This year I finally asked the landowner that I hunt on/with if he would mind if we did some food plot planting. Also I asked if we could turn part of his hay bottom into a alfalfa field to try and get a more substantial food source in the area. There are no major crop fields within at least 5 to 6 miles of this property. Last year we had a lot of nice bucks on camera and I decided it was time to try and get them to hang around for more than the rut. Here is my thinking: Plot one is in a slough. It has been dry since Oklahoma has been in a drought. This plot I am unsure on of what to plant due to the soil being a heavy clay soil. Whitetail Institutes Double-Cross said that if liked clay soils, but would love some opinions. Plot two is just a basic grass field. It has the pond to the north of it where we had pictures of a great buck last year. I am thinking of planting frigid forage's big and beasty on this plot or something similar. Here is the buck from that pond. Plot three is a secluded one that has a creek running one edge and a ridge runs into it. It is a nice spot. I am looking at planting a basic clover/chicory mix in this plot. We also had a giant buck that this plot borders the edge of his range. Here he is: Lastly field four will be the alfalfa. I hope for this to pull deer out of the slough and off of the place to the west. If you guys have experience or recommendations on my plan here please let me know. This is the first time I will be planting this much of a property and want to have as much success as possible. Which I do know will require lime and fertilizer applications. Also I know alfalfa requires cutting and all that so we hope to have someone put it in for us who can manage it. Also, there on hogs on this property. So there is potential they will ruin anything I plant. I hope to have them trapped to a manageable number tho before these plots are established.
The clover and chicory mix is always a great mix. Easy to maintain. Alfalfa is a great attractant, but there are also other things you could plant that may draw them a little more. My picks would be Buck Farage Oats, Soy beans, or a Brassica blend. The Buck Forage Oats are very hardy. They seem to handle drought fairly well. They also provide food for winter and attract a lot of deer in our area. Corn and Soy beans can speak for themselves. Deer love them both and provide great nutrients for your deer herd.
a great western perennial is sanfoin, it is highly drought resistant, it is like alfalfa but doesn't need mowed as often and deer love it! here is one of the few places on the web you can find it. I have a small plot of it, the deer love it. http://www.sainfoinseed.net/
This is what I plant and have very good results. This mix will feed deer from late summer/early fall(recommended planting) to the following spring/summer Winter Rye 50-80 lbs per acre Spring oats 50-80 lbs per acre Medium red clover 10-12 lbs per acre Winter peas 10-20 lbs per acre Groundhog radish 5-10lbs per acre
