Does anyone use any of the Whitetail Institute foodplots? Ive been wanting to try out the bowstand plot. Ive never planted any food plot. There is a few small places on my cousins land where I hunt that I'd like to try to plant something. Im aware that the bowstand plot doesnt require any seedbed preperation... but I was thinking about spraying round up and tilling up the ground anyway to make sure I get rid of all the grass. Any suggestions??
Been using WTI for 7 years. Love their seed. There's no such thing as not having to prepare a seedbed. Don't listen to whatever garbage the package is saying. Your results will be 100% better by working the ground and doing it right.
I used it this rear. I did till up the ground first a bit. It grew in real nice and looked great. The deer I had on camera mostly just passed threw it. The didn't really eat at it much.
Maybe try to spray round up and then wait a few weeks and do a control burn of the dead vegetation. After that, you could take a garden rake and scratch the surface of the ground to allow seed and soil contact. I would simply just go to a local seed store and just buy regular white clover and save some money. A big buck on the bag doesn't always mean a big buck in the field.
They were the forefathers in wildlife seed but......there is many other options for 1/3 the price and there are way better nutrition options out there......not bashing them as my boss was the first guy Ray Scott approached many moons ago but, as a nutritionist and 25 year food plotter.....Buy seed from people who add value by providing fresh seed that hasn't been sitting on a shelf.
You can buy good seed off the shelf by looking at the label. I do this regularly if I plant clover. Not so important (to me) when planting brassicas. You will get out of a food plot what you put into it no matter what the seed is. Personally I like using Evolved Harvest seed. My property is mainly black dirt. I have never used much for fertilizers. Milorganite, when spreading the seed, is the only fertilizer I have purchased. I plant a little over an acre of Shotplot at the end of July and by the end of November it is gone. I have been doing this for the past 10 years with great results on my 15 acre property. This next season I am expanding the plot another 1/2 acre with some clover, wheat and rye. 15 acres is not much but I have done a lot of work to make it a paradise where people accuse me of feeding the deer with corn and other bait type items. Like I said before you will get out of a property what you put into it. But don't expect everything to happen in one season either. It all takes time, money and a lot of hard work. Good luck. [/U][/I]
Bow stand is a good option if you have never planted before. There are a few things that have been mentioned that I will address. First...yes you can plant with minimal ground prep. It is designed for that...small openings in the woods. That being said, it also says on the bag that plot will do even better if you are able to use traditional tillage methods....meaning that if you can access the area with equipment and turn the soil the plot will do even better. Another plus is that it has a lot of different forages in it, which is good because without knowing exactly what kind of soil makeup you have, it will be hard to determine what will grow the best. You will notice that certain kinds of plants in the mix will do better than others....they designed it like that on purpose so there is something in it for almost any soil type. I would also recommend burning the area if possible and then scraping the ground with a garden rake to loosen the soil a bit. If feasible I would spread some basic 12-12-12 fertilizer when you plant...and do it right before a rain. The most important thing to remember with bow stand is to plant 6 weeks before you want to be hunting it. That is the grow cycle of the mix and it will be at it's peak then. I disagree that you can get better seeds cheaper from a feed store. One thing to consider is the seeds in a feed store or co-op was developed for agriculture (cover crops, green manure, hay etc), not wildlife. Every single plant variety the whitetail institute sells was developed for whitetail deer....many of which are patented and not available elsewhere. You absolutely get what you pay for. A feed store turnip looks the same to us....but we aren't deer...we don't eat it. Think of it this way...ever eat bargain brand cocoa puffs? They don't taste like actual cocoa puffs....sure they are similar and certainly edible...but given the choice which would you eat? Deer are no different. Yes you can save money on generic seed....but don't assume it's the same. On another note...biologic last bite is another mix that may work well for what you are wanting
I planted Bowstand as my first plot but it didn't get a lot of rain and ended up failing. The things I have learned since then are as follows. Bowstand has mostly rye grass in it which is not something you want to be planting for deer. They may eat it but will most likely ignore it unless there is absolutely no other food around. It has some clovers and brassica in it as well but those can be purchased separate or in other mixes. If you want a small, annual kill plot for this fall, my suggestion would be this summer, go out and spray the areas with round up, wait 2 weeks,(spreading lime is usually a good idea at this point but without a soil test it is hard to say yes or no) till it, wait 2 weeks and spray anything that grows after that. Come august, plant some winter rye, crimson clover and sprinkle in some groundhog forage radish. It will attract deer through the season. All of the seeds can be bought at ag stores pretty cheap. If you would rather go with a premixed solution, I would find something that doesn't have rye grass in it.
Bow stands fine, But if its a wooded trail, secret spots number 1 to me because its got a ph enhancer just like the no plow.
