Planting Guidelines for Late Summer/Early Fall Food Plots, Fall Planting Strategies for Early Season Deer Hunting, 3 Reasons You Should Be Planting Brassicas, Understand How to Equip the Beginner Turkey Hunter, Trekking the Trails: Best Hiking Destinations for 2021, Savage Arms Selects Mossy Oak Camo for NEW Impulse Predator Rifle, Missouri Provides More Opportunities For Hunting Feral Hogs And Coyotes With New Regulation Changes For 2021, Stephen Reinhold on How to Self-Film Fishing, Steven Reinhold on Self-Filming Predator Hunts, Planning Your Waterfowl Hunt of A Lifetime, GameKeepers: Farming for Wildlife Magazine, plant fall plots is from July into early September. Winter Rye Hunters, plant the right forages in food plots to help attract deer and wild turkey. Either hunt can be filled with memories that will be forever etched in your mind, whether good or bad. There's still time. In the Middle U.S. and South the best time to plant is August, September and October. With these insights you can then make adjustments in future years to get the ultimate combination of brassicas and grains to see your deer through one of their most difficult and stressful times. Proper seed bed prep significantly increases your chance at even germination and growing a successful plot. You can also fence off the plot with electric fences or use a repellent and ribbon system such as P2 Plot Protector while the plants are young. Run over the food plot with a light cultipacker for good soil contact. To make a killer food plot for deer in the woods, you only need three items – a backpack leaf blower or a rake, seeds and fertilizer. That being said, some grow faster than others and will be better for those who procrastinate. Side note: Turnips, rape and radishes may not be for every farm. When native green forage becomes less available from fall through spring, these crops will attract large numbers of deer and provide valuable nutrition to help them through this difficult period. On the surface, it looks like the folks at Winchester and Browning have really had their nose to the grindstone on this one. equipment, such as a chainsaw, drip torch and leaf . You trick the late season plants by starting them 3 months later than mother nature would, and they can not mature by winter. As with oats, if you don’t have enough deer to keep it in the optimum 3-5 inch height, mow it down periodically and it will regrow fresh tasty shoots. Till the soil to prepare a suitable seedbed so there are no large clumps and then cultipack it to firm the seedbed. Try to plant more or larger plots to spread out the pressure. Adjoining that smorgasbord was another plot with just pure oats that they could turn to for a change of pace. Not all camp coffee makers are equal. A variety also lets you appeal to different deer that might have varied taste preferences. Soybean food plots have been gaining a lot of attention over the last few seasons and many could argue they're the best all-around seed to plant for deer food plots. A 90-degree angle or an hourglass shaped plot are some classic examples. Both types of plants (cereals and brassicas) provide strong nutritional value and a taste that deer relish. As a rule, whitetails prefer the taste of oats over rye. The .50 caliber muzzleloader belched blue-gray smoke and the big deer dropped on the spot. Before I get started on the best time to plant turnips, you need to keep one important thing in mind: turnips grow very quickly. Apply those, or add about a ton of lime per acre and a 19-19-19 or similar fertilizer if you haven’t tested. Those can be particularly important during winter or early spring when other foods are scarce. For starters, these species are relatively inexpensive. These plants originated in Turkey, Iraq and Europe thousands of years ago. Toggle menu. Oats are the second major cereal grain to consider, and in most cases a better choice than rye. If the forage itself wasn’t enough attraction for a mature buck, I figured the does in the plot certainly would be. Plant seeds no deeper than 1 inch. In addition, the one-two punch of brassicas and cereal grains will provide fabulous hunting opportunities in the process. Over the years, I've gone to great lengths to bring home thousands of pounds of wild game. While large scale food plots often require heavy equipment to plant and maintain, small scale food plots can be easily created and managed with a chainsaw, rototiller, rake and a … Althought he month of August is arguable the best time to plant a food plot, you will find personal success if you match the needs of the local herd and hunt to your timing window. important. Before the starches in brassicas turn to sugars and make them especially attractive, freshly-emerged cereal grains will draw deer to your plots. Although August can be hit or miss with random rolling thunderstorms, increase slowly increases into the months of Fall and early Winter. Spend 2021 in the great outdoors, exploring some of the most breathtaking trails the country has to offer, from Glacier National Park to the Great Smokies. Is it any wonder these plants are so favored by deer managers? Brassicas Kimberly Moore Wilmoth, University of Florida | Sep 27, 2015 With deer hunting season under way in Florida, University of Florida Extension Agent Derek Barber has some tips for North Florida hunters on planting the right forages in food plots to help attract deer and wild turkey. What’s more, they’ll come back strongly and continue producing more green forage as they are eaten down by deer. Simply spread it out on a tilled plot and you’ll have a green field that will attract deer. The boat is moving more than the movement you’ll have while hunting. If you don’t have enough deer to keep oats down in the 3- 5 inch range, cut the field back with a mower to this height. Wheat, oats, and cereal rye (not perennial ryegrass) can be an excellent choice for a simple and easy fall food plot. Wheat is another good cereal grain for fall plantings, with 12-20 percent protein and a taste deer relish. Plants in front of photo were on the edge of plot and did not have N applied at planting. 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. So exactly what plants should you choose to offer maximum attraction to your herd in the fall? 5. The hunting season is also a great time to meet the needs of the local deer herd, at a time when the local food sources are beginning their annual decline. You can buy single varieties or blends of either brassicas or cereal grain seeds. That brings us to the second part of the “one-two punch for fall annual food plots…”. The best option for you depends on whether you are thru-camping or car-camping and what kind of camping stove you have. Fall is late in most areas of the South, and procrastinators have lagged behind in their food plot plantings. To experience your greatest potential level of influence for the herd and hunt, consider making the month of August your favorite time to plant as well! Why do I need food plots on my land? Planting: This seed needs a well-prepared seed bed. Many hunters in the Deep South start thinking about planting green fields right after dove season ends. The large leaves in a fast-growing brassica plot will shade out and kill many troublesome weeds and grasses. While this can be a debatable subject (depending on location, climate, and soil), small grains, clover varieties, and brassicas are typically among the best cool-season food plots to plant for deer. Cereal Grains  of the best areas to locate a food plot may be currently forested. But the odds are good; 90-percent or more of the antlers you discover are going to be found in one of three locations. They provide fantastic nutrition from germination to late season. New tender growth will emerge and deer will feed heavily on it. Experiment with different blends and single-crop plantings to see what parts of your land, soil types and growing conditions each grows best in. These plants stay green in the winter, are normally very attractive to deer, and provide a great deal of nutrition to wildlife during the fall and winter months. Bowhunters then are scurrying to put in some type of deep-woods plot that may become a honey hole for taking whitetails up close and personal during bow season. Whitetail Clover Planting Dates. The best way I know to present a clear and true assessment of the best deer food plot plants is to divide the country into North and South and present appropriate seed species (not mixes, you do that on your own by reading labels or discussions below in this article) suitable for either one or both (see Tables 1 … Instead, a successful food plot planting window considers your ability to influence the success of the herd and the success of the hunt, as well as the success of your planting, all at the same time. Mixtures that contain both, cereal grains and brassicas help combat this problem by spreading the grazing pressure out to the other plant varieties in the mix. The variety of offerings will also help overcome the smallness of your plots and draw deer to them. Mixing with clover can also help improve the taste appeal of oats while distributing browsing pressure. Once deer eat the leaves and any regrowth, some brassicas like turnips or radishes have large root bulbs or tubers the deer can consume. It succeeded admirably and has a high yield, good protein content, and excellent digestibility. In my recent article “Weed Control Primer” in Quality Whitetails magazine, I … Read More On a research farm in Quebec, Biologic had Maximum plots producing over 30 tons per acre, with individual plants weighing over 4 lbs each! Several Biologic blends (including Full Draw, Last Bite and Green Patch Plus) contain both brassicas, cereals and clovers, such as berseem, for variety and added taste appeal. Also, for the incredible weather that slammed into the area, before we could finish. Just about anyone that has put on waders and thrown out decoys has had a destination, species or hunt that they always wanted to take. You can accomplish both goals of great herds and great hunts, but that largely depends on your ability to successfully tap into the timing of your food plot activities, during the best time of the year to plant. ... As a perfect food plot planting, beans have two downsides. There’s no real secret about how to find and take turkeys. Play your cards right and you could be first in line at the taxidermist. Kale, rape, true brassicas and turnips can offer 20-40 percent protein levels with over 80% total digestible nutrients. You just have to plant the right stuff. Besides being one of the most attractive plantings available, it also has numerous benefits to the soil. In more recent years, tournament anglers and weekend fishermen both have started overpowering their crankbaits, a term that means that they use a deeper-diving crankbait than the bottom they’re fishing. Where: Ideally you would like to hug tight to a water source such as a creek or pond, but not too far from bedding … There are several advantages to using these species in your fall food plot. That will be perfect for us, because this area is north-central Wisconsin where snow can fly as early as November. Brush up with these deer food plot tips for when the planting season arrives. The first thing I’d advise a new turkey hunter to do is to find some private or public property that has turkeys on it that he or she can hunt. Each of these offerings also includes brassicas to provide maximum fall attraction in a single planting. Everything I turn to related to firearms is talking about this new cartridge. Broadcast and disk the seed to that depth, then pack the ground lightly for good seed-to-soil contact and germination. It can also be mixed with other cereals. The best month to plant a food plot can't be measured purely in pretty fields of weedless forage. Rye is popular with novices because it is very easy to plant. Again, this is a learned response by deer in moderate to high-densities. A group of does were feeding on the lush green forage in front of my stand and I knew the odds were good that a buck would soon join them. And if one plant type doesn’t thrive in your growing conditions, chances are the others will. If you're a bowhunter who hasn't considered planting food plots where you hunt, give it some more thought. Soybeans can arguably be one of the best food plot species to plant. But I like to hunt light, and the older I get, the lighter I travel when turkey hunting. Then later, if you don’t have a large enough area planted and your brassicas get eaten down, the deer may switch their focus back to the cereals from mid-winter into early spring. One factor that many hunters often overlook is that deer are browsers, and according to some estimates feed on a couple hundred different foods. Prepare the soil just as you did for brassicas then consider these four major cereal grains. Cereal rye has good cold tolerance, but its protein level is modest, at 10-15 percent. Oats are most attractive when they just emerge to a height of about 6 inches. Created with Sketch. In fact, some seed blends can wait until early October to go in the ground. That is, if they can reach them. It also doesn’t have as much taste appeal to deer as the other grains. Last year, I planted five acres of RWWP Generation 2 Soy Beans across various farms and different plot sizes. They provide prime early-season nutrition and excellent hunting opportunities when planted as soon as August in the north or September in the south. They can both be eaten down relentlessly and still come back strong, and both can survive deep snow and brutal cold, providing forage right through winter into early spring. Both oats and wheat can be planted slightly deeper than rye—1/2-1 inch. Fig 6; Identifying the best sites for food plots is. Certainly perennial plantings such as clover and alfalfa draw bucks at this time. Food plot construction is a relatively straight forward procedure, accomplished with minimal time and effort. Planting techniques are the same as for rye. Moist or dry conditions are acceptable for adequate growth. If too many deer utilize the plot or they feed on it without leaving enough leaf matter, they can destroy it. Depending upon where they’re planted, brassicas can yield huge amounts of food. From deer hunting and turkeys, to even dove hunting, these food plot seed choices can do it all. Cereals and certain other plants can bounce back better after heavy feeding pressure. MY ACCOUNT; 0; 1-800-688-3030. As far as timing, in the far north and Canada brassicas are best planted in July into early August and cereals from late July through August. Weeds will be dying, moisture will be on the increase and food plotting practitioners have plenty of months to prepare their next great food plot planting. August Food Plot Planting Window -Early August to Early September may just be the best time to plant a food plot. However, as gamekeepers we need to focus on more than just using food plots as a tool to bring deer in closer for a shot. It can grow in clay soil but grows best in a loamy mix. To add to the appeal of brassicas you can also mix in annual clovers. ... Not sure when to plant your plot? It was created to blend the yield potential of wheat with the vigor and disease tolerance of rye. The plants were succulent and packed with protein. For the fruit/bulb bearing forages like brassicas and winter peas, it’s best to plant them closer to the 60 DUFF mark. This enables future plantings to grow deeper and utilize more of the soil’s nutrients. The best month to start building your field (s) of dreams really depends on your desire to grow a quality deer herd that will also offer you an exceptional hunt. Why does the hunting season even matter? Creating new openings may require large equipment, but some sites can be cleared and prepared for planting with handheld . Monitor your plots to determine which ones attract the most deer and when they reach peak production. Adding to their appeal, they’re easy to grow even for the novice food plotter. Triticale is great for a stand-alone crop, but it also performs well in mixtures such as Biologic’s Outfitters Blend and Winter Grass Plus. Biologic offers a wide variety of both single plant and seed combinations for fall that we’ll cover later in this piece. Try and get as far away from a 4-wheeler trail or a food plot as you can, take a backpack leaf blower and four to five pounds of some type of … Biologic’s Trophy Oats are excellent for both northern and southern regions with an early-maturing variety and a cold-tolerant species in the mix so they’ll perform well from August through winter. Increasing Moisture Patterns -While April showers bring May flowers, June and July can often drought your food plots to death. There are a myriad of combinations that can be used with cool-season food plots. Because deer herds are attracted, molded, shaped and controlled during the hunting season more than any other period of time during the entire year. This blend was the original brassica planting offered to the food plot market. If only it was that simple! This is an early season plot that can be a dependable location for that first sit of the year. In early September of 2020, at the Conservation Commission meeting in Jefferson City, Missouri, a vote changed the regulations regarding coyote hunting and feral hog in Missouri. This brings us to the 6.8 Western. Planting food plots is a fun way to stay connected to your hunting land, provide some supplemental forage for deer, and give them extra food sources throughout the year. That gives a window of up to a month or so where cereal grains will be your go-to plants for nourishing and drawing in deer before the brassicas become sweeter and more appealing and the focus shifts to them. That way various plants in the blend will be at peak palatability and production at different times, drawing in deer throughout the fall and winter. Oats as an example; you have some that are more cold hardy, some that are more attractive to whitetails, some that hold palatability longer, some are more browse tolerant, cold hardy or resistant to drought. Depending on the species you go with, you will need to plant your food plot months ahead of time to ensure a lush green and attractive plot by September and October. So what are brassicas good for other than being a favorite fall/winter food item? Click on your food plot product below for specific planting dates. In addition, they make vital nutrients such as phosphorous, calcium, and nitrogen more readily available for future plantings on the site by scavenging them from deep in the soil and leaving them at higher, more accessible levels when they die. They produce forage quickly and have higher protein content than rye, in the 15-25 percent range. Instead food plot species like brassicas, standing corn, and standing beans become very attractive as food sources like acorns and clover dry up. It too comes back strong after grazing. The results are field-proven and can help you enjoy the best deer hunting ever. Cereal grains for the deer manager mean wheat, oats, rye and triticale. The wider the buffet choice you offer your local whitetail herd, the more likely every buck and doe in the area will find something they like to feed on. Gift Certificates. Timing is crucial, but the species is also crucial. He stepped out as the sun slipped behind the bordering trees and I didn’t hesitate. The hunters asked, and The Missouri Department of Conservation listened. A bit further south, those crops will continue to produce new growth green forage right into March and April, when perennial clovers and alfalfa come on strong. Triticale works in lower pH soils than wheat and will tolerate cold better. Brassicas are mustard-type plants with large, green leaves that provide up to 40 percent protein and are especially favored by deer after cold temperatures transform their starches into sugars to significantly raise their taste appeal. In the Northern U.S., typically the best time to plant a Fall food plot (Honey Hole, Slam Dunk, Lights Out, Fall/Winter/Spring, Trophy Clover or No Sweat) would be during the months of July, August and the first half of September. Brassicas are not only great for attracting deer and providing them nourishment, they can also help your plots become more productive for future plantings by adding nutrients and combating two common food plot problems—weed competition and compacted soil. Here are 5 important factors that will answer the question of when it is truly the best time to work the fields and broadcast some food plot seed into the ground: For weed control, moisture, food plot, herd and hunting success, my favorite month to plant a food plot is during August. Cultipack again to ensure seed-to-soil contact or barely cover the seeds, about ¼-inch then pack lightly for best results. Wheat can survive the coldest temperatures throughout most of the U.S. and Canada. High-quality grain food plots play a critical role in the relationship between food, cover, movement, and winter pheasant mortality. Here are some tips and techniques used to bring home everything from musk oxen and moose to tiny quail and wild turkeys. A wise man once said, “The best time to plant a fruit tree is 10 years ago, ... typically in September. Turnips, radishes, rape, winter wheat, and standing corn or beans are all key fall/late season attractants. If you’re late to the food plotting game and running out of time, I’d recommend planting your plot with oats and/or rye. Winter-Greens® is an annual blend of cool season WINA brassicas specifically designed for late-season food plots and late-season hunting. After that they often get too tall and tough to interest deer. To reap the rewards a hunting food plot can provide, it’s important to consider the elements that make these plots work. 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