food plots

[bucky122]

im from coweta county georgia this will be the first time i have tried to make food plots for our land could someone give me some tips.

[chufafarmer]

what are trying to attract, deer, turkey, or both?

[bucky122]

both deer and turkey

[m.t.hands]

post your question here and you'll probably get all the info you need, also you can check your local co-op

http://forum.hunting.net/asppg/tt.asp?forumid=10

[FirstBow]

clover and sweet grass works well here

[VA HEAD HUNTER]

what kind of land are you doing the food plot on? keep in mind if you have farm land that you already have crops then food plots can be a big waiste of time. here in va on the farm we grow corn,soybeans,alfalfa,timothy,barley and others and i tried a food plot a few years ago and found it was useless because the deer wouldnt go near it since they had plenty of what they were used to but i have a friend that has a piece of land which is all hardwoods and he did a food plot on his land and it was incredible how many deer used it. and food plots can get really expensive.

[redsoxfan]

I belong to a hunt club in south carolina,and we have several food plots with clover, rye and all the designer brands rackmaster,ect.I believe they are expensive and a waste of time.There are so many natural food sources for deer available that I believe they save the food plots for late season when typically the season is over. My expierence is that the turkeys benefit more from food plots than deer. This is only my opinion though.good luck and happy hunting

[nchawkeye]

I've found that for deer and turkey the cheapest and best are to plant a mix of winter wheat, oats and rye...cover with about 1/4 inch of soil and then add white ladino clover...don't cover the clover...I live in NC...and usually spray with Roundup about August, then run a disk across (or can use a aereator like you use in your yard)...anything to give the seed some soil contact...then lime and fertilize....the deer will eat the grasses as soon as they start coming up, this gives the clover a chance to grow...when the wheat heads in spring...turkeys will be there...and by spring the clover will be establised for summer and the next season...The second year, I fix another area the same as 1st year beside my original foodplot...to give them more wheat, etc for the 3rd year...you can plant the wheat etc back over the 1st plot of clover....but it seems that the turkeys get too much of the seed if you can't get good soil coverage...

BTW...I tried some of the "turnip greens" this year...I think the brand name was "ProGraze"....deer did eat after the frost (about mid Nov)...but by now (early Jan) there is not much food value left...so I don't think I'll be trying that again....I buy my seed from Southern States...Its cheaper if it doesn't have a deer on the bag....You should also get one of those Scotts hand spreaders ($10)...they work best for the clover as the seeds are so small...Good Luck