Quick question for food plot experts

[sbhooper]

This is interesting to me, as I have 15 acres that have been rehab'd after having pumped the gravel out. It had all of the top soil put back after back-filling with sand. I am waiting for the local NRCS to see if one of their programs looks inviting, but I think most of it is going to be allowed to come back naturally (there is some good grasses/weeds out there for wildlife).

I am, however, planning to plant parts of the ground into something a bit more tasty for the deer/turkeys. I am thinking that maybe some oats for spring and in August, I will plant some wheat, or rye. I know that either one really pulls deer in this country. That buckwheat sounds interesting, if not too expensive.

I am in the river bottom, so Canadian thistle is a problem. I have that covered, as I do quite a bit of control work for Game and Parks and some private guys. Some of the lower areas, get attacked by phragmites (cane), which is a real problem in wet areas. It, as well as other kinds of weeds, is easily controlled with glyphosate (even the EPA says it does not cause cancer, although if you want to bathe in it, it might).

It is going to be fun to play with the area, to see what works.

 

[Six by five]

I would manually remove the debris as best you can, lime heavily a couple months before you plant, and include your favorite food plot seed but be sure to include OATS so it definitely gets a good spring jump. Mulching helps too if you can.

The oats work great with clover or alfalfa around here.

I stay away from the gly, but that's up to you.

 

[1_pointer]

A soil test would answer a lot of questions for you. That said, it'll take some time to build soil function, so I would focus on soils with deep roots and those that produce a good amount of organic matter. Rye is good for this as well as perennial warm season grasses. Buckwheat is a good spring/summer cover crop, but it's not cheap, relatively speaking. Wheat produces quite a bit of biomass, but most varieties do not produce a large amount of roots. Summer cover crops like sorghum/sudan grass followed by stuff that the deer like more in the fall/winter might be something to consider. Wetter areas would be a good place to try something like timothy. Not the greatest for a wildlife food, but would help build the soil in the wet areas and hopefully keep the phragmites and reed canarygrass at bay.

If you are planning on controlling weeds via chemical, you need to take that into account when selecting the species you're planting. If grass weeds are an issue, a grass specific heribicide can be a big help, but not if you are planting grasses. But, if you are focusing on grasses and have a thistle issue, some 2,4 D would be a way to get a handle on the issue and retain something growing.

 

[Hookedonelk]

We used to spray and burn our food plots every year, now mow as short as we can, disc, let it dry for a day or two, then disc again. Spraying ultimately is more successful, but the way we look at it is we deal with and interact with enough chemicals on the farm. Yes there is no “proof”, but why take the chance. I would rather have our food plots take 2-3 days longer each to get in, rather then get proof in 10-15 years and wish I would still be hunting rather then be in the ground under my kids food plots. We typically plant beans in our weedier plots, then come back in late July or early August with radishes or winter greens. After doing this for a couple years, we have minimal weeds that the deer will not eat. As was said earlier, it is a food plot to feed the deer, not to harvest a crop

 

[Hookedonelk]

These were last year, never sprayed, corn is in a 2 year old food plot, radish and turnip mix is a first year food plot

 

[sbhooper]

A soil test would answer a lot of questions for you. That said, it'll take some time to build soil function, so I would focus on soils with deep roots and those that produce a good amount of organic matter. Rye is good for this as well as perennial warm season grasses. Buckwheat is a good spring/summer cover crop, but it's not cheap, relatively speaking. Wheat produces quite a bit of biomass, but most varieties do not produce a large amount of roots. Summer cover crops like sorghum/sudan grass followed by stuff that the deer like more in the fall/winter might be something to consider. Wetter areas would be a good place to try something like timothy. Not the greatest for a wildlife food, but would help build the soil in the wet areas and hopefully keep the phragmites and reed canarygrass at bay.

If you are planning on controlling weeds via chemical, you need to take that into account when selecting the species you're planting. If grass weeds are an issue, a grass specific heribicide can be a big help, but not if you are planting grasses. But, if you are focusing on grasses and have a thistle issue, some 2,4 D would be a way to get a handle on the issue and retain something growing.

Before the gravel company tore it up, my field was full of timothy. Lots of it came back, while they were still pumping. I expect lots of it to come back now. I am just going to see what happens, but the timoth is hardy, good grass.