Lets talk spring food plots (again)

Last year i tried food plots for the first time. I had the ground cleared in March, it got really wet, i never checked the PH, limed or fertilized the soil, and ended up planting in August sometime (Just some throw and grow). It was a disaster.

This year i have 3 locations. 2 are pretty close to each other, and are shaded (Same ones from last year). The other is on a different property, surrounded by woods but will get pretty good sunshine. I want to plant in the spring (April-ish), and have food available for the deer up until the rut (mid-November). Each plot is only a quarter acre or less. I have a small tractor with pretty much any implement i need.

Assuming i check the soil, lime properly and get the proper fertilizer....what do you guys reccomend i plant? Location is northeast Ohio.

Clover? Rye? Brassicas? Help me out here...

 

White clovers and brassicas are what i've read will work best in shady locations. Any experience with this?

 

How many hours of sun will the shaded areas receive ?

 

4 at the most during midday. The area is cleared, but the surrounding trees wont let in much light...

 

If your only planting quarter acre size plots and you plant in april it wont last until the rut. Deer should have it demolished by then. You would need to replant in august.

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That's an option I'm willing to explore. There will be corn in surrounding fields.

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Caleb, I might look into winter rye and white clover for a plot, plant around labor day, the rye will act as a cover crop for clover and grow real fast and give deer immediate food fall and winter. In the spring the rye and clover will take off and after mowing rye should have a great stand of white clover, I guess rye has an affect on controlling weeds while clover gets established. I put in a small plot of just winter rye at the end of September last year and in 3 weeks deer where hammering it already. Plus winter rye will grow in low ph levels and in semi shady areas. This late summer I will be putting a long line plot of the white clover winter rye combo. Scoot

 

Scoot...if I want to plant something in the spring, should I just go with a clover then till it up come September? Like mentioned, the deer should have anything I plant in the spring pretty wiped out come late august...

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Caleb, if you go with clover in the spring, I am pretty sure clover is great at not getting over grazed, your clover stand should last you 4-5 years without having to till it up and plant again, I put my first clover plot in 4 years ago in the spring and except for having to frost seed some bare areas deer are still utilizing it pretty good, after it was established all I do is mow it about 2-3 times a summer, I had to deal with weeds though planting it in the spring. I have learned a lot from Jake on here and still learning it seems there are tons of ways of doing plots. Scoot

 

Scoot is right clover can take a pounding wwhen it comes to browsing. Your spring clover plot will not be junk in fall. It might be mowed down very short but it will continue to come back. You could certainly plant spring clover to control weeds and add some food with the plan to work it up and plant a fall crop if you want. Go with medium red if thats the case. Most clover will be better in years two, three and four if your trying to establish a perennial clover field.

 

I like the sounds of that boys...

 

Clover plots suck in the north east in my opinion. I say that because you just don't get the time to hunt them. The deer are off that stuff so fast once the season starts it's just not worth it, on a kill plot I mean. You just want to feed deer and keep them around?? Great. You want to attract something to kill and you're window is super tight.

Rye grass is a waste of time too unless you have some bare spots to fill in. They can eat grass anywhere. Never saw a deer go out of his way to find some grass.

If you want to plant clover (which is a solid attractant) just be prepared to destroy it every summer and plant something better for the coming months.

Plant some clover, chicory, and oats in the spring and the clover will give you a nice carpet below the wider leaves of the chicory to keep weeds to a minimum. Once the chicory grows a bit the leaves will shade out some weeds too. The oats will grow up through all of it and you will have a nice triple browse plot.

Come late summer till it all under and plant brassicas and hope for the best with your sunlight exposure. I would also replant oats just in case as the deer love them and they grow anywhere. Also look into like a generic rape seed or 7 top it might be called. We got some last year and it was like 4 times the greens then a regular purple top turnip plant produces. They were amazing but we had an early frost and the deer absolutely destroyed them in a few days and this is like 3-4 acres I'm talking.

Make sure you lime and disc it in and then fertilize and seed the same day or fert first if you like but don't disc your fertilizer way into the soil as you want it there on top for the plants to soak up. When you seed run it over with SOMETHING doesn't have to be a cultipacker but that is ideal. The wheels of an atv do a pretty good job all by themselves.

We've never planted in the spring but we may this year just to keep the deer hitting the plots year round and fight off any weed sprouts.

I'll touch back with you and let you know what we seed with and how it goes.

Good luck.

 

Nothing other than an established clover plot can/will provide food from spring green till November...however that is an established taken care of clover plot.

That said it is a viable option and something to consider would be a good solid mix of clovers say in one of the two that are beside eachother...and come fall you could till the outer edge up and plant a good solid brassica blend (something like Monsterraxx offers). This would supplement the clover plot. In the other plot next to this one you could in the spring when you plant the clover in the other do like a buckwheat, pea, sunflower type mix (or go cereal grains like oats, winter rye (not the same as rye grass) ). Then come fall you could the first year plant brassica blends.

Then in year two your clover plot will start to get better, in the spring you could till and re-plant in clover the edge if you do the edge idea above or if you didn't this plot could just need up keep like normal clover mowings and fertilizing. The other one that you did a spring and fall planting, you could do the same thing plant a mixture in the spring followed by the other option in the fall (if brassicas in year one do some winter hardy grains and such in year two).

In year three you could judge the clover plot, if doing great go another year in the cycle...if not let the clover go in the spring and in the fall till it up and plant brassica blend, the nitrogen fixing clover will set it up great for the shift to brassicas...rotating the plots every 2-3 years is something to keep ground from any disease as well.

The other plot the possibilities are endless with mixtures.

We love buckwheat, winter rye, oats and peas (sunflowers sometimes) in the spring....easy to germinate usually and great soil conditioners when tilled into the ground come the fall plantings.

 

Thanks for the advice buddy

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Are you planning to split the plots up into cool season annuals/perennials and warm season annuals, or a bit of mixture in each plot?

In less than ideal soils, a spring planting of buckwheat to establish some green manure and organic matter is great. Mow it down/roll it, and lightly till it under in the late summer, and then do you grains/clover mix. Mix in some perennial clover with and annual like crimson, and you will get a staggered maturity date in the spring. The grains (especially winter rye) will provide solid green up through fall and winter and early spring before seeding out.

You could also plant a warm season annual, like Lablab, ICP, a vetch and sunflowers, etc., You get some great protein during the summer months, till under, and do a turnip/brassica mix in late July/early August.

I split my main plot in half, and make sure I'm not tilling the whole thing at any one time to double my chances again drought, run-off, over browsing, etc.

Right now, we have ladino/aslike and winter rye in one half which will be frost seeded with more ladino in March. The other half was planted in Rape, Kale, and Turnips. I'm actually going to try ICP or a clover for the summer, and then till under again, and go with another brassica based plot in the winter.

 

Just remember guys, 2 of them are quite shaded and on the smaller side. I just want something green in them. I probably won't even hunt over them since there is going to be corn all around and my usual feeder.

The other will be a main hunting spot in the fall. It's more remote, bigger, will get more sunshine, and is better suited for stand sites.

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I don't want to leave the larger plot empty in the spring if I don't have too...is there anything I could throw in their to keep it green until august? Buckwheat you say?

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Buckwheat and sunflower would be the cheapest mix and we have done it in atleast one plot a year. As for the others...just hinge over a few trees on the southern side and wham bam you got more sunlight, better cover around plot and seed will grow better. :D

 

Buckwheat will grow just about anywhere. You can't plant it very early, though, as it needs warmer soil temps to germinate and is very susceptible to cool temp kills.

I've found the turkeys use it more than the deer here, but it provides ample bedding during fawn drop, and the game birds seem to love nesting in it.

 

I agree with MGH and tynimiller plant buckwheat in at least one of your plot and a clover mix in your other plot. In August mow and till under buckwheat and plant brassica/rye or wheat blend with some oats also for the fall.

I have a L shaped 3/4 acre food plot back deep in the woods that I plant 1/2 in red clover that's been there for the third year now and the other 1/2 that was in a turnip,oat and wheat mix. This year I am going to rotate and plant a mix of clover ladino white and medium red clover with some chicory and the other half that has been in clover I'm going to disc and plant buckwheat with maybe a cowpea mix in it in late May and then mow and disc under and plant forage radish,turnip,oats and wheat for the fall. When the next spring rolls around the turkeys tear up the oats and wheat heads.