Food Plots Best food plot seed

[hunter7272]

All right guys we are about two months until food plot time just wondering for all you Tennessee guys what has been your best fall mix for hunting Whitetails hoping to find something that they like early in archery and also late in the season!

 

[Jcalder]

Soybeans for August archery. Acorns for most of the rest of the season. Wheat and oats late.

 

[boonencrockett]

Green beans are king early season . I'm still searching for something to plant once beans are harvested .. I'm looking to plant a secluded 3 acre plot surrounded by woods and tucked into crp field . All ideas are welcome. This is in central Kentucky

 

[mr.big]

Lots of mineral and clover for summer and
Plain winter wheat for fall-winter.

 

[boonencrockett]

What about the timing of the planting ? I feel it times out and maybe not as palatable on the experience of my recent plantings

 

[Popcorn]

Cereal rye, and or wheat with turnips, tillage radishes and crimson clover.
This will provide something desirable all season long.
Plant end of August or early September

 

[deerhunter10]

Our mix for several years now is wheat and oats mix also a cereal rye and oat mix. Started adding some crimson clover in some of those for turkeys in the spring but we aren't adding that this year. We have corn and beans on most of our ground already also have clover on most of our farms now. We got out of the turnip and radish game simply because of the date of when they need to be planted, we like to plant later then most since we are just doing cereal grains. And we also drill them now.

 

[deerhunter10]

What about the timing of the planting ? I feel it times out and maybe not as palatable on the experience of my recent plantings

Everyone has their own way. We plant late September early October. We have planted wheat in November or December for late dove hunts and with a couple warm days it'll sprout. We were tired of getting burnt planting early with droughts.

 

[BSK]

"What to plant" is always a site specific answer. What deer love in one area they may completely ignore in another.

My official answer would be "experiment with everything." For early season, try some late-planted soybeans or Buckwheat (both of which will be killed by the first frost). For early season to mid-season, try different clovers, although personally I'm partial to Crimson Clover. For mid to late-season, look at brassicas and cereal grains (wheat, rye, oats, etc.).

 

[JCDEERMAN]

Our mix for several years now is wheat and oats mix also a cereal rye and oat mix. Started adding some crimson clover in some of those for turkeys in the spring but we aren't adding that this year. We have corn and beans on most of our ground already also have clover on most of our farms now. We got out of the turnip and radish game simply because of the date of when they need to be planted, we like to plant later then most since we are just doing cereal grains. And we also drill them now.

This is pretty much where we are too. We do a mix of rye, wheat and oats, with some crimson and call it a day. That gets us through early, mid and late fall, as well as the first thing to green up in spring and go through early summer.

 

[megalomaniac]

Archery...

You talking velvet hunt or regular archery season (4th weekend in Sept)?

HUGE difference in what and when to plant based on that one variable.

 

[deerfever]

I always start planting end of August/ early Sept. I always do wheat then mix in bags of mega plot sold at Walmart it has wheat, turnips , oats , crimson clover . It gives a variety for the deer throughout fall /winter and has come in well for me every time. If I have buckwheat left from the spring plant I throw it in as well. I have established Ladino clover around the edges of my place already . I try to keep it simple , cost effective and have fun doing it. The local co-op will also have bags of seed mix at times that I have used in the past with success. I have sunflowers and buckwheat now that will be cut before the fall plant. Daikon radishes is another good one that I ordered one year and threw in the mix -deer loved them!

 

[hunter7272]

Archery...

You talking velvet hunt or regular archery season (4th weekend in Sept)?

HUGE difference in what and when to plant based on that one variable.

Regular archery season

 

[megalomaniac]

Regular archery season

Deer REALLY love freshly sprouted greens (like germinated 10d before you hunt).

I'd go with the standard cereal grain, plus clover, plus brassica anytime before a rain after last week of Aug. If there is another rain 7 to 10d before bow opener, I'd layer in another 50lbs per acre on top of the already germinated plot.

 

[Ski]

I always start planting end of August/ early Sept. I always do wheat then mix in bags of mega plot sold at Walmart it has wheat, turnips , oats , crimson clover . It gives a variety for the deer throughout fall /winter and has come in well for me every time. If I have buckwheat left from the spring plant I throw it in as well. I have established Ladino clover around the edges of my place already . I try to keep it simple , cost effective and have fun doing it. The local co-op will also have bags of seed mix at times that I have used in the past with success. I have sunflowers and buckwheat now that will be cut before the fall plant. Daikon radishes is another good one that I ordered one year and threw in the mix -deer loved them!

That's pretty on point actually. I've been shifting back that direction myself. I'm tilling again too. They're deep woods plots that never get harvested, not multi acre ag fields. I'm not going to go broke on them by using premix buck on bag seed.

 

[deerfever]

That's pretty on point actually. I've been shifting back that direction myself. I'm tilling again too. They're deep woods plots that never get harvested, not multi acre ag fields. I'm not going to go broke on them by using premix buck on bag seed.

Yep, mine are one or two acres , I just mix in the buck in a bag with my wheat seed . The bags are around 20.bucks and do 1/2 acre . Till ,.broadcast , drag and you have a variety of items for your deer. Easy and not expensive at all.

 

[BSK]

When it comes to tilling fall food plots, just be aware of how quickly bare, exposed, turned dirt will lose its moisture. August, September, and October are our driest months. Tilled, exposed soil will lose its moisture to evaporation in about 3 weeks without rain. 3-week periods without rain are commonplace during that time of year. I've lost more fall food plots to these short-lived droughts than I can count.

 

[Ski]

When it comes to tilling fall food plots, just be aware of how quickly bare, exposed, turned dirt will lose its moisture. August, September, and October are our driest months. Tilled, exposed soil will lose its moisture to evaporation in about 3 weeks without rain. 3-week periods without rain are commonplace during that time of year. I've lost more fall food plots to these short-lived droughts than I can count.

Preaching to the choir and I appreciate your words of caution, but I don't really know what else to do. I've tried the no till no drill throw & mow method for a few years now with really high hopes but reality never did meet expectations. It never did produce as well as putting seed directly to soil, and it got worse each year instead of better like I thought it was supposed to. Weeds got worse too. Chems would knock them down but they'd come back with all their buddies. So last year I decided I was done with that experiment. Back to breaking ground for me. It's always worked very well and even though I lose some plants to scorch/drought, it's easy to reseed and fix. I'd try a drill if I could justify the cost, but with the little bit of ground I'm planting it doesn't make sense.

 

[deerhunter10]

When it comes to tilling fall food plots, just be aware of how quickly bare, exposed, turned dirt will lose its moisture. August, September, and October are our driest months. Tilled, exposed soil will lose its moisture to evaporation in about 3 weeks without rain. 3-week periods without rain are commonplace during that time of year. I've lost more fall food plots to these short-lived droughts than I can count.

The reason we quit tilling. We got so tired of replanting.

 

[BSK]

Preaching to the choir and I appreciate your words of caution, but I don't really know what else to do. I've tried the no till no drill throw & mow method for a few years now with really high hopes but reality never did meet expectations. It never did produce as well as putting seed directly to soil, and it got worse each year instead of better like I thought it was supposed to. Weeds got worse too. Chems would knock them down but they'd come back with all their buddies. So last year I decided I was done with that experiment. Back to breaking ground for me. It's always worked very well and even though I lose some plants to scorch/drought, it's easy to reseed and fix. I'd try a drill if I could justify the cost, but with the little bit of ground I'm planting it doesn't make sense.

Honestly, I think the duff eventually builds up so deep with throw and mow that eventually it's almost impossible to get seed to soil contact. I suspect I will till my plots about once every 3-4 years.