First Food Plot

[Travis13]

Hey guys, long time lerker and first time poster. Great site and glad I finally joined. Ok so me and my father have acquired a new piece of land. We have always thought about a food plot but we have a working cattle farm and it always got in the way.
I live in Cannon Co and we were thinking of planting Eagle brand soy beans in the summer and moving to winter wheat mixed with oats in the winter. Is this a good idea? If so when is the best time to plant each? Ay tips would be greatly appreciated.

 

[smokepolemonky]

Welcome to TN Deer

 

[deerchaser007]

Since your a first timer and a cannon county guy,.. i'll give you my opinion,..mainly cause your a cannon county guy!!LOL
First off, welcome!!
First thing with a food plot is to get the ground preped and ready. You will need to bring the ph level up. Typically in cannon county the soil ph is 5.2 or lower,.. even in some of the good bottoms in this county its typically 5.5 or lower. You need a soil sample,.. take to the co op or the UT extension office in town can help you with that. You will need to bring the ph level up to 6.0 to 6.5 for a successful food plot.Good ground prep is important!! If you can't drill,.. then mow,disc,put down your fertilizer and lime, then lightly disc again. If the field is tall with weeds and grass,.. you may have to spray before you do all that!! Thats enough maybe to get you started with that peice.
If you want soybeans i recommend the plot be at least 3 to 5 acres in size. Anything smaller and don't waste time with the soybeans. If its that large,.. then don't plant til after threat of frost has gone.The wheat and oats can be planted in sept. I would recommend adding a annual clover like crimson to that or winter peas. Give them a nice buffet for fall and winter. Even adding in a few pounds of dwarf essex rape or turnips is good also.

Is this a good idea you ask. Food plots are what they are,.. a food source. Its a good idea if you can afford the time and effort involved in putting them in and keeping them worked. food plots are just one peice of the management puzzle. For the most part,.. they are used to draw deer only. Most people can't afford to put in enuff plots to have any affect on antler development or deer health,.. so they do it to draw deer. IMO,.. drawing deer to a property is not the right approach,.. but holding deer on a property is the right approach. If you can get the right amount of cover,.. wait....COVER is king so i will caps that one. But COVER,sancuary,food and water is what deer need. You give them that,.. and you got something!!

Hope that helped!! Good luck!!

 

[jmb4wd]

What he said! Welcome to TNDeer as well.

You will love the Eagle beans, just be sure and plant a bunch of em!! Dont ask me how I know!! lol

 

[tn droptine]

Yup - I would say 5 acre min on the soybeans. Had jmb4wd out to plant some on my place year before last, and the deer didn't let them get above 6", and we planted somewhere around 4 acres worth. Plus with soybeans, they do great for pulling deer in during the summer and early season, but by the time rifle comes in they will be finding their food elsewhere.

Clover is tough to beat - may think about spending the spring/summer getting the plot prepped (soil test is a must!!!), getting the needed lime in for good pH. That way in fall you will be ready for you planting. A good blend for your first planting will be a white clover (such as ladino or imperial clover) mixed with chicory, winter wheat and austrailian winter peas. The wheat will grow quickly and prevent a lot of weeds from getting established. The following summer bushhogging the clover will promote new growth and help keep the weeds at bay as well. Then each winter you can just broadcast some more clover seed to fill in open spots.

Good luck, and welcome to the site!