Best food plot options??

[bowhunter1023]

I'd be doubling/tripling up on advice if I chime in. Jager and IB both have given sound advice. I'm personally done messing with tubers and big leafy greens. I've grown some majestic turnips, radishes and brassicas in my day and the deer would rather shit in them than eat them. Any time I have planted a clover/chicory blend and/or an oat/rye blend, I have had good success. Given the amount of ground you have, I would be experimenting with just about everything for a year or two if you see this as a long term project. I'd have one plot of everything and just see what happens. Corn and beans are a given, bet location and rotation will also influence the hunting, so there's that learning curve too. I will be adding an orchard to our place in the spring to diversify our offerings and you have several places for some well positions soft mast trees!

 

[bowtechexperience]

im going to pretty much do exactly what you guys are saying and im sure ill learn in the next few years the best way to have it all set up. its definitely not my first rodeo but first time where im doing it all on my own on my own land so i am pretty excited about the whole ordeal. my PA land was my dads so i had to do what he wanted but i learned a good bit from him and plan to take all of you guys advice and do this thing right the first time hopefully!! should i take soil samples and send them in to be tested or just test the dirt myself?

 

[jagermeister]

I will be adding an orchard to our place in the spring to diversify our offerings and you have several places for some well positions soft mast trees!

That's a great point. Soft mast like apples are almost impossible to beat in the early season. I've seen apples draw in a ridiculous amount of good bucks in August and September.

 

[Milo]

Round up ready corn is about 400 a bag and a bag will do about 2 acres I'd say. Plus about 1 ton of fertilizer. Be sure to let your checkbook know it's going to plant corn

 

[jagermeister]

Round up ready corn is about 400 a bag and a bag will do about 2 acres I'd say. Plus about 1 ton of fertilizer. Be sure to let your checkbook know it's going to plant corn

Like mentioned in an earlier post, many times a local PF chapter or the equivalent will have seed available for free. Try to tap that well if at all possible.

 

[OO2]

PF chapter?

 

["J"]

PF chapter?

Pheasants Forever....

 

[OO2]

Thank you

 

["J"]

Thank you

Anytime buddy....

 

[Iowa_Buckeye]

I'll give you my worthless opinion on soil tests and fertilizer for planting corn and beans!!! But just remember I'm a cheap fugger who doesn't feel 200+ bu/acres is necessary for food plots.

We have never done a soil test on the ground we plant on plots on. We basically just rotate the corn/beans and keep our fingers crossed.
The pic below is of some cobs I grabbed while mowing a section of one of our plots last week. I picked them and brought them home to feed to the neighborhood squirrels. This particular field had no fertilizer placed on it this spring, but was planted in beans last season. And this is not 'Iowa black gold' ground either. But rather poor CSR, sandy, river bottom soil.

If you get free/cheap seed and don't fertilize, you can plant corn CHEAP and still have a great plot. Basically all you will have in it is chemicals for weed control, tractor fuel cost, and your time.
If you really want to know just how much it helps, don't fertilize the entire field and see if the difference is worth it to you dollar wise.

 

[bowtechexperience]

i am definitely going to look into PF and find out about that. do you guys just call them and ask if they have any leftover seed corn they wanna sell and when is a good time of year to do that? if they dont have any what is the cheapest way to obtain corn and soybean seed? all my PA plots are green perennial type stuff and i have never planted corn or soybean myself so that will be all new to me. the place i just bought came with the farming equipment and im not 100 percent sure what all equipment there is but whatever i am missing i will just buy used somewhere. im also still tossing the idea around that was mentioned earlier of leasing it out to a local farmer to crop and then maybe work some kind of deal out where he puts in a cover crop every year after he harvest. i wouldnt have the slightest clue though what the going rate is for leasing out fields for farming, any ideas?

 

[Iowa_Buckeye]

I would contact your local PF and NWTF chapters an see if they have a food plot seed program. We used to get it from the NWTF/Iowa DNR for $1 per bag, but that program dried up out here about 3 years ago. Or maybe I just fell off their mailing list....
Last year we got year-old corn from the co-op for $50/bag, and beans from a locals farmers bin for the current bushel price (plus about 20% for his troubles).
If you know any local farmers you may try asking them if they have anything to sell or any other ideas? Some may hesitate due to legal issues with selling the seed and worrying you may harvest it for profit. When we got it from the NWTF/DNR we had to sign paperwork stating it was for wildlife use only.
Also maybe try placing an add on Craigslist in the farming section asking if anyone has any leftover seed.
We actually bought enough corn for 3 years last year as sometimes free/cheap seed can be hard to find when it gets down to planting time. Yea, germination will drop off a little bit, but once again it is only for the deer. I'm just hoping we can use it this year as it is RR, and with the problems we had with water hemp last year, we may have to switch to another variety. We need to do a little research to see if there is a pre-emergent available that still permits RR corn to grow.
Just remember it's never to early to start putting feelers out.

 

[cspot]

Iowa, Not sure out there, but around here the soil ph is pretty low in most cases and needs lime bad. A soil test is only $7.50 per test, so compared to what you are spending it really isn't that much. Sometimes it turns out that you may not need to add that much. I do agree though that you don't have to get the soil perfect to get a big crop if just planting for wildlife. I also have done plots with nothing with good results. I still throw some fertilizer on when I plant though and then add some lime/fertilizer over time to get the soil better.

Bowtech, you original post made me think that you were a food plot newbie and that is why I cautioned about doing 18 acres. Since you have some experience, time, and equipment then 18 acres isn't that bad. From being on hunting forums for some time I have seen some people that buy a piece of land and get all excited about plots. They then jump into trying to do too much and get overwhelmed. The guys have given you great advice above.

As far as leasing, I would talk to some neighbors and see what the going rate/interest is. Maybe the neighbor farmer would want to farm it? Maybe instead of cash you could trade for a lease to hunt his ground? I wouldn't come out and ask them, but during an introduction conversation with them the subject of what your plans are, is sure to come up. Then it allows you to say, you aren't sure, but you were thinking of doing some planting for deer or possibly leasing some of the ground out to a local farmer Then you can see what info you get in return.

 

[bowtechexperience]

great info guys!! Hopefully i can find some kind of cheap seed like that and plant my own but if not i might try my luck at getting a farmer to come in and do it. i would definitely be willing to do a trade for hunting rights on there farm, thats worth more than money to me. then i could just tend to some small kill plots and have the main food source taken care of.

 

[jlane]

One thing i don't see the guys mention is natural food. I have several fields on the property we hunt.
Now what i do is plant a food plot with turnips, clover, radish,rye and rape.
I don;t plant all the fields, We allow about half to grow wild, Briar bed thickets are some of the best plots in late season you can have. Let all the edges grow into briars and vines.
Over grown fields after the woods have open up is a safe haven for bedding if it.s not disturbed. They also make for great shed hunting.