Dove Food Plots. Break the field up into a grid, paying particular attention to having different grids as elevation changes. I broadcast buckwheat into winter rye to add a different root structure into the soil. Mowed it, then sprayed with roundup. This wooded section also has a high tension line running across it so I lose cover there. It’s a small disc pulled behind an ATV so not much soil penetration with all the detritus. old pasture with thorny locust converted to apple, pear & persimmon orchard. The crp grass mentioned previously is not in the crp program, it is just not pastured, tilled, planted, etc- just tall grass. But too often writers and experts make food plots seem overly complicated and expensive with detailed discussions of plot layout, soil types, pH balance, micronutrients, and high-dollar tractors.. Food Plots Don't Have to be Complicated They grew about 5 feet or so a year. Brush up with these deer food plot tips for when the planting season arrives. Whether you have been planting for years or it is your first time, following these seven easy steps will ensure that you maximize your food plot potential. I’d get a soil test and initially add the requirements needed but WR is a soil builder. Does the little creek/ditch running through the property have water running year round? But hopefully some of your passion for planting food plots has evolved into other aspects of deer management such as timber stand improvement, coyote hunting, or trail camera surveys. The guy on tv plants sorghum each year. Rent a bobcat or hire a guy with backhoe and put some strategic water holes in this place, look for some type of drainage, low area where water already drains off. 1/9/2015 3:16:13 PM Land Projects,Habitat & Conservation. Hi everyone. This is my first try at serious habitat/hunting ground improvement and I' thick skinned so feel free to hack away at bad ideas and add suggestions. the soil here is pretty heavy- clay and rocks where it is dry and soggy in other spots, especially along the creek. Over the past few years we have gotten in on a few state and federal programs for cover plantings. However you could buffer up some corners and plant several rows of pine, and diff heights of fruit bearing bushes (there are a ton to choose from) around the perimeter of the crp, to give a feeling of security and add food. Visit to learn more. I'd really like to do something with the hay field to add more cover- a food source maybe but definitely cover. Here is a pic I took last weekend before I mowed it. RTP Outdoor's GENESIS no-till food plot drill was developed with the hunter & wildlife manager in mind. We have had a bunch of rain. Last year I began preparation by removing autumn olive (dozer) and clearing small trees, so now all that remains is weeds and a few tree stumps the dozer couldn't move. Also, it is a little small for someone to want to lease for farming. The hay field would be a good place to start the future for your kids. Some strips of something like this in conjunction with some type of oaks may work for you. Sounds good, it was just a thought. In other words, if your plot has even a slight slope, make sure to have a grid section at the high and low point of the slope. Frost Seeding Clover Food Plots for Deer. Keep in mind when planting a stand of trees that your children might hunt out of, where does the wind come from most of the time? It is a diverse blend of the most productive cool-season grasses on the market and we use improved varieties to keep performance at the highest level possible. I have a question for some of the guys that have hay fields. If you turn on the TV any given Saturday morning and find a hunting show where they are bowhunting deer, chances are you will see some guy hunting over a lush green food plot that is the size of a football field or even larger. I have one end of my plot that grows nothing but weeds, grass and prolific dandelions. Once they are established you can plant the switch grass or another type in and around them. It shows the power of a cover crop of rye, as 25+ deer circulate through the cut corn field turned into a fall food plot. The GENESIS features tempered cutting discs, spaced at 7.5 inches apart. Poor natural soil fertility, poor texture, excessive stoniness, drainage challenges (too little or too much), short growing season and distance to market may all be factors. Did they seed and turn the grass under each year to feed the soil? It is hard work. Plot turned out great. Like to know more of the process. Land Projects,Habitat & Conservation. I would advise against any tillage or discing. this property has a section of crp- about 20 acres, a hay field - about 25 acres, and the rest is wooded with a mix of misc. The smaller field I want to prescribe fire it then plant food plot half clover and half soybean. If oaks grow in this part of Wisconsin I would start planting a variety of oaks especially white. You can buy the tree's including shipped by truck fairly cheap. The first step is to assess the type of material that will need to be removed before you can think about working the soil. If I get time tonight I'm going to sketch up an idea and repost the picture and see what you guys think. There's a science to establishing the best food plot for deer that you can, and it all starts with finding the perfect place to plant it. with a one acre field why not split it and do half perennial plus from deer creek seeds and the other half a fall winter mix like autumn buffet or hog radishes or winter rye, this would help build the soil up and then in spring put spring green in that half and the perennial plus will come back on its own. I will be on planting year 3 in this field and I have kept that same crop going. At dusk, deer would leave a small woodlot and cross 600 yards of the same field to get to that small plot and start eating. You can even hide high quality food plots within the field, to highly define where the local deer herd travels and feeds. You can turn an ATV into a workhorse. The older age class of both bucks and does can be really shy of big, open fields or food plots that are void of close cover. Keep in mind entry & exit routes along with predominate wind directions when planting any feeding or bedding cover. ... Providing quality forage is the first step toward turning your property into a dove haven, ... I’ll spread the clover seed over one corner or one small finger of the field. Hay fields as food plots. I want to convert this field of weeds into a food plot. You are not registered - please click here to register now. In another portion of our field we did a tree seeding with a mix of seeds (oak, chestnut, ash, maple, ?????) Dodge County. One nice thing about switchgrass is it does not go down in the winter with snow etc providing continual cover and habitat. You could put a tree stand in any of them now, and the bucks have been rubbing them each year. In 2013 I decided to convert a 2-acre field adjacent to my pole barn into a food plot. Why not carve out a few corners of that field and plant food plots there? Copyright © 2012 Bowsite.com. Hybrid brassicas like pasja and t-raptor grow well in spring and are palatable without having to rely on frost. “It made perfect sense to build food plots back in the woods. You will also see a buck come out into the […] The field runs north and south with mature trees surrounding it. I am a high school teacher so no farm equipment and I don't really have the means ($) to hire it out every year or pay to take care of a large food plot. Clearing trees and brush with a chainsaw, using fire or sweat equity to expose the soil highly suitable planting... The north/south gravel road runs along the northernmost edge before turning south to border the west of annual! Fields where grown up hay/ceder/ not touched in years knew it would good... Got a 65 acre parcel in central wisconsin season grasses, weeds, grass and dandelions! Tilled in in august to put it simply, clovers are a very versatile deer forage is up. Plot, what is your Depth of cover very small, i have... 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