Ive never used oats here in Ohio but I keep hearing good things all over these threads about them. Could someone please give me a little more personal info on them.......
Some of what you heard probably came from me. I am a huge oats fan. I began using them as a filler crop a few years ago and now they are my favorite thing to plant and hunt over. Reasons: 1. Deer utilize them from first growth until covered with snow. 2. They hold up fairly well to grazing. 3. They don't take perfect soil to grow. 4. They are cheap. A few years ago, I watched a show on "transplanting" your deer from beans to oats by planting oats later in the summer. If you plant them from the 3rd week in Aug through the first week in Sept, you can have fresh greens as the beans in the area are browning. This works esp good for a corner of a bean field, but I've found that this planting window is perfect for oats regardless of what's around them. When you plant them at this time, unless you are planting a huge plot (1 acre or more) they will not get bigger than 8 inches. This is what you want. The deer will feed on the green shoots all season. Any other questions, feel free to pm. I've planted them anywhere from the corner of a crop field to the top of mountains and used "food plot" oats to regular farm oats. Cheap old farm oats are just as good IMO.
I agree... Oats are a very under rated fall food plot. Up here in mn. we have to plant them the 1st week in august to get 6" of growth before the frost hits. Winter wheat is also a good option for a fall plot.
i have never planted them myself, but my gf's dad plants them every year and has great success with them.
Oats are cheap and do work well in the fall. My neighbor and I have been planting them for the elk for the past 4 seasons on 20-26 acres. We've only shot one whitetail buck off the oat field, big mature 5x6 and several get whacked near the oats..but back in the timber...the oats definately keeps the does in the area here and the bucks show up during the rut from the mountains. The elk can't stay out of them, we kill elk off the oats every season! I buy the oats in bulk, I can get a 1000lbs of oats for about 120.00 ... that seeds about 4 acres real heavy.
Ben yes you have got my wheels turning about your oats talk..... Well the cheapest I could find them was $11.00 for a 50lb bag, I figure I'll need 90-100lbs per acre. Should I mix clover in with it or keep it a seperate plot? I was going to plant 2 acres of beans and a acre of oats/clover so theres always something green
Thanks guys.... Looking to put some of Toms Monster Raxx minerals in down there over a couple bushnell t.c.'s
