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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
