Caleb from Illinois asks,
Hi Bill, I have a question about small food plots. My dad and I do not own any land, but have a handful of properties we have permission to hunt on and have hunted on them for years now. We have never planted any food plots before, but we have been talking this off-season about planting some food plots on one or more properties we hunt. The main property we hunt is 60 acres, is mostly timber (probably 90%) and is in-between a number of larger agriculture fields, one directly north and one directly south of the property. Additionally, the surrounding properties are all much larger and hold many more deer as they have more food and cover to bed in. The property we hunt I see as more of a property that deer move through on their way to and from feeding, we have a decent number of doe's that bed on the property as well. It sets up pretty well for rut hunting, as bucks often move through it on their way to and from the surrounding properties while looking for doe's. We have even seen nice bucks bedding with their doe's in what is traditionally doe bedding. As I said above, the property we hunt is mainly timber, so if we do plant food plots it is going to have to be in the middle of timber and they would likely need to be very small. I was wondering if you have any knowledge on how to pull deer to the property through the use of food plots? What plant type or types would be best for "staging" plots, to get deer to stop on their way to bigger ag fields? When is the best time of year to plant - should we plant in April, or wait until later, or plant to plant the plots multiple times each year? Are there crops that do well in more shaded areas as well? Any insight you would have would be greatly appreciated! Thank you! Caleb Drake
Bill responds,
Topic: Planting Staging Area Food Plots
Caleb,
There are a couple of challenges with planting small plots in the timber. You hit on one of them – the lack of sunlight that reaches the plot. Both clover and a brassica blend, such as Big N Beasty, both will do OK (but not great) in small timbered plots. Either would be worth a try.
Your biggest problem, however, will be on normal and dry years when the trees will suck all the moisture out of the soil under your plot and that will make the plot dry out much faster than it would if there were no roots underneath. On a wet year, it is not a problem.
I would try clover this spring (you can clear the opening with chainsaws and then spray with glyphosate to kill everything). I would then just spread the clover seed right into the dying weed bed unless it is super thick with leaves. You have to be able to get the seeds to the dirt, so if the leaves are too thick you have no option but to wait until everything dies and dries out and then burn the plot off to clear it first.
Be sure to fertilize with plenty of Phosphorus and Potassium and then hope for a wet year. If it turns out dry and your clover dies, you can easily plant it to the brassicas (Big N Beasty) in late July for a second try. After a year or two you will be able to decide if it worth the effort and expense depending on how well the plantings actually do. Dry years will be a big problem for these timbered plots, unfortunately. Good luck. (3/23/21)
