Food Plots

[BuckmasterG]

....Oh and btw just the fresh plowed plot made the deer and turkeys start moving through with more traffic

[machohorn]

Ok so I am newre then new to this food plot thing, Planing on putting one in next year on new aquired land, Have to knock down saplings ( very thick from a cutting 6 years ago) but I am still going to do it. Labs or anyone else my plot will be about 2-3 acres in size. I plan on clearing the land and work the soil then seed. About how much seed would I need and the cost asst. with it? also This will be north of grand rapids, only plot for miles, what do you think I should grow? and why

[LABS4ME]

I would approach it this way...

Clear the plot and work the soil. That's obvious. I think getting it cleared and prepped in the spring is do-able if the rain is not persistant. Make sure you do a few soil tests on the plot area to see how much lime and fertilizer will be needed to insure planting success.

I am becoming a much bigger fan of annual food plots vs. perennial plots. With that said, I believe you can and probably should have both on a 2-3 acre plot. Maybe 1 acre of clover/brassicas mix and 1-2 acres of a mixed annual plot. I think the entire plot should be looked at as an annual plot solely for weed control sake upfront. I would plant cow peas or forage beans in the spring and then plow them into the soil in July as green manure. They will help build up the soil and help crowd outt he spring weed seeds that germinate. After you work that into the soil, Let any addl. weed seeds sprout and spray with round-up around mid-August. Then plant an annual plot on half of the area and a clover/chickory blend on the other half. This will give the perennial portion time to germinate and grow in thick before next springs weed crop has a chance to sprout. The annual side try a couple varieties of plants over successive seasons and see what works and what the deer prefer. It's good to rotate them every year or every other year anyways. I have been doing forage beans, beets, tunips, rye grain or winter wheat for my annual plots till this year. Now we are using a Forage oat, tunip and canola mix with great success. I have used Sudan grass as a crop to combat weeds and add organic matter to the soil, but I don't think it has a huge deer draw. That would be more for a late spring seeding and work it in mid summer.

Let us know if you have any questions and we will do our best to answer them.

Good Luck!

Ken