Small Food Plots for Deer

Traxion

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Anyone here do any small food plots for deer? When I say small, I am talking 1/4 of an acre at a max to very small, say 50' x 50'. We have several small areas we would like to plant. Some will be bow hunting stand locations while others may be general attracting and feeding plots. We will have access to tractor and disk for some plots but would like to keep them minimum till if possible (so are just so small). We'd be looking at late September to December plots. And, any food that will help the critters over-winter would be great. At this point I don't think we'll be able to plant much for spring/summer plots.

There are a million companies out there selling seeds of different varieties. From the little research I have done, brassicas or something similar may fit the bill well. Any recommendations of seed type, companies, etc.? What other advice would you give?

What have you experienced with small plots like this? Worth the time or not?

Thanks!
 


Davey Crockett

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Every little food plot is more habitat than we had before. In my opinion for food plots you don't have to buy high dollar seed. You can plant a variety of small grains on a shoestring with bin run seed and have just as good of luck. Don't get roped into something that you don't' need .
 

Kentucky Windage

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What grows in the intended areas for your small plots? Trees, grass or broadleaf weeds? The first thing you have to manage is what currently grows there each year. Once you have cleared your area for the plot (mow, burn, till, etc.) I would plant crops that will clean up the undesirable weeds with simple herbicides (glyphosate, glufosinate). There is nothing worse than having your investment over taken by tough to control weeds. Corn, soybeans, canola, sugarbeets are good options with roundup ready and liberty link technologies. Do you have farmer friends with access to extra unused seed and pesticides? Look into other options (crops not grown in the immediate area that will further attract deer) after you have the weeds under control. Good luck
 

KDM

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Most small plots of corn, soybeans, or other similar crops I've dealt with get mowed to the dirt unless they are fenced in or protected in some way. A doe and her two fawns can wipe a 50X50 plot of soybeans or corn in pretty short order and that's without the birds, squirrels, raccoons, mice, and other seed feeding critters taking their share as well. Turnips would be a good choice if you just want to feed the deer and they will last right into the dead of winter. Plant a cover crop of winter rye right over the top of the turnips in about August and you will have lush greenery up to about rifle season and the rye will help protect the turnips from getting frosted out before they can mature. Food Plots can be a pile of fun or a pile of frustration!! Good Luck!!
 

luvcatchingbass

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I have been thinking about doing similar and in my area beets, turnips and radishes seem most logical with all the corn and soybeans and acorns it would just be another option and hopefully a good late season food source after crops are harvested. Another thought is a pumpkin patch.
 


Mort

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Any food plot helps, just how long it last is the question, depending how much wildlife is in the area...and...how much wildlife finds it and sticks around on it. Like KDM said, a small one will get wipe out pretty quick. Have an ex brother in law that started about 4 food plots and they have helped keep the birds and deer around quite nicely IMO..he keeps egging on me to help him, but he never calls when he does it, so I tell him, if he needs help..he's gotta call.
 

pluckem

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Yeah I have no personal experience besides seeing different phases of the plots the G&F plant on various public grounds. So my advice is worth what your paying.

Im with KDM, if you are looking at something that small I would expect to have to fence it in (electric might be easiest). Many of the plots I have come across will have the first 5-15 rows mowed down to nothing. And if they aren't grazed they are extremely stunted or nothing there. I would assume because they were ate or partially ate/damaged earlier in the growing season.

The ultimate purpose of the specific plot would determine what to plant and when to remove fence and allow access.
 

db-2

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For me with what I have done and what it appears you want, I would work with the brassica in August.
We as people all have different taste and I believe so do deer. Sometimes it takes time to change the eating habits of an animal and what they prefer. Fawns that grow up knowing your plots will use your plots later in life. Just need to experiment with various ideals.
Yes the round up ready plants are nice for weed control but I assume that is not the plant you are after. I do plant soybeans for the protein which makes horns and they do eat. Plant corn even in the small plots for its value. Would plant an apple tree or two at each spot but do protect with woven wire. In a few years you will get a bunch of apples that fall on the ground and deer do like apples.
For me the deer I have in my plots they do not seem to like turnips or radish. I have found that rape has work best for me. Winter Green from Whitetail Institue has been good. Will always plant this product and I have try every product they sell.. Did plant Kale this year and will again next year. Deer love flowers but for me hard to grow. A lot of seed companies do sell rape and my last batch came from Oregon. Plant in August ( and by that time you should have a good control on weeds) and now when it has froze with the sugar going to the leaves from the roots they just love and eat on the rape big time. But generally it needs to first freeze. Canola planted in August so it is blooming at freeze up and it is round up ready. Nothing like a feeder with corn at this time with the snow and cold weather. Have new deer now coming in along with some know deer that have not shown up until now.
I would consider white clover for a winter food in these small plots especially if there is no white clover growing in the area now. It is another good source of protein and is green most of the year. A friend planted 20 acres of white clover in an area with no alfalfa or clover and the deer came from all over once they found.
I have found it will take time for the deer to get use to your plots and will get better every year.
So listen to all the ideals, try many, each piece of ground is different and what you want will vary from spot to spot.
But food plots do work, they do get deer in, they can be a lot of work, it will take time to get the full benefit but the joys are many and in time you will find what works best for you.
I have never put a fence around but have had cattle wipe out a plot more than once.
I have yet to find a plant that they start eating big time in the spring, summer and into the fall so if you find one I would like to know. Closes I come is soybeans. db
 
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ItemB

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I have found that rape has work best for me. db

Interesting that you would throw that in while talking about food plots;:;rofl:;:huh ...............Kidding
DB's advice seems good, I agreed with a few apple trees. I really have nothing else to add, but will be following this thread because I am looking for pretty much the same advice on possibly planting a few smaller plots too. Max size for me would be 2 acres or so.
 
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NDwalleyes

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The other plot to consider is grain sorghum. Its a late planting, the down side is that it needs pre-emergent herbicide and a shot of 2-4-D at about 6". We have had good luck with this for pheasants and deer.
 


Putz ND

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I have 25 acres of land in a high-density deer/semi residential area. Small plots can be tough with heavy grazing pressures. We have struck out more times than I care to admit, but have came to some of the same conclusions of early replies. Clovers/alfalfa/winter greens seem to be superior to different types of grains - namely corn and soybeans. I till about six acres and have had 100% failures on corn and soybeans due to overgrazing early in crop development. Currently, I have about 2 acres of round up ready alfalfa and 1 acre of rye. The alfalfa has provides awesome spring/summer/early fall protein and t he green rye section has provided a good pattern since frost. I don't know your opinion on baiting, but feeding deer grain is the only way I've been able to give them a corn/barley/soybean option. The plots have been in existence for 6 years, and I agree that our hunting has defienetly gotten better. Last season we had 6 different youngsters kill their first bow deer out of one stand next to the alfalfa!! Talk about fun -
 

bucksnbears

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white clovers are a good choice for moist-semi shaded areas.
if you have the room and the area gets plenty of sun, pumpkins/squash are extreamly attractive for a late season plot.
i plant them every year
 

Traxion

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Lots of great responses. In our area, pretty much all the plots would be in the open and currently have grass & a few weeds. We can mow and then would have to spray. I've thought about trying to do some clean up crops such as Roundup ready corn on the bigger areas. We have also thought about planting milo (grain sorghum) and cane. It would hold birds well too. I like the idea of going with plots other than what the normal crops around are though.

The small plots are what really interest me. The clovers and brassicas seem like a good fit. We also have several areas that have no access to equipment. Anyone ever do anything like Imperial No-Plow or something similar that doesn't require tillage? Just curious how they turn out? Have a couple nice, shady spots in the bottom of creeks that could be really good for a rake in type plot.
 

KDM

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Winter Rye will grow darn near anywhere, including in the back of your truck without dirt. Just the dust in the corners will do. Best no till, rake in, spread and forget green stuff I know of. Scrape the top duff off with a hoe or something and spread it around. Add water and get out of the way or you may get tangled up. Not really, but that stuff grows in almost complete sand on my Uncles MN land.
 

Yoby

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These are my 2 small plots. the top one is roughly 30x 50 ft. I was actually able to take a buck over it. The bottom one is probably 75 x 100 ft. Not alot of activity. I have found even the quite small ones are quite active all day long. I believe it is because they are in locations that tend to be under cover where the deer don't have to expose themselves. I dont recall exactly what these were, but I think the top on is a throw n grow and the bottom a barassica.

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This does make me wonder. I have been thinking about starting a little apple grove, but the area is flood prone. Are apple trees slightly resilient to flooding?
 


LBrandt

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Have a 50 X 60 sweet corn patch about 100 ft from house along with 2 Harleson apple trees. Canned what we needed and the deer took care of the rest. Apples are about gone and the sweetcorn patch looks like you ran a combine over it. Deer must have a sweet tooth. Deer only come in at night, have never seen one during day light hours. Like KDM said winter rye is a good fall crop because it stays green way late into winter and deer crave that until they switch to browse.
 

bucksnbears

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keep in mind.......a GOOD food plot will never happen without proper soil managment.
take the time and do it RIGHT!!.
i've made every mistake there is and mistakes are expensive a waste time.

always FERTALIZE!!.
 

NDwalleyes

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Traxion...the the clean up crops are a good idea. I manage 250 acres of food plots spread over 2200 acres. of property. We use corn as our clean up crop as we rotate through brassica, sorghum, corn and then the food plot is reseeded to a cool season grass mix on the 4th year. It has worked well for us. Obviously soybeans would be a good option too. Sun flowers work well too but if you don't get a good kill with the Spartan you'll get a lot of weeds However that can make for a pheasant paradise! Flowers can be a pain in the ass...but if you have enough land for a decent sized plot and access to a combine you can recoup some of your expenses.

Also consider the moisture in your area. Corn and sorghum tend to deplete moisture. We are considering pulling back on the corn for some dry areas of our land due decreased precipitation over the past year.

For some reason we did not have good luck with the brassica. As far as an game attractant in the SW part of the state, corn has always been our best plot and provides the best winter food source. We harvest half our corn plots and leave the rest up for 2 years, disk in early spring, spray when it greens up, burn it off and then no-till seed the grass.
 

bigbrad123

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- - - Updated - - -

This does make me wonder. I have been thinking about starting a little apple grove, but the area is flood prone. Are apple trees slightly resilient to flooding?[/QUOTE]


I don't know this for a fact Yoby, but I would think apple trees are somewhat flood resistant. Orchard Park in Fargo is right next to the river and there are apple trees everywhere that have obviously been there for many years. I'm sure like anything you'd need to watch them closely the first couple years and make sure there is some fencing around them so they aren't using them as rubbing posts and eating all the leaves off. Worth a shot IMO.
 

db-2

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My apples are in a slough area and seem to do well. Biggest problem I had was porcupines eating the bark. Took more than woven wire to protect with a 22 the best solution. Other problem is coons with the corn. Seem they all find my spots. Fly bait with pop has work well for me with that problem.
Traxion, I am not sure what you mean by open area but deer like to feel secure in their surroundings and there are reasons for corn with one being it does give deer some of this security if you have no trees or brush for them to hide behind as they visit your plot. Also helps hide the spot from those that like to look at what you may have out there eating. Spotting scopes do reach out. Corn now is not as good for hiding as it was earlier but still it helps. If you can make the plot big enough to have corn, flowers or some kind of plant to protect the spot. Have been planting evergreens around some of my plots for that reason. Also I believe evergreens will help the horns get darker.
I quit the sunflowers due to the birds. Plot of flowers not big enough for the birds let alone for any deer feed. However in the 70s flowers brought a lot of deer to where I grew up at in the winter.

After doing this since 95 and learning a whole bunch it is nice to see all the interest in food plots and it appears from the comments some serious plots are being built. If you have not done this, trust me, the rewards will be enormous besides the harvest of a deer. It's a big world out there that I never seen in the old days making drives and hunting with a rifle. And as one sits in your stand you will be surprise what you see with other hunters in the area.
As bucksnbear on here said take the time to do it right. You can not get by with just throwing some seeds on the ground. It would seem using the method of farming would work better. I started out with a small plot and a garden tiller. But the plot grew and bigger is better or so it seems.
Son put vertical rubbing post with a branch on top in the plots. Found they do work well, really well. db
 
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