So I'm wanting to start on some food plots! Are there any products out there that seem to be good year round? I have tons of acorns and a pond but want to give them a sort of "comfort food" for year round!
ThisIf you've got the acreage, beans. They'll eat the leaves all summer and the grain in the winter. You can even top sow wheat or clover into the field in the fall
This. Perennial clovers are about the closest thing to a year-round food source you can get.There is no single planting that is year round. A blend of clovers comes as close as you can get.
And, makes for one of the more ideal situations in which you can simply broadcast some brassicas right before a rain in August. Can also do this with some oats & winter wheat in October, but I have more trouble with birds & turkeys eating the oat/wheat seed before it can germinate. Really key to do it immediately before or even during a nice rain (but hopefully not enough to wash away the seed).This. Perennial clovers are about the closest thing to a year-round food source you can get.
Excellent point. In addition, in dry ridge-top soils with clovers that can take those conditions in the summer (Durana), I've even seen hunters broadcast Ladino clover into the plots in fall. Durana does not grow very tall, but the Ladino will in the cool season, adding a clover that produces a higher volume of fall/winter foods. The Ladino will die back in the summer. That's an expensive way to add another plant into a single species clover mixture for a single growing season, but to be honest, some of the annual clovers are getting just as expensive as the perennials.And, makes for one of the more ideal situations in which you can simply broadcast some brassicas right before a rain in August. Can also do this with some oats & winter wheat in October, but I have more trouble with birds & turkeys eating the oat/wheat seed before it can germinate. Really key to do it immediately before or even during a nice rain (but hopefully not enough to wash away the seed).
You "can" broadcast the oats/wheat in September, but by waiting until October, the big feathered rats may be more pre-occupied in the woods eating acorns, and might not notice your seed as much.
Mine is in an open field, I thought about doing turnips and then filling in with a clover! Or vice versaExcellent point. In addition, in dry ridge-top soils with clovers that can take those conditions in the summer (Durana), I've even seen hunters broadcast Ladino clover into the plots in fall. Durana does not grow very tall, but the Ladino will in the cool season, adding a clover that produces a higher volume of fall/winter foods. The Ladino will die back in the summer. That's an expensive way to add another plant into a single species clover mixture for a single growing season, but to be honest, some of the annual clovers are getting just as expensive as the perennials.
I try to shy away from single-species plantings as well, but on dry ridge-tops, where the "soil" is primarily chert gravel, Durana is the only clover that will grow in summer.I stopped planting single species clover 3 years ago and don't intend to do it again for permanent plots. However I do use balansa clover in my annual seed blends and it can become a great argument for single species plantings 9 months of the year.
I try to shy away from single-species plantings as well, but on dry ridge-tops, where the "soil" is primarily chert gravel, Durana is the only clover that will grow in summer.
The biggest problems with Durana are 1) it is crazy expensive, and 2) competition, as it is not a tall-growing species. But as long as you can keep grass competition down, it is amazing stuff. It is best drilled but can also be broadcast onto the surface late in the cool season. I've got a client that uses it extensively in their worst-soil ridge-top plots, and well maintained, it is beautiful stuff. Next time out there, I'll take some pictures.