Cereal rye is theEasiest Food Plot for Deer. Throw it on bare dirt and it grows. Plant it 2 to 6 weeks before the first average frost, 50 to 100 pounds per acre. Get a good kill and throw it in the dying vegetation. It will grow.
Easiest Food Plot for Deer
Red clover is theEasiest Food Plot for Deer. Spread the seed and spray the grasses to act as a mulch for the clover, or spray in the fall and frost seed in late winter right on top of the snow. The freeze thaw patterns of spring creates cracks the seed falls into to germinate.
Radishes and rape are theEasiest Food Plot for Deer. Plant in late July through August. Spread the seed on a prepared bed and pack or simply spread into existing vegetation and spray glyph 2 quarts per acre to be your mulch. Easiest Food Plot for Deer.
Easiest Food Plot for Deer
Natural forbes are theEasiest Food Plot for Deer. Spray and old growth field with cloth to kill the grasses and the deer will eat everything else that grows. Simply killing grasses can be theEasiest Food Plot for Deer.
The plan is to not disturb the seed bed by turning the dirt, and by spraying the short weeds, they will fall over our seeds making a blanket to trap the moisture for germination during the heat of summer. These seeds may struggle with limited rain, but the compost we will make is like a dead nurse crop that helps our young plants get started.
Food plots failed
This technique will work for addressing low spots that died out, or very weedy areas that need some help before the deer season. Your food plots failed in spots, but you can jump in there with a backpack sprayer and some seed and be back in the game. If you fertilized well early on, take some of those credits and use less this go around, but always fertilize brassica. Many food plots failed because it was not fertilized.
By planting our brassica 70 days before the first average frost, we will hit that 60 – 90 day window that allows lots of growth and tonnage of forage, without letting the plants mature making them unattractive to the deer herd. We sprayed, planted and fertilized this plot on only 3 hours. It helps that we did not have to work the dirt because we could see it, and even though our food plot failed, we will still have greens this fall. Check the average first frost in your area to discover a good time to easily plant a brassica blend when your food plots failed.
Fall food plots for deerconsist of either annuals like corn and beans planted in the spring, or annuals, perennials and bi-ennials planted late summer. Today we will focus on a strategy for attracting bucks in the early bow season and until the first few hard frosts in areas where the deer feed heavily on clover, alfalfa or soybeans all summer long. Described as a green to green transition, this fall food plots for deer strategy is a dynamite way to get close shots at the biggest deer on your property.
Early fall food plots for deer are green and growing
As summer rolls into early fall, most of the plant life is shifting the focus from growth to seed production and energy transfer to it’s root system. When this happens your deer herd will shy away from previously attractive soybeans, clovers, forbs and grasses because as they stop growing, they just do not taste as good. Your job as a hunter is to find what they are switching over to and hunt that source. Acorns are key this time of year but they are everywhere and hard to hunt. Your best strategy is to give them some fresh green growth that is tasty and attractive. A late season planting is the best fall food plots for deer strategy in this scenario.
Red clover is the Easiest Food Plot for Deer. Spread the seed and spray the grasses to act as a mulch for the clover, or spray in the fall and frost seed in late winter right on top of the snow. The freeze thaw patterns of spring creates cracks the seed falls into to germinate.
Even better, wheat and oats are about the fastest germinating plot plant available. Cover them with a thin layer of damp soil and you can expect to see sprouts within a week or so. They will even sprout after a few days of rain when top-sown on loose soil, although germination rates tend to be lower.
Soybeans usually take the top in a lot of conversations. Alfalfa and perennial clover are also mentioned in this conversation frequently because of their ability to provide forage almost year round, minus the dog days of winter. Some land managers will want to mention corn as one of the top plants for deer.
In conclusion, the best food plot for deer depends on several factors, including location, climate, and deer population. However, clover, brassicas, soybeans, and cereal grains are generally considered to be the best food plots for attracting and sustaining deer populations.
Because tilling isn't necessary, a no-till grain-drill can make the difference in being able to plant during a wet year and planting on inclines where we couldn't before because with tilled soil the slope would have caused severe erosion.
Barley germinates rapidly, usually within two or three days. This allows it to choke out any competing weeds after planting. Fertilization isn't needed in most situations. Barley is not just deer food, it is a great food source for almost all game animals.
Using three deer per acre of food plot, determining how many acres of plots you need is simple once you've established your deer density goal. For instance, say you want to carry 100 deer on 1,000 acres (a deer per 10 acres). Just divide 100 by 3, and you'll find that 33 acres of food plots will meet your needs.
Trees and plants that produce a berry, fruit, nut or seed can be whitetail magnets. Hard mast trees such as beech, chestnuts, hickory, honey locusts and oaks, provide great food for deer. Soft mast trees such as apples, crabapples, pear, persimmon and plums also provide great nutrition.
By planting any of the three mentioned – clover, alfalfa, chicory – deer on your hunting property will have another food source option in addition to native sources. Spring food plots are a good way to get bucks on the pathway to growing bigger antlers for fall.
The real mainstay food item of deer is browse. Browse plants can be shrubs or young trees within reach of deer. Browse plants will always be available in one form or another, no matter what the weather conditions.
Size of small hunting plots often is determined by the size of an existing opening, but shooting for a quarter- to half-acre is a good starting point. I have had success on plots closer to a tenth of an acre, but it can be difficult to establish plots this small in areas with moderate to high deer density.
Cool-season legume perennials (plants that live over two years) like clover, alfalfa and chicory are good options to fill out your spring planting guide for food plots. Usually, clover will produce around two to four tons per acre. It's easily digestible for deer and provides them with plenty of protein.
Brassicas may be the best deer food God has ever created. These plants average 36% crude protein, over 80% total digestible nutrients and yield more than any other whitetail planting. Brassicas like radishes, rape, canola and turnips contain very high levels of starch, which cold temperatures turn to sugar!
After weaning through the next year, buck fawns fed a 16% protein diet had larger antlers than those fed 4.5% and 9.5% protein diets. This is true for two-year old bucks as well. Across all age classes, a 16% protein diet is ideal during the antler growing period.
In addition to clover, crops like soybeans, lablab, and buckwheat are fantastic spring forages for deer. Deer love soybeans in fall, but they relish the green forbs that are high in protein during spring. Alfalfa would be a great choice—especially in cooler climes—if it weren't so labor intensive.
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Fall food plots for deerconsist of either annuals like corn and beans planted in the spring, or annuals, perennials and bi-ennials planted late summer. Today we will focus on a strategy for attracting bucks in the early bow season and until the first few hard frosts in areas where the deer feed heavily on clover, alfalfa or soybeans all summer long. Described as a green to green transition, this fall food plots for deer strategy is a dynamite way to get close shots at the biggest deer on your property.