Sunflowers

[gspgunnar]

Anyone ever plant a sunflower food plot? I bought a 3 dollar bag of bird food and spread it around in a small plot I tilled up. It was a mix of sunflowers, milo, and millet. I planted it a month ago and it appears to be doing quite well. Kinda looks like the sunflowers are going to choke everything else out though. Any ideas what I can expect from such a plot? I'm sure the blackbirds and coons are gonna love it, but what about the deer and the pheasants? Any comments?

[farm hunter]

The deer likely won't eat it much, but if you have enough Nitrogen, the flowers should get good sized and attract all kinds of birds when the seeds mature.

Last year I mixed sunflowers with corn. The corn did very poorly due to cold wheather, Geese in May, and weeds - but the Sunflowers did Very well. It was one of the most fun plots I ever did - and I really enjoyed the small wildlife it attracted. I never saw the deer eating on the seeds, and they really didn't use the cover after the first heavy frosts.

[adams]

Whitetail Institute Powerplant is a mix of peas, beans, sunflower and a couple of other things. I've got a 900 sq ft plot and the deer have eaten 75% of the sunflowers. I planted the 1st of June and the plot is about 5 feet high. What is left of the sunflowers is about 6ft tall. It's kinda funny how they are attacking it. They first ate the perimeter and now thay are working all through the plot. I would say from what I've seen the deer like the sunflowers and beans best.

[skeetr1]

I had a mix of sunflowers last year and the deer ate everything and the stems to about 2 feet above of the ground. I also have some powerplant in the ground this year,so if the deer crush the sunnies agian this year I will be planting more next year for cover and food.