Food Plot Basics

[retrieverman]

Jake texted me a picture of the little no till plots (20’ wide and about 100 yards long) on the south side of the river. He said it looks like deer are hitting them.
Edit to add it would’ve probably done better if it got rain sooner than 45 days after it was planted.

 

[Okie4570]

Got an early start one today. Going to try some 15' tall forage sorghum late spring over the summer into fall and see what a big plot of cover does with a couple shooting lanes rather than just for food.

 

[dennishoddy]

Got an early start one today. Going to try some 15' tall forage sorghum late spring over the summer into fall and see what a big plot of cover does with a couple shooting lanes rather than just for food.

View attachment 438268

Looks great! I think you're on to something.
My first years of deer hunting in 1980 were at the confluence of the Salt Fork and Arkansas river, owned by a friend. Over the years with floods, the river had changed channels leaving a huge Johnson grass field.
Zero tracks through it as the grass was too dense, only tracks around it. For whatever reason, drove through the middle of it to my stand on the other side once.
WOW! the deer started using my pickup tracks as a new trail leading right to the tree stand.
Owned a couple of three wheelers at the time, so walked the 40 some acre johnson grass perimeter noting where the deer trails came to the edge and walked around it. Used the three wheelers to lay down the grass to make trails leading once again to the tree stand which was a giant cottonwood, 20 something feet in the air always making sure the grass laid down ran at a 90 degree angle to the tree stand so the deer would always be at the perfect shooting angle. No feeder, no bait and was highly successful at taking deer every year. Sadly, the owner passed and lost hunting privileges.

 

[retrieverman]

The food plot here behind my house in TX is still doing fairly well.

 

[dennishoddy]

Visited the farms today to hunt sheds on the 4 wheeler. Rode about 20 miles finding nothing.
Visited the food plot and was pleasantly surprised how well it looked.
About 14” high with the heads coming out of the boot stage. It should mature nicely giving a place for the summer birds to get a snack.

 

[Okie4570]

Put fertilizer down on a 3a plot today, hoping for rain soon so I can plant. 81 consecutive days now without .25" of rain, 21 days with less than .1"

 

[OKRuss]

Put fertilizer down on a 3a plot today, hoping for rain soon so I can plant. 81 consecutive days now without .25" of rain, 21 days with less than .1"

What are you planting? Got a new 2ac plot we'd like to get something in for summer/early fall. Thinking maybe grain sorghum now then perennial clover and chicory in fall to start establishing the long term food source.

 

[Okie4570]

What are you planting? Got a new 2ac plot we'd like to get something in for summer/early fall. Thinking maybe grain sorghum now then perennial clover and chicory in fall to start establishing the long term food source.

Johnston Grain summer plot mix, which is "cowpeas, mungbeans, soybeans, sorghums and millets" and then in late August/early September I'll plant it to alfalfa which should last 3-4 hopefully. I know someone who works at Johnston's so that helps with seed selection, prices, busted bags, etc.

Grain sorghum is hard to beat, and it's cheap!

 

[OKRuss]

Johnston Grain summer plot mix, which is "cowpeas, mungbeans, soybeans, sorghums and millets" and then in late August/early September I'll plant it to alfalfa which should last 3-4 hopefully. I know someone who works at Johnston's so that helps with seed selection, prices, busted bags, etc.

Grain sorghum is hard to beat, and it's cheap!

TY! We've tried a mix with soybeans and cowpeas before but they get wiped out by the deer before even close to producing a bean.

 

[Okie4570]

TY! We've tried a mix with soybeans and cowpeas before but they get wiped out by the deer before even close to producing a bean.

I still consider that a successful plot lol, they ate it