great!!

ranger

[wtnhunt]

Re: Tips on food plots.

Some good tips there.

[ QUOTE ]

what is the best plot to use

[/ QUOTE ]

Depends on what you are looking to plant. For perrenials, clovers are great. Have had good luck with hamannfarms trefoil clover grower mix and with pennington rackmaster clovers.

For an annual plot cow peas are always hit hard around here.