Food Plot Questions?????
06-12-2018, 01:53 PM
#1
Nontypical Buck
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Dover, Ohio.
Posts: 1,434
Food Plot Questions?????
Not a new hunter, but because of circumstances I've never been able to put in a true food plot til this year. I'm in real good with one of the land owners I hunt on. He has given our family exclusive rights to hunt his property. I want to try a food plot of about 1/2 an acre. I want to use Antler King Trophy Clover, Trophy Max, and Lights Out. I also would like to mix in some soy beans with these seeds. Is it ok to mix all these together or should I try planting them in separate areas of the plot? Any advice would be appreciated.
06-17-2018, 07:28 AM
#3
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Southeast Missouri
Posts: 2,178
You need to post this in the Wildlife/Food Plot Section to get more answers..! 
I would plant the Clover separate from the other items...You can plant Clover as long with Wheat,Milo,Sunflowers and a few other plants to get the best use of 2 or 3 different plants that won't choke each other out!
What is in the Trophy Mx and Lights Out mix?
I would plant the Clover separate from the other items...You can plant Clover as long with Wheat,Milo,Sunflowers and a few other plants to get the best use of 2 or 3 different plants that won't choke each other out!
What is in the Trophy Mx and Lights Out mix?
06-17-2018, 11:15 AM
#4
Fork Horn
Join Date: Oct 2015
Posts: 293
Congratulations on the new hunt area! Got to be exciting.
What follows is pretty basic stuff. I apologize if this is old hat to you.
First thing to do is familiarize yourself with the steps you should take for a successful crop. Here's a good article: http://www.prohuntersjournal.com/article/?a=42. Don't skip any step, especially getting a soil sample.
As to what to plant, after many years of food plots, I've come down to this: Oats, grazing rye, wheat, winter peas, a brassica like rape, turnips, and perennial clovers. This will draw deer quickly in the fall and last throughout the year into next spring. Great for turkeys too.
You can buy a mix with all the above seeds from most seed companies. Look for mixtures designed for your area. I broadcast the mixture first and then drag the field. Plant them all together. Next, I plant additional clovers and rape on the smoothed seed bed and let rain set it in.
If you're lucky, you'll get a lush field the first year. If it's not as successful as you hoped, don't be too disappointed. It may take two-three years for it to be prime.
Good luck!
What follows is pretty basic stuff. I apologize if this is old hat to you.
First thing to do is familiarize yourself with the steps you should take for a successful crop. Here's a good article: http://www.prohuntersjournal.com/article/?a=42. Don't skip any step, especially getting a soil sample.
As to what to plant, after many years of food plots, I've come down to this: Oats, grazing rye, wheat, winter peas, a brassica like rape, turnips, and perennial clovers. This will draw deer quickly in the fall and last throughout the year into next spring. Great for turkeys too.
You can buy a mix with all the above seeds from most seed companies. Look for mixtures designed for your area. I broadcast the mixture first and then drag the field. Plant them all together. Next, I plant additional clovers and rape on the smoothed seed bed and let rain set it in.
If you're lucky, you'll get a lush field the first year. If it's not as successful as you hoped, don't be too disappointed. It may take two-three years for it to be prime.
Good luck!
06-17-2018, 01:14 PM
#5
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Nov 2014
Posts: 2,743
I sort of agree, you do NOT want to mix beans in with clover, as a main reason, you may need to MOW the clover between now and fall, pending how it takes and what weed control you plan to do
and honestly, if all your doing is a 1/2 acre, I wouldn;t even waste my time with beans at all, they will get eaten way too fast to do you any good
you can mix clover and Chicory, and can even treat them both with the same chemicals to keep weeds out
come FALL however, neither one will be great for drawing deer after a few frosts
Brassicia's are better for later in the fall for drawing deer, seeds are cheaper(buy just Rape seeds or Turnip seeds, with a bulb or without) they will tend to stay attractive AFTER a few frost and actually get sweeter and pull things even better
I am NOT a guy that is BIG on DEER branded seeds , they are way over priced and marketing hype has hunters wasting money like mad buying them!
30 yrs in the food plot game and gave up on them brand name seeds a LONG time ago and pull deer like mad from far and wide!
a 1/2 acre plot of either clover mixed with Chicory, and or 1/4 acre and then a 1/4 acre of turnips/rape/brassicia, what ever you desire to call them(all in same family of plant)
might be your better option
and before doing ANYTHING< do a soil test, all the more so with clover in mind,m clover is way more picky about soils than the other two types of plantings I listed!
PLUS NOW is NOT the time to be planting ANY of them, clover will be designed to be planted in a FALL /late summer planting now, as will the other things, due to heat and chances of dry weather with summers heat
the Turnbips and like seeds are like CORN, if you do some looking and reading up, they have cycle times on when/how long it takes to grow fully , like 30 day 45 day 65 day and so on
this way you can KNOW how long of time you have to plant things and them to be mature before frosts comes stun growth!
I personally prefer to only plant clover in the spring time, this way I have less weeds and more likely hood of rains to help it take off and then have all season to work on weed control!
and honestly, if all your doing is a 1/2 acre, I wouldn;t even waste my time with beans at all, they will get eaten way too fast to do you any good
you can mix clover and Chicory, and can even treat them both with the same chemicals to keep weeds out
come FALL however, neither one will be great for drawing deer after a few frosts
Brassicia's are better for later in the fall for drawing deer, seeds are cheaper(buy just Rape seeds or Turnip seeds, with a bulb or without) they will tend to stay attractive AFTER a few frost and actually get sweeter and pull things even better
I am NOT a guy that is BIG on DEER branded seeds , they are way over priced and marketing hype has hunters wasting money like mad buying them!
30 yrs in the food plot game and gave up on them brand name seeds a LONG time ago and pull deer like mad from far and wide!
a 1/2 acre plot of either clover mixed with Chicory, and or 1/4 acre and then a 1/4 acre of turnips/rape/brassicia, what ever you desire to call them(all in same family of plant)
might be your better option
and before doing ANYTHING< do a soil test, all the more so with clover in mind,m clover is way more picky about soils than the other two types of plantings I listed!
PLUS NOW is NOT the time to be planting ANY of them, clover will be designed to be planted in a FALL /late summer planting now, as will the other things, due to heat and chances of dry weather with summers heat
the Turnbips and like seeds are like CORN, if you do some looking and reading up, they have cycle times on when/how long it takes to grow fully , like 30 day 45 day 65 day and so on
this way you can KNOW how long of time you have to plant things and them to be mature before frosts comes stun growth!
I personally prefer to only plant clover in the spring time, this way I have less weeds and more likely hood of rains to help it take off and then have all season to work on weed control!
