Food Plots

[hunter333]

I think im going to plant another food plot this spring. Any ideas what i should plant?

[BuckHunter23]

I planted Bio-logic Hot Spot and have had good results from it healthier deer herd it gives off a nice smell too attracts them to it and grows fast

[bowhunter1023]

Planted Whitetail Institute Extreme this year. It has Golden Jump start and really takes off fast. I planted it in August...It went untouched til gun season then they ate the whole plot in about 2 weeks. I am going to double the size of my plot this year and plant Exrtreme again but I am going to add some Chicory Plus in with it.

I have planted the Hot Spot too, and it grows...but the deer never touch it. My neighbor planted Biologic and told me I was a fool for planting a food plot cause they didn't touch his even though it looked like the front of the bag. They hammered mine.

Biologic won't get any more business from me. I was planning on planting their stuff in the spring so I took soil samples last Christmas and sent them in. Come April I had no results and decided to wait 'til Fall anyway cause of work. Well I sent an email about it and they called 2 days later and the guy apologized and said they lost the samples and they would refund my money...Guess what? Been 6 months and I haven't got my money. As far I am concerned they can take my $10 and shove it up their...http://www.freesmileys.org/emo/angry002.gif (http://www.freesmileys.org)

[BuckHunter23]

The Hott Spot that I Planted worked really well they deer come into mine all the time I guess it maters on the deer i guess

[hunter333]

Planted Whitetail Institute Extreme this year. It has Golden Jump start and really takes off fast. I planted it in August...It went untouched til gun season then they ate the whole plot in about 2 weeks. I am going to double the size of my plot this year and plant Exrtreme again but I am going to add some Chicory Plus in with it.

I have planted the Hot Spot too, and it grows...but the deer never touch it. My neighbor planted Biologic and told me I was a fool for planting a food plot cause they didn't touch his even though it looked like the front of the bag. They hammered mine.

Biologic won't get any more business from me. I was planning on planting their stuff in the spring so I took soil samples last Christmas and sent them in. Come April I had no results and decided to wait 'til Fall anyway cause of work. Well I sent an email about it and they called 2 days later and the guy apologized and said they lost the samples and they would refund my money...Guess what? Been 6 months and I haven't got my money. As far I am concerned they can take my $10 and shove it up their...http://www.freesmileys.org/emo/angry002.gif (http://www.freesmileys.org)

Bowhunter, how big was your food plot when the deer ate it in about two weeks?

[lacure]

Oooooo, this is a tempting thread, but in the spirit of the holidays I will leave it alone! :mischeif: :bouncy:

[bowhunter1023]

Small...Maybe 1/8 of acre. It was about 50 yards long and 10 yards wide. It was part of an old logging road the went through an oak flat and is surrounded by about 20 25-35 year old oaks and thousands of 5-6 years old saplings. It sits adjascent to a soy/corn field and they use it as a staging area before hitting up the big field.

I have the ability to open the canopy and add 1/8 acre to it by dropping 4 trees. You can't get anything but a 4-wheeler to this thing, so we hand dug every single stump out of this thing...about 60 total. I plan on buying some sort of plowing device either at the Eastern Outdoors Show in February or at the Deer & Turkey Expo in March.

Oooooo, this is a tempting thread, but in the spirit of the holidays I will leave it alone! :mischeif: :bouncy:

(If I remember right lacure, your from the "Planting/hunting food plots is cheating camp." If not, then this is not directed at you...but I'm sure coonie will be licking his chops...)

You know I just dont understand why planting a food plot is such a big deal, i.e. cheating to some people. Maybe cause I plant them, but how is it different than the farmer/hunter who plants soy beans and corn and then hunts over it? Not much different there except for the U.S. economy benefits from the soy beans and corn. Corn and soy beans draws 'em harder than food plots in these parts...Do you hunt over acorns or standing grain fields lacure? Thats like shooting them in their kitchen...it makes it easy...right?.

If you are anti-food plot...Then you are no longer allowed to hunt around any sort of browse, acorns, or grains...Sounds rediculous right? Cause it is. A food source is a food source, no matter how it got there.

[OhioHunter88]

We plant plots, and plantin more next year, this year we planted biologic green patch plus, it is just now getting hit good, last year we had buck forage oats there and the deer pounded it good, and thats the plot i killed my 8-point over, but next year im gonna fo half in corn for cover and half in buck forage oats, i wouldnt reccomend hot spot, or secret spot, they grow quick but is just basically a rye grass mix...

[stumphole]

If you don't agree with QDM, food plots, mineral supplements.......that's fine, but there is no sense in bashing each other because of it.
So with that said I am interested in doing whatever I can to manage the resource on my small piece of ground and appreciate everyone sharing their experiences. Thank you all for that and keep them comming.
As far as food plots, I went to my local feed mill and used their food plot seed which was a mix of various clover, birdsfoot treefoil and alfalfa. It came up nice and I was very satisfied with the results. I think the most important thing is your soil prep, PH testing, liming and fertilizing. I also mowed several times in the summer which helped with weed control and allowed the new stuff to establish itself. I am expanding my plots as well and will use the feed mill mix again with some additions. Good luck, it's fun to see the results and know the deer are using the nutrition you're providing.

[OhioHunter88]

Kyle, i didnt read you wanted to plant in the spring, the ones i was talking about are fall plots, for spring id highly reccomend any type of clover, i planted biologic clover plus last spring and all summer the and spring there were velvet bucks and does, in it all hours of the day..

[shrivl]

One item I have heard people planting for spring/summer plots are sunflowers. I haven't planted them but that might be something you can offer the deer that isn't already available to them. The people that I have heard planting them, plant them with a bean or pea and the sunflower acts as a trellis for the other plants. I have also heard many guys putting in that round up ready soy beans/corn to make weed control easier.

[Mohican]

Here you go. I did a side by side comparison of a couple of the leading manufactures that are in the business. Read my 06 spring planting results here:

http://dave_conrad.tripod.com/foodplot/foodplot.html

[lacure]

Alright, alright...I have to admit that I am considering "lossening" my opinion about food plots. For a long time I lumped them into the same category as feeders, which I am against because of the risk of disease, etc. However, I am not about to say that I am a diehard food plot advocate. In areas lacking agriculture, I can understand them. However, anyone trying to compare a 1/8 acre (or even 1 acre) food plot to a 300 acre ag field is fooling no one. What you need to understand is that ag fields, mast-producing foilage, crab apples, orchards, etc. have been prevalent in parts Ohio for decades, even centuries, so in my opinion, they are a part of the herd's "natural" environment. Food plots that show up one day and are gone 5 years later are not. Also, scouting a 300 acre ag field and understanding when and where deer are utilizing the field and then placing stand/s accordingly is different than setting up a "treehouse" stand from which you can cover an entire food plot.

A good buddy of mine has recently purchased some property in Jackson county and it is lacking in any real ag fields nearby. The soil is not conducive to agriculture, so he has begun to plant food plots. This I understand...it increases the nutrition available to the herd and helps hold deer on his land.

Again, these are just some of my insights and opinions.

[mrex]

Alright, alright...I have to admit that I am considering "lossening" my opinion about food plots. For a long time I lumped them into the same category as feeders, which I am against because of the risk of disease, etc. However, I am not about to say that I am a diehard food plot advocate. In areas lacking agriculture, I can understand them. However, anyone trying to compare a 1/8 acre (or even 1 acre) food plot to a 300 acre ag field is fooling no one. What you need to understand is that ag fields, mast-producing foilage, crab apples, orchards, etc. have been prevalent in parts Ohio for decades, even centuries, so in my opinion, they are a part of the herd's "natural" environment. Food plots that show up one day and are gone 5 years later are not. Also, scouting a 300 acre ag field and understanding when and where deer are utilizing the field and then placing stand/s accordingly is different than setting up a "treehouse" stand from which you can cover an entire food plot.

A good buddy of mine has recently purchased some property in Jackson county and it is lacking in any real ag fields nearby. The soil is not conducive to agriculture, so he has begun to plant food plots. This I understand...it increases the nutrition available to the herd and helps hold deer on his land.

Again, these are just some of my insights and opinions.

lacure - On the flip side, a one acre food plot probably wouldn't be as attractive in an area with a 300 acre ag field....I new you'd come over to the "dark side" eventually.:biggrin:

[mrex]

Here you go. I did a side by side comparison of a couple of the leading manufactures that are in the business. Read my 06 spring planting results here:

http://dave_conrad.tripod.com/foodplot/foodplot.html
Still the most informative thread I’ve read on this forum.

[bowhunter1023]

A good buddy of mine has recently purchased some property in Jackson county and it is lacking in any real ag fields nearby. The soil is not conducive to agriculture, so he has begun to plant food plots. This I understand...it increases the nutrition available to the herd and helps hold deer on his land.

See we have crops relatively close to our farm, but they are on a crop rotation and it is hit or miss if you get crops to hunt. This year I knew they were leaving the field dormant, so that is what drove me to plant my first ever food plot. To me food plots are not another method to make killing deer easier, but more a way to help my deer herd and to get me involved. A lot of the things I do are excuses to be in the woods. I hang cameras, run supplemental feeding programs, plant food plots, and mold the habitat more as an excuse to be in the woods. It didn’t help me one bit to kill a bigger buck this year.

[Mohican]

Thanks Mike!! I will be doing this again in the spring with a little more concentration on preparing a foodplot. I will only be using Whitetail Institute and Antler King product in the future. I had a major breakdown on the tractor and will be getting it fixed in Jan-Feb timeframe.

[Cap't Ernie]

Silver Queen sweet corn.

Capt Ernie

[shrivl]

Dave I love that what you did and glad you shared the link again. Earlier when you had posted it I spoke to a friend and wanted to send him the link but never could find it. He has it now. Have you planted nay trees? I saw that the ODNR has pawpaw trees this year and bought some for my buddy in Guernsey Co to plant on his property. He already has about 20 apple trees. Those with his plots and honeysuckle thickets really hold deer on his property. Especially durning gun season were it serves more of a refuge since it isn't hunted during that time. Closely monitored but not hunted.

[BuckEyeCam]

We have planted, managed and maintained food plots for years. One thing I have noticed over the years is that spring food plots may be a bust in most cases. With all the natural browse available in most areas the spring plots are more for the hunter's enjoyment rather than the true value for the deer. Given the fact how much land you need to make a real difference with the spring plots unless you are planting some serious acreage you might just be adding desert to the main course.
This year were just going to let the plots grow whatever naturally occurs then really put the effort in them for the fall plantings.