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May 7, 2008 09:00 AM
Deer Food Plots...What Food Plot Seed Should You Plant?
Below is a comment and question I received from Free Deer Hunting Tips Community member Pat.
Pat asks...Thanks for all your good information. We want to plant a food lot on our 20 acres. What is the best kind of seed to plant?
Here is my reply:
Thanks for your email.
To answer your question, I need to ask you a few.
Are you planting the whole 20 acres?
Have you had a soil sample conducted yet?
What type of soil do you have? (ie: loamy sand, clay, etc)
How much annual rainfall do you get each growing season?
What area is your deer hunting land located? North, South, etc.
Are you going to use a herbicide to help clear the land of unwanted weeds and vegetation before you plant? Or, are you going to try to use more organic methods to control weeds?
All of the above factors and several more will play a crucial role in deciding what seed to plant.
For example, if your soil test reveals your soil to be acidic, you will have to add lime to neutralize it.
The 60/40 Rule
Here is some food for thought…I suggest you plant your food plots with 60% perennials and 40% annuals.
In other words, plant 60 percent of your total food plots with something you need plant only once and will continue to grow year after year. Then plant the remaining 40% with a food source that needs to be planted each year.
Annuals grow much quicker and will provide a good food source for deer while the perennials are establishing their root systems. Planting annuals will help keep deer from over browsing the perennial crops while they are growing.
Some annual seed choices would include: Corn, soybeans, cow peas, sunflowers, rye grass, oats, etc
Perennial seeds could include: alfalfa(buy deer specific seed), chicory
I have used The Whitetail Institute products with great success as well as Biologic seed blends.
Before you buy any seed make sure to get a soil test if you have not already done so. A soil test will tell you the type of soil you have, the pH of the soil, lime requirements and fertilizer requirements for your soil. Without soil test information, you could spends hundreds of dollars on seed and have poor results.
Soil tests usually run between 10 and 30 dollars and is money well spent.
If you would like, I would be glad to look at your soil test results and then make a more targeted suggestion for seed choice for you.
I look forward to hearing more from you.
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Good Luck and Great Hunting!
Deer Hunting Expert at http://www.free-deer-hunting-tips.com
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Posted by Marty Prokop at 9:00 AM | Comments (0)
May 4, 2008 09:00 AM
Think Like a Deer to Fill Your Tag
If you would like to listen to this Free-Deer-Hunting-Tips.com blog post as a podcast click the play button…
Discover the best place on your deer hunting land to find deer by thinking about what deer need and what your land can provide them.
Is it food, water, sun, shade, a place to rest, a place to hide or a windbreak? Or a combination?
Think about what deer need and where they will be at what time. Consider time of day, weather conditions and hunting pressure. Then head to the appropriate spot on your deer hunting land.
For example, let’s say it is cold, the wind is blowing and the ground is covered with snow in most areas.
Ask yourself, what do deer need today? The answer could be sunshine, a windbreak and easy food.
Hunt a south facing slope where the sun has melted some snow, making acorns or other browse available for deer while keeping them out of the wind. Come in so you are downwind so the deer will not pick up your scent in the wind.
If you can think like a deer, you can put more meat on your table.
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Good Luck and Great Hunting!
Deer Hunting Expert at http://www.free-deer-hunting-tips.com
****************************
Find Deer Games, Pictures and Hunting Fun at: http://www.free-deer-hunting-tips.com
=========================
*** More Free Stuff ***
Get Your Own Free Audio Deer Hunting Tips, listen to the Deer Hunting Podcast, subscribe to our RSS Feed, see Big Buck Pictures and read the Deer Hunting Secrets Blog at: http://www.marty-prokop.com
=========================
*** Newsletter and RSS Feed ***
If you want to keep up on new deer hunting secrets subscribe to the weekly Free-Deer-Hunting-Tips.com Newsletter or get blog posts delivered to you by subscribing to our RSS feed by clicking on one of the RSS feed buttons in the right hand column of this blog.
=========================
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Help your deer hunting buddies and support deer hunting…it’s free to do… Go ahead and email this Free-Deer-Hunting-Tips.com blog URL to your deer hunting buddies or use our Tell A Friend form at http://www.free-deer-hunting-tips.com/ .
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Posted by Marty Prokop at 9:00 AM | Comments (0)
May 1, 2008 09:00 AM
How Well Can Deer See?
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There has been much debate as to how far the whitetail deer can see. Are deer eyes better than human eyes?
The answer may surprise you. Here it is…
Yes and No.
Low Light Vision
In low light conditions deer can see better than humans.
Deer eyes have more rods, which are the light receptors. Human eyes contain more cones, which are used for gathering more color.
Rods are much more capable in gathering light than cones.
Night Vision
Deer also have a layer of reflective pigment in their eyes called tapetum, which increases the ability of deer to see better at night.
Here is how tapetum works in a deer’s eye. If light passes through the rods of a deer’s eye without stimulating the rods sufficiently, the tapetum bounces the light back to the rods. This allows the light receptors in the eye of the deer to respond again.
Deer have night vision superior to humans.
Colors and Distance
It is believed, however, a deer cannot perceive colors as well as humans, nor can deer see as well at longer distances.
Want more deer rutting secrets? Subscribe to the weekly Free-Deer-Hunting-Tips.com Newsletter or get blog posts delivered to you by subscribing to our RSS feed by clicking on one of the RSS feed buttons in the right hand column of this blog.
Good Luck and Great Hunting!
Deer Hunting Expert at http://www.free-deer-hunting-tips.com
****************************
Find Deer Games, Pictures and Hunting Fun at: http://www.free-deer-hunting-tips.com
=========================
*** More Free Stuff ***
Get Your Own Free Audio Deer Hunting Tips, listen to the Deer Hunting Podcast, subscribe to our RSS Feed, see Big Buck Pictures and read the Deer Hunting Secrets Blog at: http://www.marty-prokop.com
=========================
*** Newsletter and RSS Feed ***
If you want to keep up on new deer hunting secrets subscribe to the weekly Free-Deer-Hunting-Tips.com Newsletter or get blog posts delivered to you by subscribing to our RSS feed by clicking on one of the RSS feed buttons in the right hand column of this blog.
=========================
*** Help Your Deer Hunting Buddies ***
Help your deer hunting buddies and support deer hunting…it’s free to do… Go ahead and email this Free-Deer-Hunting-Tips.com blog URL to your deer hunting buddies or use our Tell A Friend form at http://www.free-deer-hunting-tips.com/ .
=========================
Posted by Marty Prokop at 9:00 AM | Comments (0)
