Food Plots Part 2

It's time for Food Plots Part 2.  In this blog we will dive deep into which crop is the right crop for your area, as well as what it takes to grow each crop.  At the end, I will give my recommendation as to what my perfect food plot is.

Corn

Corn is a great crop to plant as a food plot.  It gives the deer a place to hide (which could limit deer sightings), gives deer plenty to eat, and can help hold deer.  Corn is a great crop to plant if you are bowhunting or black powder in the later season.  Leave the corn stand all fall, then drive your truck through the field and knock it down; deer are scavengers and like to eat off the ground, plus you will be able to see the deer better.  The downside to corn is that if you are in an area with many agricultural fields, especially corn, there is no point in planting it in your plot, unless you are hunting in the late season.  



Corn field

We know corn is a great food source, but what does it take to grow it?  Corn takes nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (N, P, K) to grow.  N is the most important nutrient in having a green, healthy crop.  Nitrogen is usually expensive as well, let alone if you have to fertilize with P & K as well.  Corn also takes a little more than a hand seeder to plant.  To have proper germination, it is helpful if you have a local farmer plant the corn for you (unless you have a planter).

With the invention of Bt and triple stack corn hybrids, pest control is pretty much a non-issue in corn.  The only pest that really needs to be controlled are weeds.  One pass of Round-up (make sure you plant Round-Up Ready corn) before canopy will ensure a clean stand of corn.  A four-wheeler and sprayer works great for food plots.

Four-wheeler sprayer

Legumes (Alfalfa, Clover, Soybeans)

Alfalfa

Legumes are a great crop to plant in your food plot.  Legumes are loaded with nutrients, especially protein.  Protein helps promote health and antler growth and will help to hold deer on your property.  Like corn, if there is an abundance of agricultural fields in the area, they may not be as effective during bow season.

Soybeans

Alfalfa, clover, and soybeans all produce nitrogen naturally, which makes them a great crop to plant before corn because you will have some nitrogen credit for the corn crop.  These crops do not need nitrogen to grow like corn does.  Legumes thrive in soils that have a neutral pH (around 7.0) and soils high in potassium; this makes soil sampling very important when planting legumes.

The optimal planting time for alfalfa and soybeans are in the April - June timeframe.  Soybeans later in the spring and alfalfa earlier.  Clover, on the other hand, should be frost seeded in March.  Frost seeding is the best way to get a great stand.  Frost seeding allows clover to germinate and grow before other weeds do, which eliminates competition.  Seeding beans, clover, or alfalfa can be used with either a drill/culti-packer type tool, spreading it on with your fertilizer, or hand seeder and then working it in with a light harrow.

Drill/packer

Weed control in soybeans is similar to corn; Round-up (again make sure to plant Round-up Ready beans).  In alfalfa and clover, you can really only control the grasses. I recommend a selective herbicide for grasses; Select Max is a great product to use for grass control.  Mowing your alfalfa and clover is also important.  This will help to eliminate some of the broadleafs as well as increase the growth of the crop.

There are also pest concerns, especially in soybeans and alfalfa.  Soybean aphids can devastate a soybean crop in a hurry.  These nasty little pests feed on the under side of the leaf and suck out all the starch and secrete it on the plant.  This makes the soybeans have a black look to the leaves.





Soybean Aphid damage



Soybean Aphids







Potato leafhoppers are a pest that can cause tonnage loss in alfalfa if not controlled in a timely matter.  Yellowing of the alfalfa plant is the main symptom of potato leafhoppers.

Potato Leafhopper



Potato Leafhopper damage



Remember, the clover and alfalfa will come back year after year, which is another benefit of these two crops in your food plot!



With the right amount of fertilizer and pH management, legumes are a crop that can make your property successful during bow season.



Brassicas

Turnip plot

Brassicas are crops like turnips and radishes.  These crops are something different for deer to eat, especially where you have farmers with corn, soybean, and hay fields in the area.  I have read many articles that talk about how deer like to move from one food source to another during the summer and fall.  Adding brassicas to the buffet is another way to hold and pattern deer on your property.

These crops are high in protein and highly palatable for deer, especially after the first hard frost of the year.  Deer usually will not touch brassicas until the frost, which is nice because the deer don't mow them off too early.  The frost will make the brassicas sweet, which we know deer like.  After the first frost, you better be in the stand over your brassica plot!

Make sure to check your pH before you plant brassicas.  Like legumes, brassicas flourish in a soil pH around 7.0.  Also, put down a little MAP and potash to help it out as well.

Hand seeding

Brassicas are an easy seed to plant as well.  A simple hand seeder that you can find at your local hardware store will work for planting brassicas.  Seeding before a rain is a good idea as well because the rain will help to incorporate the seed in the soil, or you can drag your food plot with a light harrow to incorporate the seed as well.  The brassica seed only needs a little dirt thrown on top to germinate.  I would recommend finding a blend of brassica's that will mature at different times.  This will allow deer to have plenty to graze on throughout the fall.

Bottom line, a food plot will help to hold deer on your property, especially if it is something that is not readily available in the area.  Deer need to eat during the rut as well, so if you can hold the does on your property because of the food, the bucks will be there too!

Let's take a look at one area of the farm I hunt.  I planted this field to maximize both my early season hunt, and my late season hunt as well.

My food plot

The areas in yellow I will plant turnips in late July or early August.  This will allow the deer to travel along the timber and get into the circle in the corner, which the turnips will be around 40 yards from my stand.  This also allows me to set a stand anywhere along the turnip path.  The red area is corn.  I will leave this standing all winter and black powder hunt.  The turnips provide protein and a alternative food source, while the corn will help the deer stay healthy and fat during the winter.

Next blog will be on land management and a few little things you can do besides food plots, minerals, and trail cameras to make your property the best it can be!

Muddyhunter