Muddyemms

I was talking with my father yesterday, as we were sawing up a few big oaks he had taken down, and he mentioned that if he had any land that had a deer camp on it, he'd plant soybeans for a food plot. I told him that I would plant peas, but that got me thinking. Can soybeans survive in the Adirondacks? Has anyone tried this?

It's just a random brainwave--it's 5:33 AM as I type this. [X(]

RonM

Muddy , post this on wildlife management and you will get some answers...

Wooddust

sure they will...they grow group 1 beans clear into southern ontario

sean600classic

You will probably lose them before the early bow season starts but it wtill may act as a draw. I think oats are a little more hardy to frost and are real simple to plant. The deer hit my oats all season last year.

ostdc

Muddy, last year I planted beans for one reason. I could spray them with Round-up and kill the weeds. The deer didn't use them very much, but on Labor Day weekend I planted rye right over the top of the beans and the deer loved it.
I also wanted to use the beans as a kind of "green manure" and help my soil.
So, you can plant them, but remember that they will be dead with the first frost. Plan accordingly.
Brian

Muddyemms

I did think about the frost, but mixing ryegrass in with them--that's a good idea. Our first frost is variable, but it usually doesn't come until just after Columbus Day. (In '87, we got 24" of snow on October 4th. Go figure.) I had ryegrass in another food plot last year, and the deer absolutely loved it.