food plots

[mike]

i have about 1000 acres in iowa that i get to hunt. mostly wooded draws and corn and beans imagine that but decent timbers onn the creek draws. there is a 11 acre alfa field and i got room for a 1.5 acre plot and a .5 acre plot planting deer turnips and cow pea mix with a little max rack mix. any other suggestions or think i'm on the right track

[VTbowman]

Re: food plots

Might get better response in the land management room.

But Id say your on the right track...

[maddhunter]

Re: food plots

Yea this will most likely get moved.

But I believe you are on the right track, I planted purple top turnips last fall and the deer really loved them about the first of Nov. after a couple hard frosts.

[wtnhunt]

Re: food plots

Welcome to the forums. Might check out the hamannfarms fall mix, here is a link hamannfarms .

[Guest deadeye270]

Re: food plots

sounds like you have a honey hole there. Look for something that will be at its best after the other food sources get harvested and you will have every deer in the county there.

[Thayer]

Re: food plots

brassicas or clover...and lots of it...Do you need help??

[RackBlaster]

Re: food plots

Ive hunted around corn and beans for years and this is the most productive plot i have had. After you have achieved a good seed bed , plant a thick stand of a premium clover blend. Then come late august or early september overseed the clover with a turnip/brassica mix, but the following year only use half the recommended amount per acre as your clover should have grown alot thicker, and yes, the brassica will work its way thru the clover just try to seed it over close to a rainy day. This will hold those deer late in the winter. Then come early spring every year i overseed with the clover. I never disc my 4 acre plot and there is never any dead vegatation to worry about, as the deer mow it down thru the winter.I also never had any disease or fungus problems as some have mentioned with planting brassica every year. The only thing i do is before i overseed i use a lawn dethatcher to scrape the ground for the seed and it works great. Now why has this worked so good for me? Come spring that clover is there long before any corn and beans and much more tasty than alfalfa and hay. As those deer hit that plot early in the spring so do the fawns and those doe's eventually pattern that plot year round .The main thing i have learned hunting cornfields is to get those groceries out to them as early in the year as possible because come summer and fall those deer eat better than us. Just a fall or summer food plot has never been productive and they hardly touched it and i have tried just about everything.Where the doe's are the bucks will be there too come rut , the key is to pattern them deer early, especially around thousands of acres of corn and beans.

[Guest anderson3]

Re: food plots

You are on the right track. Try to provide something different to the deer. Even though there are beans around, folks have good luck planting a patch later in the summer for early fall hunting. Your peas may do the trick. Another possibility is rye/wheat/oats to add to the diversity. Deer like that stuff fall, winter, and spring (only rye/wheat will survive the winter).

Anderson