ok , so ive been developing a food plot for the last 3-4 years.. its a very small spot.. roughly 40x80ft... over the last years ive tried clovers, turnips, and a couple of whitetail institute blends.. all grew well.. none were ever touched by deer... problem is... there are pea and corn fields about 1/2-3/4 of a mile away... and my land is directly between that feeding ground and their bedding ground.. they come through my land and i do normally get deer each year, but im trying to make my land a stop on the way... as its a small parcel.. last year i planted apple trees on this plot and another similar sized one.. and it was already bringing them in, and im sure it will work better as the trees grow.. Heres my question for help... as these trees are still small, im still trying to plant small ground plants as the llarge cleared araes with small 7 ft plants are pretty barren... i was kinda gonna try pumpkins? just looking for something i can plant each year to supplament my trees to actually get the deer to stop and eat. although im looking for an early blooming item as once the forest by me thins out, the deer use a completely alternate path, so i mainly concentrate on early season. thoughts? help?
Diversity is key. You should choose forage that is not readily available to the local herd. You want to have something that no other property has around you. I was having this issue on one of our property's, there was plenty of peanuts and corn surrounding my land. So I had difficulty getting deer to visit my plots on a regular basis. Last year I planted Vetch and my deer sightings increased substantially. I'm not saying Vetch will be your cure all, that was just an example.
