Food Plot Discussion

[steveallenis]

Looking for feedback on various food plot ideas that have been used.   I planted Whitetail Institutes Alpha Rack and it came up great last spring but with the long drought it didn't do it justice.   Looking to possibly plant WI Chicory Plus this spring or hoping to hear what others are doing and trying.

[Birdguy]

Welcome to the site Steve  .  Tagging to see where this goes. I too have had issues with spring plantings as I have no way to water during the hot summer. We already have way more water this fall/winter than all last year so maybe this will be the year a little moisture will stay in the soil aiding the growing. We will see.

[jasnt]

I have an acre of wi's whitetail clover. Deer love it and turkeys too. I strongly recommend irrigation of possible. Where I live irrigation is a must! I have had this plot for almost 6 years now. First year was bio logic. Hated it! Wt clover is great! I've also used extrem from wi and it works great for mid to late season food plots. But again We need extra water where we live. Don't skip the soil test!

[bearpaw]

Clover is great if you can plant in a sub-irrigated damp environment or provide irrigation during the summer. If you can't meet either of those requirements then plant grain which can survive and mature despite the dry eastern Washington climate.

Winter wheat is pretty awesome, but oats will grow anywhere and probably is the easiest thing you can plant and maintain.

[HUNTINCOUPLE]

Me and the kiddo put in a small plot this last spring. Ran garden hose down from the house to have one sprinkler head. We drug the area with a chuck of fencing to loosen the soil. Spread White and Crimson clover seeds. Split it in half to see which does better? Have 8 sections of hog panels we put around it to keep the deer out until it was 10" high or so. We need to fertilize it with a 0-20-20 which promotes root growth through the winter months. The reason for the NO Nitrogen fertilizer is because clover produces its own nitrogen.Once we dropped the hog panels it didn't take long to be eatin down to dirt. This next season should be even better growth since it will be more established. It did seem that both types of clover grow well. The deer were down there today nibbling on the little sprouts. The turkeys come around and peck at it to. Have fun and keep us posted on what you grow! I like Dales idea of the oats......

[HUNTINCOUPLE]

Just Googled Oat Food Plots. All the info is there!

[cem3434]

Tag

[Eastside stone thrower]

Lime is a good start for most food plots true it will grow without it but it will enhance the taste of even the natural vegetation like wild roses and other browse surounding the food plot and allow the nutrients you already have to be picked up domalite lime is a great tool it also kills moss by changing the pH in the soil if pH is to low nutrients will be locked out another great addition to food plots is fruit trees as soon as the clover is mowed down the cherries are ready then plums and pears and apples and acorns is it September yet

[bearpaw]

Fruit trees are awesome but if you plant young fruit trees you will need to protect them with fencing a few years until they get some height, otherwise the deer will eat leaves, limbs, basically the whole tree, and prevent growth, trees will also need some moisture here and there during the summer if you want them to produce well.

Agree that lime and fertilizer helps almost all soil, especially in forested areas that generally tend to be acidic. But I know from past experience that clovers and/or grains (especially oats) can do OK without needing to add lime or fertilizer if a person doesn't want to get that involved. Many clovers you can simply scatter a lot of seed in a moist area in the late fall or early spring and at least some of it will grow to some extent. Remember, if the area dries out in the summer the clover will dry up too! If the area is pretty wet or dry some clovers will do better than others. White clovers are longer lived but a bit tougher to establish. A good plan is to start with red clover and white clovers mixed, the red comes in thick to start but dies out leaving the white clover in following years. Most good seed companies will tell you which clovers to plant in your area depending on the factors involved. They will also tell you which clovers deer like best. The simplest method without getting into a lot of research is to buy a deer clover mix from one of the seed companies for your area and conditions.

More Info Online
Basic Clover Info: http://www.outdoorlife.com/blogs/big-buck-zone/2013/04/planting-clover-deer
Some Crop Choices: http://deerbuilder.com/DB/features/foodplots/top10/Top10FoodPlotCropsNorth.pdf
If You Really Want To Learn: http://iowawhitetail.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=45

Decide how involved you want to get? (only go to that last link if you have a lot of time to invest, the info is addictive) 

[bowtechian]

Curious if anybody has went this route for blacktail?

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[Special T]

Curious if anybody has went this route for blacktail?

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In several of the past discussions and observations clover does help BT during the spring when fawns and antler growth make food important. It does not appear to help much in whacking mature bucks. It does help the herd but doesnt make them that much easier to hunt 2c

[JimmyHoffa]

If you want a cheap/easy method for fruit trees, you can use cuttings.  I got a bunch of branches from a neighbor when he pruned trees over the winter.  Just stuck a bunch in a pot with dirt/peat moss and water often.  They've been growing roots and the buds grew to leaves.  I figure to just plant a lot more than I need so hopefully the deer/elk/bear/mountain beavers miss a few and they'll grow enough to set fruit.

[CP]

Tagging -

I tried and failed at a food plot last year:

http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,174419.0.html

[bearpaw]

Tagging -

I tried and failed at a food plot last year:

http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,174419.0.html

I think you were too late last year, clover needs to be planted early if you are relying on natural moisture. There's a chance some of your seed from last year sprouted this spring, have you checked? You need to get your soil checked if you haven't, like others mentioned, that could also be the problem. This spring came early, I planted weeks ago and everything is already growing good. Good luck.

[CP]

Tagging -

I tried and failed at a food plot last year:

http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,174419.0.html

I think you were too late last year, clover needs to be planted early if you are relying on natural moisture. There's a chance some of your seed from last year sprouted this spring, have you checked? You need to get your soil checked if you haven't, like others mentioned, that could also be the problem. This spring came early, I planted weeks ago and everything is already growing good. Good luck.

I haven't been there in a couple weeks and it was still covered in snow then.  I'll be checking on it this weekend.