Have any of you guys had success with whitetail institutes chichory plus. I am leaning towards planting a half acre plot of this in the spring. Any negative results from it? Just trying to get some more opinions before I spend the money. Thanks guys! p.s. Soil conditions will be adequate for the plot. Plenty of sun and the ground holds moisture pretty well. P.H. levels are good too.
Chicory is actually considered a noxious weed here. Somehow, a bunch of it found its way into one of my food plots a few years ago. (wink). The deer did eat it some, but I have had the best results with Buck Forage Oats. I have absolutely no ties to that company, but can tell you that the stuff just plain works. The deer love it and it will last all winter long and stay green. The imitators, ie: Plot Spike Oats, etc. are not nearly as hardy and freeze off. If I was limited to one plot other than corn and soybeans, it would be Buck Forage Oats. Used with a mixture of turnips, you have a killer plot.
Do they have a website? Sounds like good stuff. Thanks for the information. To me it really doesn't matter what the product is, I just want something that is affective and works. I've had zero luck with brassicas around my house. Two years in the ground and they are still there not touched. Thats why I'm looking for another alternative.
Ya, just google Buck Forage Oats. It took my deer a couple of years to figure out what brassicas were also. Now, I have a hard time getting them to grow because the deer start hammering them so early. I started mixing some purple-top turnips in with the BFO and thats when everything came together. Don Kisky lives near here and he is the one that put me onto the BFO. I'm sure he has a connection to the product, but I gave it a try anyway and I am sure glad I did.
For a good fall plot, this year we mixed our own blend. We mixed turnips with rape. It worked really well. You can get it at the feed store, its cheaper than name brand food plot mixes. As for whitetail institute, we use clover. Just a hint, seems to do better if planted in the fall. We have had so dry summers here in the eastern states.
How early do you plant the Buck Forage Oats? Now I'm thinking maybe the chichory plus in the spring and then the buck forage oats in the fall. I do like providing a year round food source if possible. I did go to the buck forage website and it said they were sold out of the oats. They must be pretty good if they are all gone. One more question, how hearty are the oats? Do they come in quickly and do they grow well in many types of soil? Thanks again for the suggestions!!!
oldschool makes a good point. I just buy the purple-top turnips by the pound at the local ag seed store. Very cheap and the deer love them. They will eat the leaves all fall and then come back and dig up the turnip bulbs during the winter. By spring, it looks like a bunch of hogs have rooted it all up. The starch in the bulbs gets sweet after freeze and thats what attracts them.
Feed them (a little fertilizer) and they will grow about anywhere in my opinion. This year they were up and going in 5 days in some weak soil. Planted in late August to early Sept. Very hardy. You could plant soybeans in the spring, let the deer graze on them all summer and then disc them under and plant the greens. I have had great luck just discing the field and broadcasting soybeans and then lightly discing them in to plant in the spring. So easy. Or, plant the beans in wide rows, and then just broadcast the oats in the same field in summer. The rain and deer traffic will work the oat seed into the ground enough to get them to sprout. Then when the soybeans shed their leaves there is a nice green plot underneath and you have both. Another really great plot is corn planted in wide rows and soybeans in between the rows. You would be amazed at how well the soybeans grow underneath the canopy of corn. Plots are a lot of work but really fun at the same time. Many times you can get corn or soybean seed left over from the prior year from conservation organizations like Pheasants Forever for free. The germination is still great but the seed cant be sold as new, so the seed companies give it to local conservation groups. Some state DNR's may also be a resource for seed.
I like the idea of planting both at the same time. Kill two birds with one stone. Its good to know that the oats are hearty and come in quickly. I will seriously be considering them. Are the oats a perennial or do you re-plant them each year?
Replant. One year I did let them grow all summer. They headed out and went to seed. I mowed it off with a bush-hog and just ran the disc over the field a couple of times. They reseeded themselves and I had a great stand that fall. But, I like to put something else in the field for the summer.
Best results out of my family come from clover and winter wheat. We couldn't keep them out of the clover if we wanted to, and the winter wheat is perfect because it's very fast growing and deer will munch on it right away. So you can basically MOVE your food plot to anywhere that will grow a little grass. Just some ideas.
http://www.meritseed.com/wildlife_blend.htm Your wasting your money with WI you get just as good of seed here and its cheaper!
