Hey folks..

I live in Illinois and I was wondering what type of food plot would most people recommend around here for my climate? Any opinions on any types of products would be nice. I believe that next year I am going to plant a 1-1.5 acre foot plot over a field that was used for corn last year, but this year was left unplanted because of difficulty to get to. Any ideas on extra fertilizer or extra work required to get that puppy going would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Please Help this guy out.

I just moved it from Deer Hunting forum

Thanks AJ52, sorry about that, I appreciate the patience.

I live in northern il right on the border.
Next spring I will do about the same size plot.
I bow hunt so i will be looking for the most optimum long range plots.
I'm going with Pumpkin<corn,in the middle>and clover on the right.
Its my own little cocktail that lasts through the winter.
clover early fall
corn late fall and rotten pumpkins throughout the winter.
Works really good.
I lucked out with a natural minneral lick on the north side of the plot too.

Vogt51,
I think you'll find some good info on your ???

I like to come in here once in awhile to see what the scoop is on food plots and management technics in general.

Yeah, I think I will. I completely forgot about this section of the board. I had been here before, but only like once, a while ago. Its pretty funny, because I check the deer hunting, bow hunting, midwest, and offseason boards religously, so I didn't do a search. However, just looking at the front page of this section, Wildlife Management, I have found multiple answers anyways...

Thanks again.

First get a soil test if you can. It probably will need lime - because corn can be grown on more acidic soils than, say, clover - and its likely the soil Ph was not corrected for corn.

If corn was planted 2 years ago - it was probably sprayed for weeds - so grasses (your worst enemy) should not be a big problem - and you may be able to disk the plot bare - for a good spring clover plot. (instead of plowing).

I'd probably suggest a quality clover planting - like Imperial Whitetail Clover - or any good White Clover blend. Don't use Nitrogen based fertilizer, your soil test will indicate how much Phosphorus (P) and Potassium (K) you will need to add - but figure on 60-100 lbs/acre of eacheach. Prepare the soil - spread lime/fertilizer - and roll it - then seed clover - and roll it again. The perfect planting will be planted 1-2 days before a soft - day-long rain.

If you are interested in a fall planting - its tough to beat Wheat - planted in late August or Early Sept.

Others will give you some other good options - but this is a start. You can google search "Spring clover planting" and get TONs of good info - We can help some too.

FH

Thanks FH, I appreciate it.

Why would you not put N on?

Properly inoculated clover will get enough nonce its established