Annual Food Plot
 

I just prepared a 1/4 acre logging road for an annual food/hunt plot for this coming season. Soil conditions are great with a PH above 6.5 and a eastern sunlight exposure which doesn't get the evening sun so the ground always appears to hold moisture through out the summer. Regular grasses seem to flurish in this area. I'd like to select a mix that will still be around for the late season when all the other food sources have dried up and will product a high yeld. Any ideas? I was considering Antler King's winter/fall mix (Rye grass and pea's) and was thinking of throwing in a few soybeans. I'd love to hear some of the other thoughts and experiences with trails and logging roads.

I wouldn't plant rye grass and soybeans when nipped off when young don't come back. I would wait till September or so and plant oats with clover on top.

Is there any particular brand of winter oats you recommend? Also what is the desired soil PH and planting times for oats. My property is in Northern WVA.

I've tried different types of oats and I absolutely put Buck Forage Oats at #1. Sept should be good for planting, depending on rainfall.

Sounds good. I'll have to see if I can find a nearby distributer. Since it's oats I'm assuming I'd want to lightly disc the seed into the ground and come back afterwards to spread my clover. Thanks for the help. I'll post some pics if it works out

Oats (best for attraction, poor cold tolerance - dies out at 0-10 degrees) or winter wheat (better cold tolerance, high preference), or winter rye (by far the best cold tolerance, lower preference) at 40-50 lbs acre (of any locally available variety) with 20 lbs/acre of crimson clover planted in september is my favorite fall annual shootemup plot. You could add austrian winter peas on larger acreage, but dont bother on a quarter acre, they will never make it.

i tried the buck forage oats: They didn't do as well as plain old horse feed oats.

I have had great luck with brassicas. Deer eat the leafy tops early and then dig up the bulbs once the greens are gone.

I'm to understand oats need to be planted at a greater depth than clover and brassicas. Whats the best way to plant oats if you do not have a planter and all you have is a disk? Should I lightly disk it in or just spread and drag and hope for the best?

About half our oats plots are disced in, the rest are drilled using a no-till drill or pasture drill in disced ground. The planting depth is 1-1.5 inches.

Disced in oats do really well. In this dry climate i wait for a good rain and plant them in soil that has been prepared previously. The old Okies call it "mudding in oats". My oats are planted very thick, about 150 pounds per acre.

Adjust the disc until no seed is showing on the surface and you've got it.