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Food plots

BOWHUNTER14

BOWHUNTER14

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 17, 2019
Messages
328
Location
Southwest MO
I know the majority of this site hunts public but for those that have permission or their own land whatcha got growing? I have a mix of Jumbo Ladino, crimson, chicory, and radishes! This is the first plot I have ever planted.
 
My first ever plot will be some throw-n-grow from wallyworld this August. Buddy said you just rake off the leaves and spread it with a hand spreader. We'll see how it goes.
 
I have seen some pretty good results from buddys with the throw and grow stuff. Hope it pans out for you! We are getting an abundant amount of rain in my neck of the woods so hopefully it stays that way all year
 
Nothing this year probably due to stay in place order.

However, in previous years I had OK luck with Red Clover planted with just basic hand tools.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk
 
Trying the method from WHS videos on YouTube. Buckwheat in the early summer. In the fall, brassica on one half, then winter peas, a little oats, lots of rye on the other half.
 
Food plots can be a great tool. They can also be a money pit and a waste of time if you don’t do it right. The good thing about throw and grow is it’s cheap and somewhat effective. The downside is it’s not that attractive to wildlife. If you want to plant something that will really draw deer you’ll need soil test and follow that up with lime and fertilizer. Now is the time for liming for this falls plantings. Once you do that and finally plant your fall plots it won’t rain for a month and your seed will feed crows, turkeys and doves. Sorry but I have a love/hate relationship with food plots. Also check out Jeff Sturgis videos on YouTube. I agree with him on spring and summer plots being a waste on whitetail. Something like buckwheat is ok if your using it as a green manure to amend the soil but otherwise it’s a waste of money and time.
 
EricS said:
Food plots can be a great tool. They can also be a money pit and a waste of time if you don’t do it right. The good thing about throw and grow is it’s cheap and somewhat effective. The downside is it’s not that attractive to wildlife. If you want to plant something that will really draw deer you’ll need soil test and follow that up with lime and fertilizer. Now is the time for liming for this falls plantings. Once you do that and finally plant your fall plots it won’t rain for a month and your seed will feed crows, turkeys and doves. Sorry but I have a love/hate relationship with food plots. Also check out Jeff Sturgis videos on YouTube. I agree with him on spring and summer plots being a waste on whitetail. Something like buckwheat is ok if your using it as a green manure to amend the soil but otherwise it’s a waste of money and time.
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Totally understand and I think this is why I just got two $9 bags of throw and grow this year. I'll be impressed if it works and not too let down if it doesn't.
 
I have tried food plots in the past with different types of plants and absolutely no success a miserable failure no green thumb here turns out not enough sunshine in the areas I have tried
 
Since we're here talking about food plots, any advice on a small throw and grow plot other than "just rake the leaves away and let 'er rip"?
 
I wouldn't waste your time or money on the throw-n-grow, look at the label and its like 85% rye grass. If your looking for an easy plot I would just go with wheat, deer will hit it in the fall and spring and you can put some clover with it in the fall and it will come up good in the spring and last a few years. They also make a few mixes just for deer in the fall, I had luck with secret spot and bow stand. Check out habitattalk.com a lot of food plot info there. I agree 100% with @EricS I've spent a lot of $ trying to plant corn and beans only to have them wiped out by the end of summer. Last fall decided I would put in a couple of acres of Biologic Maximum, got it planted and hit a couple 10th's of rain the next day then nothing for 6 weeks-all dead.
 
Red Beard said:
Since we're here talking about food plots, any advice on a small throw and grow plot other than "just rake the leaves away and let 'er rip"?
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As referenced above, watch the Jeff Sturgis YouTube videos on food plots. The shorter, basic version is to start by doing a soil test. Amend soil. Then expose the soil. Either chemically or mechanically. Chemically works better. Spread seed at the correct time for your area when rain is coming. Hope a drought doesn't hit. If it does, keep weeds out until you start to spread rye grain, 100 or so lbs per acre, at two week intervals until you spread 300 lbs per acre. Fertilize appropriately either way.
I got going on things late last year and still managed 2 really decent plots. This year I'm trying the whole year the way that he recommends and am confident that I will have at lest one excellent plot and the other will be at least as good as last year.
As far as throw n grow is concerned, the more effort that you put in, the better your results will generally be.
 
I have done food plots for a number of years. If I am doing a fall plot I keep it simple. First I don't ever plant a seed that has a deer on the package. I make my own mixes because you really aren't suppose to plant small seeds with large seeds. Here is my favorite fall plots.
Wheat
Oats (sometimes)
Crimson Clover
Radish
turnips
I might throw in some other annual clovers such as arrowleaf.

I very much dislike ladino clover. I base this off my experience at the plot I can see from my house. Planted ladino clover, we saw the occasional deer, it was a big deal when we did. Two years ago I took half that plot (its an acre plot) and planted alfalfa. Oh my what a difference. Went from seeing the occasional deer to seeing multiple deer daily. Got a buddy with deeper pockets than me and he plants forage soybeans every year, they work excellent.

Like @EricS stated earlier, planting fall plots can be frustrating. Plant it and it doesn't rain. Happened to me last year. Also planted during a drought in the fall, didn't come up for a month but by Thanksgiving it was lush and green and oh boy were the deer pounding it.

In addition to my deer plots I put in two dove plots. Brown top millet and sun flowers. Rotate them annually. Once dove is done I disc/till it and plant wheat just so there is something on the ground. This year I put up a couple of cameras (these fields are in more open areas), I was surprised at the night time activity of deer feeding on them.

Maybe I am stupid or lucky or both, but I have never done a soil test. I try to lime every year and put fertilizer down when I seed. That's about it. All the experts recommend soil test. I am just too lazy.
 
I agree on not buying "food plot" seed with a deer. Go to you local MFA or whatnot and grab seed through them for way cheaper.. I bought my entire food plot mix for cheaper than I could of bought it through any name brand deer seed company..
 
BOWHUNTER14 said:
I agree on not buying "food plot" seed with a deer. Go to you local MFA or whatnot and grab seed through them for way cheaper.. I bought my entire food plot mix for cheaper than I could of bought it through any name brand deer seed company..
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Thanks! I'll keep that in mind for next year.
 
BOWHUNTER14 said:
You won't get it as cheap as that throw and grow stuff but I got enough clover and chicory seed to plant 2 acres for about the same price as one acre worth of buck seed
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What part of southwest mo you from? I live in monett
 
BOWHUNTER14 said:
I know the majority of this site hunts public but for those that have permission or their own land whatcha got growing? I have a mix of Jumbo Ladino, crimson, chicory, and radishes! This is the first plot I have ever planted.
Click to expand...
Had a lot of fun watching deer and shot a big doe over turnips this year in OH. A few small, sporadic walnut trees and oaks provided good saddle trees AND good scrapes. Also saw the best trail cam pic I’ve ever seen of a one-horn buck breeding a doe under a full moon and the same tree I sat in most. Those turnips can be eaten all year round, from the tops in the early season to the roots later on. Combined with the acorns and nuts, the songbirds, deer, small game, and turkeys all shared the field at times. It was really nice and relatively easy to manage.
 
Plots can be very rewarding or they can be a frustrating rabbit hole.
Habitat Talk and Deer hunter forums have a lot of great threads on plotting.
One particular technique is the Throw 'n Mow which has an enormous thread on the subject. A lot of plotters, including myself, have done fairly well with TnM. It probably won't produce the pristine, magazine cover looking plot for most people, but it did do an acceptable job for me.
#1 tip...LEARN WEED AND PLANT IDENTIFICATION before you start plotting. If you can't identify an unwanted invasive, you may be in for a miserable experience.
#2 tip...don't try to force a forage where it doesn't belong. Guys decide they want "X" growing, before they've got their ducks in a row.
Plotting can be easy and it can be miserable.
Establish goals 1st and keep realistic expectations.
And don't expect to grow Booners all of a sudden.
Ive plotted for 15 years and I see no difference in the quality of the deer.
 
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