Food plots in the woods...

[b2simple]

I am thinking about making a food plot in the middle of the woods where I hunt next spring.

Has anyone tried this? If so, what was your experience? ie. What worked well, and what didn't work.

[TURKEY FAN]

FANTASTIC IDEA!!! Its even better on a login road, they say a thousand feet of login road is just like planting an acre of food plot. I highly reccommend doing so, more security for the big bucks.

[farm hunter]

Its all relative, but a small clearing or log road in a mature woods generally will not get enough sunlight to produce serious amounts of vegetation. Now if the clearing is bigger than 1/2 acre or the logging road is clear-cut 30 ft on either side - then thats another story. - Again I'm talking about mature woods (50-60 yrs old+).

Check out North-Jeff's picture on the New Clearing post - it show a nice road plot through a young woods: [link]http://forum.hunting.net/asppg/tm.asp?m=709111[/link]

In the picture below - the woods is 40 yrs old, and the road is not trimmed oneither side:



It will not sustain a "crop". - Oh we've planted Rye here - and it will grow in September/October once the leaves start to drop - but it stays thin - and during the summer - very little growth occurs with any planting in the summer on most of the 300 yd roadway - we just leave it bare now.

[bowkill14416]

I have many plantings that do well on logging roads without clearing alot of trees and brush out the trick is only plant on roads and trails that run north and south not east and west that way you will get 3 to 4 hrs of sun and you will get some stuff to grow but do not forget some lime and fertilizer. Before we got our john deere 790 and 5 foot tiller I planted almost 2 acres on logging roads and killed some deer on these plots.

[mlang]

b2, do you own the woods you hunt, can you do some clearing? How big were you thinking of making it?

[b2simple]

I own the woods and have done a lot of clearing over the past several years (this is my gun hunting location). There is a good grass/weed base there now, so I think crops will grow there. I'm not sure how big it is going to be, it will be very odd shaped though as there are some big trees around.

[mlang]

I read some where I guy would clear out a spot in about one acre plots, in either a boomerang or hour-glass shape for his plots and place his stands in the neck of the hour-glass or the inside point of the boomerang. He said the deer would usually like to feed at these points so they could see the entire field while they were eating, or at least go by these points to before giving an "all's clear". but if you're gun hunting I guess this wouldn't make that much of a diff. The only advice I would have is do a soils test, it's worth it. Take into account weather the spot is low lying wetter area or higher on a hill, and make seed selection off of that info. A little research on the web goes a long way. Like for instance if it's in a low area whith more moisture go with a white clover variety over a red. The biggest mistake most people make is spending so much time and money on their plot and not fertilizing it, it can make the diff. in weather your plot is something the deer may come and eat from time to time (cafeteria food) or their favorite restraunt, it might be the same food but it sure tastes a lot better.

[bowkill14416]

The guy who likes the different shaped plots is Niel Dougherty he is the author of grow' em right which is a great book on creating habitat and food plots. You can order it from the North country whitetails web site I also have seen them at gander mt.

[registernow]

do you guys mow the plot at anytime to keep woody plants and such out. I was thinking that you might have to do that to keep the plot decent and then also reseed once in a while?

[bgcorn]

I planted a small plot in the woods last season on a logging road I used secret spot from whitetail institute. It worked out good. It just needs about 4 hours of sun every day.