Keys to Planting & Growing Quality Food Plots

1) Do a soil test, and then fertilize and lime as needed. You won’t believe the difference fertilizing and liming will make in both the attraction and production of your food plot! If the ph is lower than 5.8, which it probably will be if pines grow there, lime will greatly help. And, you can fertilize almost anything and make it more attractive to deer, but if you fertilize a desirable food plot, the difference can be astounding.

2) Control competing weeds and grass. Weeds greatly reduce yield, utilization and the life expectancy of perennial plots. Thorough disking before planting and/or the use of selected herbicides will do wonders. Work hard to keep your plots clean.

3) Prepare your seedbed well, making sure it is thoroughly disked, clean and level. After all, you’re “farming for deer,” whether using a 4-wheeler or John Deere tractor. The quality of your food plot will reflect the quality of your farming effort. Think of the seedbed as the foundation on which you’re building your food plot “house.”

4) Choose the right seeds for your soils, climate and purpose. There’s a vast difference in food plot plants. Decide what you want your plot to accomplish and pick just the right thing for the job, meaning the right thing for your region, soil type, climate, equipment and farming expertise. Your food plot will be no better than what you put in the ground.

5) Time your planting for optimum success. You need to plant at the right time of year and when the temperature and moisture are right for your crop. Wait for the ideal window and move quickly. Planting too early or late or in the wrong conditions will cost production … and maybe even the crop.

6) Plant at the right depth. Big seeds like cereal grains, Lablab, Lablab Plus and cowpeas can be planted an inch or more deep, but small seeds, like clovers and chicory, can’t push through much soil and must be planted a half-inch deep or less. Generally, planting with a grain drill is preferable to broadcasting because depth and distribution can be better controlled.

7) Larger, “fatter” plots yield more than smaller, narrow ones. You’ll have less production on plots under an acre in size and/or on long, narrow plots with lots of edge because of shading and competition from adjoining trees and brush. Yes, small, narrow plots are aesthetically pleasing, but when production is the goal, you need reasonable acreage and more “open” land removed from shading and edge competition to allow the food plot plants to really grow. The degree to which trees and brush can compete for food plot nutrients and moisture is tremendous.

8) Plant sufficient acreage for the deer you’re feeding. Lots of people think because deer come to plots they are big enough, but there is a huge difference between attracting a few deer and actually feeding them. If getting nutrition to deer is the goal, you’ve got to have good production and plenty of acreage. If your plot is mowed down to ground level and looks like a well-manicured golf course, you probably don’t have enough acreage in plots. You need visible standing crop to feed deer. Generally, that will take about one acre of food plot for every 3 deer feeding on it. Small, isolated plots will get hammered.