For northern climates, winterhardiness is critical for deer food plot plants.  Winter injury can vary greatly between varieties. An example of the kind of results you may find useful from these trials:

The “Dawn” variety of birdsfoot trefoil was the second highest yielding, and has exhibited good winterhardiness.

For the past three years, Minnesota’s reports have recommended the “Norcen” variety of birdsfoot trefoil as an ideal, winterhardy variety performing well in grazing trials.

These test results from Minnesota illustrate the sound information that is available to evaluate varieties for deer food plot plantings. One of the most common mistakes made in deer food plots is planting varieties better suited to another growing zone.

As seen by the birdsfoot trefoil test, some varieties that yield very well in both southern and northern zones may not have the winterhardiness needed for the kind of climate and conditions in northern regions.

Other plants you may be interested in for your deer plots:

ALFALFA VARIETIES

http://www.maes.umn.edu/12varietaltrials/alfalfa.pdf

CORN VARIETIES

http://www.maes.umn.edu/12varietaltrials/corngrain.pdf

OAT VARIETIES

http://www.maes.umn.edu/12varietaltrials/oat.pdf

SOYBEANS

http://www.maes.umn.edu/12varietaltrials/soybean.pdf

Always be sure to verify that the crop varieties you are planting in your deer food plot are suitable to your climate.

Check out the planting rates and dates for your common varieties.

http://www.maes.umn.edu/12varietaltrials/plantingrate.pdf

Should you need information on Soybeans, forage oats, rapeseed, chicory and ryegrass, be sure to read our free articles on the resource page

http://www.diydeerfoodplots.com/resources.html

Common legumes used in deer plots are:

Alfalfa

Birdsfoot trefoil

Clovers

Crownvetch

Peas

Soybeans

Some of these crops (alfalfa, trefoil, vetch, and clovers) are grown for their forage.  Others, like peas and soybeans, contain protein-rich grain.  All these groups will be recognized by the deer food plot manager as being part of successful deer food plots in different regions.

Legumes are unique plants because they have the ability to form a symbiotic relationship with a kind of soil bacteria contained in the genus Rhizobia.  Rhizobia bacteria can take, or “fix” nitrogen out of the air contained in the soil and make it available to the plant growing in the soil.

Rhizobia bacteria occur naturally in fields where legumes have grown.  In places where legumes haven’t been grown (your deer food plot site, perhaps?), rhizobia need to be added to the soil.  This is done by a process called “inoculating.”  Inoculating ensures that rhizobia bacteria are present, providing more available nitrogen for the legumes and the other plants in your plot.

Tips for Using Legume Inoculants

Inoculating legume seed is very simple.  It involves coating the seeds with a rhizobium inoculant, a usually a powder or dust containing the essential bacteria.  This inoculant should be available at a minimal cost from wherever you purchase your legume seeds.

Be sure that you’re using an inoculant containing the proper strain of bacteria for your crop.  For example, alfalfa and sweet clovers prefer a different strain of Rhizobia than soybeans.  This should be provided in the inoculant labeling information.

If you purchase the inoculant before you intend to use it, be sure to store it at the recommended temperatures.  The Rhizobia prefer certain temperature ranges to flourish.

Inoculant can come in powder or dust or liquids.  For some legumes, “pre-inoculated” seed is even available.  Simply be sure to follow the instructions for using the inoculant suited to your crop.

Inoculating legumes is a proven, crucial practice to improving legume yields and providing nitrogen to crops grown in that space for years to come.  Don’t skip this essential step when establishing your deer food plots.

What tillage does is basically break soil into finer and finer particles in preparation for seeding.

The suprising thing is not all soils or plots even need tillage to get your food plot started. And there are some disadvantages to tilling the ground. For example. turning the soil over or disturbing the soil exposes new weeds and dormant seeds. These can then become strong competitors for your recently planted deer food plot.

So the best advice is only go as deep as you need to in the tillage action. How do you decide what you need to do and how deep you need to go.

To decide on how much tillage you need, here are crucial questions you should ask before starting:

1. What you are going to plant? Small seed or large seed? Deep roots or shallow roots?

2. What is the depth of the healthy soil in your plot? Do you have only an inch or two of surface dirt before you hit sand or clay?

3. Potential Moisture issues. Are you in a notoriously dry area, or is rainfall practically the enemy?

4. New site or a site that has already been used or prepared.

5. How much money can you or are you willing to invest? How big the plot is and what is available to you in terms of tilling options for behind your truck, atv, or hand tilling.

Keep posted and I will continue the saga of Tillage in days to come.

I will even have some hints for those people with no cash, no land, no plot…..that is the no tillage, no plot, natural resource plotting concepts applied to the great outdoors in hard to reach, out of the way, “no one knows it is there kind of places”.

Just want to know if there is any difference in corn for the deer.

I have a four row corn planter , and plan on planting  5 acre in central Michigan. The choice is sweet corn or field corn. Are there any other types of food plots  that will attract deer and keep them in the area.

I thought I would post the response here, in case any other deer food plot growers have a similar question.

Cow varieties are best. Avoid sweet corn and white corn.

Consider using a different  annual if this is your first plot, rather than corn, this will allow you to get the weeds under control in the first few years of the plot. I would plant corn though as a transition along the edge of your plot, especially if there is no natural transition zone.

Disadvantages of corn:

- not cheap to plant

-higher fertilizer needs

-fussy about pH , like 6 to 7

-doesn’t tolerate drought too well ( I don’t know about you, but we didn’t get the usual snowfall this year)

-needs very good weed control

-ideally should be planted in plots over 5 acres  as deer can consume 2-4 acres in a short time and totally ruin the advantage of having a plot

-may even need fencing in early stages if deer concentration is high.

Advantages of corn in food plots:

-good winter attractant

-considered candy to deer (if you can keep them from destroying it before you need it).

-best mixed with sorghum (grain or forage), soybeans, cow peas or American jointvetch .

Corn for deer food plots can be used in combination as well.

Some of the combinations  people like are:

-corn with sorghum

-corn, cow peas, and soybeans

-corn, jointvetch, and cow peas (the jointvetch can tolerate heavy grazing)

I would consider keeping your plot a little simpler to start, until you have success under your belt. If you still want to go ahead with corn, keep it to the transition zone. If want to go for the corn plot in spite of some of the disadvantages go combination planting as listed above.

Check out the following links to see more information on food plot annuals and also successful food plot recommendations for those planting new plots or others wanting to revive their old ones.

http://www.diydeerfoodplots.com/resources.html

Step 1: Soil Testing

Soil test: Most of the no-till blends are cereals, grains, and clover mixes (+/- brassicas) and most of these plants really like near neutral pH.  If you don’t know the pH range of your soil, you may be wasting your time and money.

Step 2: Mid May

Let the weeds grow 3 to 4 inches, then spray the field with Roundup (glyphosate). If it is taller than 3 to 4 inchers, cut it down first so you get better contact.

Step 3: Late May-Early June

Remove the dead thatch. Manual removal or controlled burning (with permits and qualified personnel) are both good options. If your soil test shows that your pH is below 6.5, use lime at recommended rates, or if no soil test is available add a minimum of two tons of lime per acre. Cheapest form of lime is bulk. Disk in lime to a depth of 4 to 6 inches

Step 4: Late June or early July

After 3 to 4 inches of new growth do a second spraying. Two sprayings will usually do an adequate job of weed control. If you have a particularly problematic plot it may take an additional spraying after next new growth.

Step 5: Late July Early August

Final Preparation of Seed Bed, Planting and fertilizing according to soil test. Add fertilizer as recommended in your soil test. Harrow drag the fertilizer into the top 1-3 inches of soil.

As you likely already know the large and small seeds need to be at different soil depths.

An example of this would include the mixing of small grains (with relatively large seed) and small fine seeds such as grass seed and clover seed.

STEP Number1: Proper Seedbed Preparation

More details in Tillage Chapter of Second Edition of “Deer Food Plots Made Easy”.

For a FREE FOOD PLOT TILLAGE PODCAST follow this link: http://www.diydeerfoodplots.com/resources.html and look for podcast #3.

STEP Number 2: Place large seed (e.g., oats, winter peas, cowpeas) onto the seedbed.

STEP Number 3: Cover the seed to approximately 1 inch deep using a light disc

STEP Number 4: CRITICAL

Use a cultipacker (not a harrow drag or homemade harrow drag). This is important to create a firm seedbed for small seeds so they do not get too deep in cracks that may be present. Small grass seeds and clover seeds can easily get put too deep and cause plot failure.

Step Number 5: Use broadcast technique for placing small seeds.

Step Number 6: Cultipack the seedbed again to make sure seedbed is firm and get better seed to soil contact.

In chapters 1 and 2 John takes a different approach than most food plot books and gives you some insight into what your options are to “get” land. Most other plot books including my own assume you have land already on which you can start your deer pots.

He covers options such as buying land, leasing or even “rent to own” options. The other thing I liked about John Weiss’s food plot book was the discussion in Chapter 2 about possible options to help you get your land to “cover some of its expenses” by crop sharing, maple tree harvest, and selective harvesting of trees with consultation from a forester.

Chapter 3 is worth special mention because most food plot books do not really cover possible options for getting water needs met. In my book we do cover what the ideal property should have for deer management but I liked what John did here because it gives options to the property owner that maybe didn’t give this a lot of consideration prior to deer property purchase.

Chapter 4 on lime and fertilizer applications is pretty consistent with most food plot publications I have read. It covers ideal pH range for most plants as well as the universal recommendation of not skipping the soil test. The best part was he recommended doing a soil test “before land purchase” if you are buying small land parcels. I have always supported soil testing in each potential plot location because soil conditions can vary widely even on the same piece of property. In my own case, I had the land first, deer habitat was a second thought but for the deer hunter who is purchasing land first, soil testing pre-purchase would make sense.

There are 18 chapters in total. The book was copy written in 2002. Eight of the chapters were 6 pages long. Nine chapters were 8-10 pages long, with the remaining Four being 12 pages long.

Chapter 5

is titled “Equipment needed to plant food plots”. It is basic and covers off some of the general categories. It doesn’t go into real detail and is likely adequate for those considering food plots and could provide a “jump off” point in how to get more detailed information. He does give the following sources for food plot equipment and all of these companies have good products and websites with additional information.

Cycle Country

http://www.cyclecountry.com/hunting-fishing

Country Home Products

www.drfieldbrush.com

  Monroe-Tuffline

http://www.monroetufline.com/sportsman.htm

Plotmaster

www.theplotmaster.com

Wildlife Specialty Products

www.amcomfg.com

Chapter 6

This chapter covers tree planting. It has 6 pages but does again present a novel approach. In Deer Food Plots Made Easy we cover plans and trees that deer love most and these of course influence “the ideal habitat”. Taking a long term outlook and planting now for benefits later is a great idea. In my experience 10 or 15 years goes y really quickly and if you plant now you can reap the benefits.

Chapter 7

In John’s chapter on clover and clover blends he lists clovers that are preferred by deer giving some examples such as arrowleaf, crimson, ladino, millennium, Osceola, red, webfoot, and white clover.

He does promote Whitetail Institute’s Imperial Clover Mix. As in most food plot books, mention is given to blends in order to cover different seasons and different soil conditions as well as growth patterns. The clover coverage in this chapter is a place to start from.  If you are looking for more details such as grazing tolerances, pH ranges outside the ideal, soil preferences, north versus south, planting dates and cool versus warm season differentiation, then this is not your best source.

The best part of this chapter on deer clovers is his recommendation on proper “pre-planting” weed control. In my experience some clients confuse “no till” with minimal soil preparation. John outlines why this approach often leads to failure. I also cannot stress this point enough. You can waste a lot of time and money just tossing seed over land if you want low time investment and minimal tillage then consider frost seeding over properly prepared land.

John discusses maintenance of perennial plots and does recommend mowing clover plots when they are 6-8 inches high, cutting down to 5 inches. He discusses the option of crop sharing clover hay to help offset some of the maintenance costs. This may be a good idea for you weekend warrior types that are far away from your land or have limited time to take care of things.

The following deer clover sources are listed in Page 70 of John Weiss’s Planting Food Plots for Deer.

Biologic

www.mossyoak.com

Texas Seed Company

1-800-321-5673

Whitetail Institute of North America

www.deernutrition.com

Alfalfa

• A good perennial but can be difficult to establish.

Red clover is an easy legume to establish

• Prefers well drained soil with high moisture pH above 6.2.
• It can be seeded in the fall or spring at a seeding rate of 6 to 8 pounds per acre.
• Will reseed itself if only moderately grazed

Sweetclover

• biennial legume
• highest yield in the second year of growth.
• Best grazing in early to mid-summer
• Best used where deer density is higher to prevent forage from becoming coarse, mature, and unpalatable

Ladino clover

• short-lived perennial
• grazing tolerant
• can be used in poorly drained soils.

Birdsfoot trefoil

• Prefers fertile,well-drained soils, but does grow on poorly drained, dry, infertile and acidic soils.
• The legume is prone to establishment problems, but once a good stand is attained, natural reseeding does occur.
• It is subject to root rott.

1. The most common brassicas used for deer are kale, rape, and turnips.
2. Brassicas are very nutritious and are high in protein.
3. They are considered to taste better once hit by a couple of hard frosts.
4. In food plots they are most commonly used as late fall, early winter feed.
5. The brassicas are winter hardy. Kale is considered the most cold tolerant and can survive in temp as low as 10F.
6. Leafy varieties with shorter stems are preferred by deer in general. It is important to contact as local expert to find out information that is specific to your area.
7. The biggest advantage is their fast growth rate with some varieties being ready in 90 – 120 days.
8. Forage rape is categorized as giant or dwarf and deer seem to prefer dwarf varieties.
9. First grazing can often take place in 60 days if conditions are right and deer pressure is not too high.
10.  Brassicas prefer well drained soil.
11.  They can tolerate variable pH and acidic soils.
12.  Best planted ½ deep in firm seedbed with adequate moisture
13. If you want grazing to be there in November and December make sure to plant in Late July or Early August.
14. If you want August and September grazing plant in May or June.
15. These plants are often referred to as winter greens by people in the deer hunting industry.
16. They are usually planted as a mix of several brassicas together and are amenable to low till or no till planting.
17. They can be planted in spring as well, but in this case they are usually used as a cover crop to compete with spring and summer weeds, while soil is being prepared for a fall food plot. If you are using non-chemical weed control in your food plots, the use of cover crops is the only way to compete with weeds.

Where to get your winter greens: Check out these companies.

• http://www.hancockseed.com/seed-varieties-241/food-plot-seed-373/whitetail-institute-506/imperial-whitetail-winter-food-plot-greens-12-lbs-2-acres-463.html
• http://www.seedland.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=Seedland&Product_Code=IMP-WINTER-03&Category_Code=IMP-WINTERGREEN
• http://critterfoods.com/cms/winter_info?PHPSESSID=2476fb43c888731089bcb0fb2df05e5e