I have a small spot in the woods I hunt that I can put a tiny food plot in. What's to small? It is worth doing it for a small area of about 75 yards by 10 yards? Also the area is mostly shaded, only get a little sun because of it being in the woods. What are my options? What can I plant if anything? I live in Pa.
Your looking at just a little more than 1/8th of an acre. I would definitely plant it. Very little sun plant oats, red clover and winter rye. It'll grow. Opening up the canopy even a little could go a long ways for you. Anything that's on the southside of that plot that is really blocking light....limb it up or cut it down if needed.
Thanks! This may be a stupid question, but are you saying plant all three of those, or plant one of 3?
Get a good Throw-N-Grow for the first year just to see if it will receive enough sun and to see if the deer like it. I grew a little test plot about 5x10 yards, covered in shade and ended up with a great late season plot with beets and radishes!
Mix all three. Work the area spread the rye and oats then lightly work it again. Spread the clover seeds on top and pack it with you 4 wheeler tires by driving over it a couple times.
That is honestly a HUGE plot depending on property make up :D 75 yards long by 10 yards wide? We have some as small as 10 yards by 25 yards....and one small intersection of quad trails that is probably only 25 by 25 feet we plant each year. If the spot gets sunlight, and it would be a good spot for them to browse through and possibly hunt it is never too small! Small/Micro/Kill style plots have in my opinion more huntability than any destination style plot if hunted correctly and made to feel safe by thickening the woods around them and from them towards bedding areas. We have deer in some of our small plots all day long, because they feel safe. Oats are a great seed for low sunlight...but if you want it to succeed at minimum hinge cut some of the southern side of the opening to let more light in...more light and better soil (test, lime, fertilizer) will always yield better results, ALWAYS.
I put two out this year that were only 30yrds X 30yrds a piece and the deer love them. I put down clover in the early spring and then seeded turnips over it in the fall. Turned out to have a decent yield for being a shaded spot. Although, I would stray away from the Throw-n-grow as much of them have a ton of rye grass seed in them which will take over all the broadleaf seeds that are mixed in. Learned that the hard way my first year of food-plotting. Ended up with a nice chunk of grass that the deer didn't want any part of.
Yeah, if you go a throw-n-grow style mix...just read the ingredients carefully. If they don't label them or have them posted ignore and move on. Monsterraxx seed blends are killer for us personally, others have great luck mixing their own....the key is finding a good rotation and letting the deer tell you what they like and don't like (although give brassicas at least 3 years...you won't regret it!)
I agree with Tynimiller that plot could be great for you. Completely depends how it lays out with the deer movement. I had 10 turkeys last year in a winter rye "plot" that was about 8 x 8 yards. It was basically and experiment to see if I could get anything to grow in such a poor spot, and the turkeys just loved it.
I don't necessarily plant plots on my 9 acres, but I do plant small throw and grow type areas along deer paths and create little honey holes. Add this with an automatic corn feeder and a few mineral sites and the deer are all over my property up until just after the rut, which is when they leave for real food plots.
We planted a plot that was 10 yards wide and about 25 yards long. We wanted to test it for the first year so we used Throw & Grow Extreme Radish and it worked great! We killed three does from that stand. Just follow the directions and you should be fine.
Thanks for all the awesome advice everyone. I'm excited to do make this plot. I thought I would be wasting time and money with it being on the smaller side. You all boosted my confidence ..thanks again
Small plots are fine, got to work with what you have and with in your abilities and equipment. I have a few backyard plots that are 10 yards by 15 yards that I established with a walk behind garden tiller. Trust me though, small plots lead into bigger and more plots :D
Yeah, just starting it this spring.. Hope to get something out that will grow good for the season . Thanks
if you do it right, when you cut/hinge cut on the southern side to let light in, you can create funnels/pinch points controlling where the deer come into the plot from!
Clean up the ground as best you can. Consider hinge cutting a couple trees around the outside. This will not only give you more sunlight but it will increase the forage around your plot. Therfore, it might distract the deer a bit from eating your plot into the dirt.
