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By Dave Edwards

courtesy of Wildlife Trends

Introduction

Properly managed food plots can significantly benefit a deer herd and play a vital role in the success of your deer management program. However, maintaining a desirable deer density in balance with the existing habitat is the single most important management practice to promote a healthy, vigorous deer herd. Because deer tend to concentrate their activity near food plots, these areas not only provide excellent forage for the deer, but provide excellent places to observe or harvest deer. It is important to understand, however, that supplemental plantings (food plots) are not intended to replace native deer foods. As the name implies, they should supplement native foods. If managed properly, food plots can benefit your deer program by providing a high quality food source during periods of low native food production. These periods generally occur during late summer and late winter in the Southeast. Food plots can also be extremely important to deer during poor growing seasons which result in poor native browse and reduced mast production. To be most effective, at least 4-5% of your property should be planted in food plots. However, planting as little as 1% can make a difference. The most successful food plot programs often include a combination of annual (warm season or cool season) and perennial (year-round) food plantings. These combinations ensure that deer have access to a quality food source throughout the year. There are several factors that influence the success of a food plot program. Among the most important are establishing a well thought out food plot plan, ensuring proper soil fertility and pH, preparing a good seed bed, only planting under favorable conditions, and controlling weeds. Each of these activities plays an important role in the success of your food plots.

Planning

A successful food plot program is well thought out and planned ahead of time. It is difficult, if not impossible, to establish successful food plots without preparation. Planting food plots is a process that may span over several months, not a weekend. Determining what to plant, taking soil samples to determine soil conditions in each plot, applying required amounts of lime and fertilizer, and preparing the seed bed well ahead of planting dates takes time. These are all vital steps for success. Poor preparation not only results in wasted time and money, but results in poor food plots that do little in the way of providing benefit to your wildlife.

Fertilizer & Lime

Without proper soil pH and fertility, food plot failure is inevitable. Without question, ensuring proper soil pH and fertility is more important than what you plant. Of these, soil pH is more important than fertilizer. Proper soil pH is required to transfer nutrients (fertilizer) to food plot plants. You can spread 50 tons of fertilizer per acre on a plot, but without proper soil pH, it will be of little use to the plants and is going to remain in the soil, or be leached out by rain. To effectively change soil pH, granular lime must be applied at least one month, preferably several months, before the planting date. The lime must have time to complete the chemical process of changing the soil pH. In some cases, the full benefits of applying lime may not be realized for up to 12 months. Lime can be applied anytime of the year, especially under dry spreading conditions and on unbroken land. Because lime does not move quickly downward in the soil profile, it is important to incorporate it into the top 4-6 inches of the soil where it is available to the plant root systems. Besides supplying calcium and magnesium which neutralizes soil acidity (increases soil pH), lime also promotes desirable bacterial activity in the soil, improves organic matter decomposition and increases plant’s ability to efficiently use fertilizer elements. Fertilizer without lime is about as effective as a deer rifle without bullets. In summary, to get the most out of your expensive seed and fertilizer, or even to get it to grow at all in some cases, apply lime according to soil tests or even higher than recommended. It will contribute to higher protein, higher production, better digestibility and directly to better antlers. Lime is calcium, a major component of deer antlers.

Soil preparation

Proper soil preparation is essential for successful food plots. Seed bed preparation is more than simply breaking ground. Soil preparation is a process. The basic steps in seed bed preparation include breaking the ground, harrowing the field to eliminate grasses and weeds (herbicide is often used), incorporating lime and fertilizer into the “growing zone” (top 4-6” of soil), and cultivating the field (leveling). A cultipacker is an excellent tool to use for final smoothing and packing in seed. The end result should be a smooth, firm seed bed ready to plant. A smooth planting surface ensures that seed planting depth is consistent on the plot which promotes optimal germination and growth. Without a smooth surface, many seeds are covered too deep and will not germinate. Ideally, planting should be done with a seed drill or by the broadcast -cultipack method. Planting with a seed drill allows for more precise seed depth control when planting and requires less seed because germination rate is much higher than with the broadcasting method. The process of preparing the seed bed should start well in advance of the planting date.

What to plant

Food plots will be of little benefit to deer if your plantings do not provide what the deer need or are not available when they need them. Unfortunately, there is no single food plot species that can provide a completely balanced nutritional diet for deer. Determining what to plant depends on soil types, climate conditions, and your goals. Different plants do better on some sites than on others - even on the same property. Whether you are planting during the summer or fall, planting a combination or mixture of different species can be the difference in failure or a successful food plot. Combination plantings increase the probability that some of the plant species will do well in each plot you plant and reduce the risk of losing a crop to insects, disease or adverse weather. In addition, different plant species grow and mature at different rates. As a species matures, another is available to emerge as the primary producer. One of the best ways to ensure year-round quality food plots is to design your plots to accommodate both annual and perennial species. If you only plant a food plot in annuals such as winter wheat, the plot will be of no use to your deer/turkeys during the summer or early fall. Additionally, if you plow fall annual plots to plant summer annual plots, you are “cleaning your deer’s plate” until the summer annuals begin to grow. Ultimately, your goal is to provide a continuous supply of diverse, highly nutritious and digestible food. My recommendation is to devote 60% of your food plots to perennial crops such as clover or chicory and 40% to fall and summer annual food plots such as small grains, peas, and annual clovers.

Weed Control

To get the most out of your food plots, weed control is essential. This is particularly true for warm season plantings where grasses invade and compete with food plot plants or in perennial plots such as clover, chicory, or Extreme. Weed control is a complex subject which varies from one piece of ground to another, depending upon the seed banks or root systems already in the soil. There are hundreds of species of weeds, both annual and perennial, waiting to jump on your planting and take advantage of all that money you spent on lime and fertilizer. Of all the options for weed control (mowing, shading, or herbicides) chemical herbicides are often the most effective choice. They are safe, effective, relatively inexpensive, and cut plowing time tremendously. With so many herbicides on the market today, it can be difficult to determine which one you need to obtain desired results. The best approach is to identify the invading weeds then match the appropriate herbicide treatment that will kill the weeds but not the food plot species. Herbicides are designed to kill specific plant types. For example, there are grass selective herbicides that only kill grasses but not broadleaf species such as ragweed or coffee-weed. On the other hand, some herbicides target broadleaf species but not grass. With good planning, if you have had past weed problems from the grass family, you should plant a broadleaf such as clover, joint vetch or peas. Plant a grass such as grain sorghum if you have a broadleaf weed problem. This system allows for specific selective weed control using herbicides that will not harm your food plot plantings. It is often necessary to “tank mix” a combination of herbicides to effectively control grasses and weeds in food plots. Weeds are most vulnerable to herbicides when they are vigorously growing or young tender seedlings. If weeds are taller than 6-10”, mow the plot first and herbicide once the weeds start to grow again. To be most effective, do not spray weeds during a drought, when the plants are wet, or on windy days. The best planting and herbicide combination would be a treatment of herbicides followed by no-till drilling. Fewer weeds are germinated, soil erosion is greatly reduced, and seed placement is precise resulting in fewer seeds needed to establish a good plot. Drilled plots can even be treated selectively with herbicides later as needed for final control.

Size and shape

Food plots come in many shapes and sizes. The local habitat features and topography often dictate the shape and size of a food plot. However, to be most effective in providing a quality food source, and for hunting, food plots should be irregularly shaped and range in size from 1 to 10 acres. Ideally, a food plot program should have at least one if not a couple of food plots in the 5-10 acre range. Plots of this size are often considered “feeding plots” because they are able to provide an abundance of quality food for wildlife. As a result, plots often serve as the “hub” or “core” of home ranges for deer using them. Although bucks frequently use plots of this size, hunting pressure can curtail daylight use. Smaller food plots that range in size from 1-5 acres also provide quality food sources but are generally better for hunting due to their seclusion. These food plots often present the best buck hunting opportunities because deer feel more comfortable and secure entering these smaller fields due to their close proximity to escape cover. Regardless of size, food plots should be irregularly shaped to increase the amount of “edge”. Edge is the area where the food plot meets the woods. The idea is to create as much “surface area” or edge as possible. Increased edge equals increased quality native browse and cover around the plot. Most game species thrive on edge habitat because it provides increased food and cover. Also, deer feel more comfortable entering a food plot that has irregularly shaped edges because they can only see from one point of the plot’s edge to another and do not feel that they are entering such a wide open area. Besides being irregularly shaped, leaving or planting a few islands of trees in the food plot will help conserve soil moisture during drier months by providing shade. This often enhances the aesthetics of a food plot as well.

Additional Tips on Planting Food Plots

-Don't fall into the trap of planting too early. September is often a very dry month. Mid-October is ideal in most areas of the Southeast. This is when we start getting regular cold fronts that bring rain.

-If broadcast planting both small (clover) and large seeded plants (wheat, peas) in combination, do not combine clover and the larger seeds. In fact, do not combine fertilizer and seed in the same hopper or spreader. Seeds and fertilizer will “sort” as you drive across bumpy fields which will result in inconsistent plantings. Fertilize then plant. Plant the large seeds first then lightly drag in. Then broadcast the small seeds and use a roller cultipacker to press seeds into soil. It is very important to NOT cover small seeds, such as clover, with more than 1/4” of soil. Some grain drills have separate seed boxes and separate drills allowing you to plant large seeds and small seeds in one pass.

-Proper inoculation is crucial for successful germination of many legumes such as clover or peas. Some seed comes pre-inoculated. Read the label on the seed bag. However, if inoculation is required, place seeds in a large container and coat them with “sticker” and a water solution. Mix in the proper inoculates. Make sure all seeds are coated evenly. Spread seeds out on plywood or other suitable surface and place in the shade to dry (may take a day). You may need to stir the seed from time to time. Once dry, seeds are ready to plant. During storage, protect the inoculate bags from direct sun or high heat areas. The inoculates have live bacteria in them that is vital to the process.

-To maintain perennial fields you will need to mow and apply herbicides as needed to control competing weeds. Perennial plots are normally sprayed once in early spring when grasses and weeds start growing and later in the summer as needed. Closely monitor fields and mow when needed to reduce weed competition. Fields need to be mowed (if allowed to reach 8-10 inches tall) and fertilized in September as well as the following Spring. Be patient during the first year after planting a perennial species. These types of plants are generally slow growers during the first fall. They spend much of their energy developing an expansive root system the first year. Most perennials take off in the first Spring. I often include other annual crops such as wheat, oats, or crimson clover in the initial planting of a perennial clover to ensure the plot is productive during the first fall.

Conclusion

Quality food plots can certainly benefit wildlife on your property and assist in meeting your long term deer management goals. However, creating and maintaining quality food plots takes time and effort. It is important to understand that improving food plots should not take the place of native habitat management or population control. It is the combination of all of these activities that creates a “wildlife haven”. I hope the information provided will be useful in helping to manage quality food plots on your property.

Dave Edwards is a consulting wildlife biologist with Westervelt Wildlife Services. Contact him at 800-281-7991.