jhalfhill

i planted a food plot in july that the deer have barely touched. i think its mainly because of the drought we had in the summer though, right after i planted it we got very minimal rain for 2 months. however it did grow some. the guy at agway made a mix for me when i planted it. he put chicory, alfalfa, and red clover in it. i read on here that most of you prefer white clover. are deer not as attracted to red clover? thats what grew the best in my plot and its not ate off, they dont even dig for it in the snow. in march i think im going to broadcast white clover seeds all over the plot. also, they dont touch the chicory either. the whole plot has been basically untouched since day1. the plot size is 1 acre.

bowhuntermws1981

Are there a lot of weeds in your plot or is it healthy? I planted a white clover plot last year that got choked out by weeds and was untouched. This year, I put some Arrest on it and they have mowed it off all year, even dug holes in 10" of snow to get at it. Are there a lot of other food sources in the vicinity (standing corn, etc.)? Is it in an area where they feel safe eating it?

bawanajim

Did you check the PH levels? Now is a good time to lime your plot,it might help.The deer dig through alot of snow to get to mine.

Dan O.

You may have other problems. Deer want food, cover and water. Once they have those basics they get picky as to using the best sources. If you have a low deer population compared to the food sources availablethey won't leave secure cover to feed on your plot. What is the location of your plot in relation to other food sources?

Dan O.

Coyotestalker

Deer are attracted to red clover, but the white clover does have more appeal. I plant white dutch clover with blend of other whites and crimson clover. The white dutch and other whites can be very drought tolerant, where the crimson and certain strawberry clovers cannot do well in drought climates. But I got to tell ya, a acre of just crimson clover is a beautiful sight, but without the whites around or mixed in, the deer seem to just pick what they want and move onto the buckwheat and other things.

RonM

We used to plant red clover, scarlet clover , primarily for hay, it grew a lot taller and the stems were a little coarse, more so than dutch . I would go with a white clover for food plots......

jhalfhill

i thought this plot was in an ideal location. its in the very back of a field that joins a very thick patch of woods where the deer like to hide after being havily pressured during gun season. on the oppostie side of woods is a 15 acre plot of standing field corn. they have ate at some of it but they're not into it hard either. so this plot has cover on all sides of it and i have the land posted so its unpressured. also, their arent any weeds i sprayed the ground before i planted and it kept the weeds out really well. i think maybe the clover sint mature enough yet since it is small from the drought. they just flat out dont like the chicory because it came up a foot and half high beautifully and they dont even walk through it.

farm hunter

sounds like your deer are not wanting for food.

deer really like red clover if kept mowed. I like whites better because they resist weeds longer - but I'm not sure the deer care either way - red or white.

If the plot is "bitter" - you need lime - taste it and see.

Or do a Ph test. I'll bet your looking at 5.5-6.0 ph with considerable other food available.

FH

Dan O.

You may need more enticement. Maybe some mineral mix with molasses? FH and others offered some good advise. On my property I have 1-2 resident does in the summer and the deer leave for a deer yard north of me in the winter. Probably only 5% of the food gets used. The deer are picky enough that they won't feed from an apple tree that is 50 ft. further away from the brush line. On the other hand they will go 200' to another tree that has a hill for cover.

Dan O.

jhalfhill

it probably needs limed again, it got limed really well the previous year and was part of the corn field. when i disced the corn stalks up i just replaced that part with clover and chicory. it just probably needs another good coat.

thanks for all the info