im in wisconsin so anyone with xp in the area it'd b apreciated im fairly new to planting food plots but the last four years ive been planting a 5 acre designated area with multiple options clover seems to b key for me . early season that is. for fall i have brasics but not a whole lot of action in there.
I hate clover, but thats just my personal opinion of it. I stick with austrian winter peas, Rape, Turnips, and rye, or just a full field of Lab-Lab
I've been interested in trying Lab-Lab as of late having read a little about how much protein it contains. On the clover topic, it definitely isn't a late season food plot crop; that's one of its only drawbacks. One of the reasons we like it so much is that its easy to maintain with selective herbicides AND its a perennial (That and the deer flocking to it ) I've heard good things about the others you listed oneshot, care to elaborate on where clover has gone wrong for you?
#1 is to make sure your soil is in good shape, so if you haven't already, take a soil test (& follow it!). Good soil will give you better tasting plants that retain their pulling power longer. As far as plants go, as long as you are using a Quality Brassica mix and Clover mix I would stick with those plus I would add one or more cereal grains like wheat, tritical, etc. A real good late season draw would be corn. I would always try to have corn around for late season. It's more expensive to plant because of it's high nitrogen requirements and seed can be expensive (although it doesn't have to be). If you have many deer in the area at all plan on having at least two acres of corn if you want any left for late season.
I have had real success with oats planted late in the summer. I also have some turnips for the first time this year and am anxious to see how they do with late season attraction.
Oats work good as long as you use a cold hardy variety like BuckForage or other simular oats. However, oat do not work well for overseeding because they almost always need to be covered to germinate. In Racine I would plant oats in early September.
no bad experiences with clover it just seems every year around mid september this area shuts down patterns seem to favor corn and beans, and my hunting land is in richland ctr wi where there is no shortage of corn or beans. what i want is an alternative to the corn or bean field for the deer. ive tried sugarbeats,turnips, rape, braissica and they seem to be untouched. I guess i could always plant a corn and bean mix and give them what i know they like but i have hopes of finding something thats more appealing to the deer come fall
That was my theory with the oats planted late. They are just getting nice an green about the time that the beans in the area are brown. Try it. I will be doing it again next year.
Nothing has worked for me this season and I have it all in my plots, I guess I just suck.:D Seriously, check out the blogs, both Todd and myself have done several blogs on our food plotting efforts this season. Here is one you can start with. http://www.bowhunting.com/blog/post...e-deer-in-the-fall-Thats-the-plan-anyway.aspx
i like clover and it's easy to plant, i just throw it out by hand near the last snow of the season, last for years also it is hard to beat corn for late season hunting and if it is standing look out! i have about fifty acres standing,and cant wait until this weekend,it is raining here so it will be there for a while now.
Like was said already, a variety to accommodate the various timeframes is best. I start with a clover "base" if you want to call it that. Clover is great, because if the soil is prepped right (lime and fertilizer) is will green very nicely, plus it puts nitrogen back in, and it's a perennial. My clover is on it's third year, and although I will probably disc and replant next year, it still did very well. I've found that even after a few frosts, deer were still hitting it (even though I've heard deer will hit it hard after the first initial frost, but not much after). Usually I will mix in rye as well as that will shoot up faster and choke out the weeds while promoting the clover growth (plus the turkeys love it once it has gone to seed). I usually (didn't this year) will plant brassicas (ususally turnips) and winter wheat around the perimeter of the plot around August for a late season plot. However, like Ben, I may try a late summer planting of oats as well. So basically, a breakdown of it is this: Late spring/summer: Deer are hitting the clover hard Late summer/early fall: Pre-frost, deer are still hitting the clover, turkeys are in the rye, and the wheat shoots are being hit as well. Late fall/early winter: Focus is now on the rye/possibly turnips depending on how many hard frosts there are (the frosts turn the starches to sugar, and it's like candy). Late winter (saw this a lot last year): Deer are litterally pawing through 6-8 inches of snow to get the remaining turnips.
Right now rape and turnips are on fire!! I have about a half acre plot of rape, chickory and turnips. I watched 2 3 1/2yr old bucks feeding in it back on Halloween evening. Nothing more rewarding than watching deer of that age during daylight hours feeding in something you worked so hard to plant. I also have some clover plots next to it and they walk right though them to get to the rape and turnips
Brassica's sure can be a great attractant once the deer get used to them. I have known of mature bucks that would walk through alfalfa to feed on brassica's in the summer. What kind of brassica's are you using indiana boy?
Not sure what brand they are but I am very happy with them. Think it may have been Whitetail Institute. I actually planted them to early I really should have waited to Aug or Sept but the bag said my area I could plant spring or fall. Figured if I planted earlier the turnips would get real big.
