We have recently had some excellent rainfall which improved soil moisture conditions. The rain and the cooler temperatures make this prime time for planting those wildlife food plots. Cool season food plots are not inexpensive or easy, you will want to weigh your options, plan, and manage your plots to make the most of any moisture we receive. Despite the potential challenges, food plots are a great way of supplementing your deer herd’s food supply and increasing the quality of deer harvested.
To be successful you will need to put on your farmer hat and follow the same agronomic principles a small grain farmer uses when planting a small grain crop. The first step should be to select a proper site and soil type. Since you are going to be making a sizable investment in the food plot, you will want to be sure you are using a productive soil type. Next, I encourage you to pull a soil test. If you are only putting in a small plot, you could get by with using a complete fertilizer blend like 15-15-15, however there is no substitute for a soil test. The soil test will tell you exactly what nutrients you have and what you need to grow your crop.
The next step would be to decide what you are going to plant. Deer love oats and they make a good food plot, but oats can be susceptible to winter kill and are not as drought hardy as wheat. A 50:50 wheat and oat mix or even a 1/3 wheat, 1/3 oat, and 1/3 triticale mix will give you additional protection from droughty conditions, winter kill, and some rust and disease problems. These small grains will usually provide grazing through March or April. By adding a legume or legume mix, you can prolong your grazing for another month or two and add quality to your plots. Some good cool season legumes for our area include cowpeas, hairy vetch, and winter peas. I really like clovers but have not had the best luck in getting them established in the county and the seed is really expensive.
Seeding rates can vary, but for quality small grain seed, you would usually put the equivalent of 75 lbs. per acre total seed. If you are adding a legume or legume mix, you would want to plant closer to the 50lb rate for small grains and then add the legume seed. Legume seeding rates vary widely, adding 12 lbs. of vetch or cowpeas to your small grain should be sufficient. If you are considering adding a clover rate, it could be as low as 1 lb. per acre for a white clover or as high as 8 to 12 lbs. for crimson clover. Therearemanycommercially available food plot mixes that are already blended to provide the proper seeding rate for each variety.
A well-prepared seed bed is a vital part of the whole process and is required to get a good stand. Depending on the size of your plots, this will require some equipment and labor. Another crucial step is planting and getting your seed at the proper depth. Small grains can be a little forgiving if your depth varies, but typically you would like to shoot for 1” to 1.5” depth for small grains, depending on soil moisture and soil type. Legume seeding depth can vary, most clovers need to be planted from 1/8 to ¼’’ deep, but vetch should be plated around ½” and cowpeas around 1”.
As you can see, to properly manage food plots you need to have a plan, spare time, and spare money to invest in them. And after you have done all the planning and planting you are still at the mercy of Mother Nature to provide the most critical ingredient- “rainfall.”