Food plot question
 

Well I have been working on putting in a food plot. It wont be to big this year but I am going to use it as a test for expanding it next year. Limited time due to a shoulder surgery coming up soon.

Anyways, I am putting it in my woods. There are hundreds of acres of corn around, 2- 10 acre fields of clover/hay that border my woods.

What I am looking for is something that grows with limited sunlight and will spark the deers interest to come thru my woods to hit the plot.

Any ideas?

Rape,Brassicas,Turnips,Groundhog Raddishes and Sugar Beets would all be good choices.....the Whitetail Institutes Tall Tine Tubers is a combination of 3 different hardy Turnips that do very well in the late Fall and thru Winter!

The limited light part limits you to clover. Brassicas (rape, turnips, kale, radishes) need a minimum of 6 hours of direct (not filtered) sun to perform well. White dutch or durana clover can do well with only 3 hrs.

x2 I would go with the clover.

Hossdaniels advice echoes my personal experience.

In both 2011-12 and 2012-13, a good friend of mine spent about $2000 attempting to establish 4 cool weather food plots in the midst of a stand of large, thinned pines. The plots total acreage ... probably 2 acres. He has abandoned the effort.

This is in SE Alabama. The mix he tried in 2 strips was a combination of Crimson clover and purple top turnips. In 2 strips he tried "Big Buck" blend ... a premix of oats, wheat, grain rye, Crimson clover.

The plots had been pH corrected and fertilized each fall according to soil testing. Planting was done by an experienced planting service using a large "Do All" style drill planter. To be "kind", the plots were fair. The "Big Buck" blend was exceptionally weak ! Of the crops, the turnips fared best, with the clover doing fjust OK.

I'd say based upon this that it is all about the availbility of adequate sunlight.

Clover / Chicory mix is good advice. Better advice is to get out the chainsaw and open up the sky. Cut in a southern and maybe a lil east (preferrably) to get more direct sun. I like going SE vs. SW cuz the dew is still on the plot and the afternoon sun is hotter. Or straight south.

I can't tell ya how many times lack of sunlight has hurt me. More than lack of rain or bad soil. Mainly because I'm have to make my plots out in a mature woods. Lots of chainsaw time and seat time in a bobcat popping out stumps. I'm about 10 years doing plots and learned alot the hard way. 90% of way I do is simple clover chicory (a killer annual that you don't mess with for 4-6 years after its going) and a lil oats or wheat in fall.

So in summer, when the leaves are on, if you look up and cant see a blue area at least as big as the plot you planted.... time to make a lil firewood. I try to open the sky as big as the plot , plus the I cut to the south as far as the trees are tall.

Thanks for the replys. Gave me alot to consider. I do want to stay away from clover cause the is a 10 acre clover field ~100 yards from where the plot is. Or is this a different type of clover that I am not understanding?

Then forget clover,be different.

The Durana Clover would be a good choice because it does well in dry conditions and takes heavy browsing.....just don't give up on Clover all together if You want something to grow in low sunlight areas or as mentioned to last longer for several years.The Deer will travel and eat in many different areas and other Properties if they feel safe,have good cover/bedding and water!

Try different Food Sources to see what works in Your area,don't limit Yourself to 1 food crop type.The Rape and Brassicas is more of a leafy plant with roots instead of large bulbs like a Turnip or Raddishes and is probably related to the Turnip Family,Deer love them and will browse occasionally....as it gets colder in the Fall and it gets hit with frost the sugar content goes up and the Deer hit it even hard so don't give up on it when You think it's not attracting Deer!

The Turnips and Raddishes stand up well to colder weather because the main Plant/bulb is under ground,I'm also told these plants help break up hard tough soil and Deer will eat the bulbs later on in the Winter months!