Bowhunting Blogs

<< Octane One-Piece Quiver Review. | THERMACELL: IT WORKS >>

Plant Foodplots and the deer will come

by John Mueller 8. September 2008 14:53

Plant It and They Will Come

I have been very busy the last month planting food plots on my 85 acre “Whitetail Paradise”. As some of you know I recently purchased 85 acres in IL. I am in the process of turning it into my dream hunting property. So far I have planted about 3 ½ acres of food plots on it.

I have used 2 different methods to establish them. I have a 5 acre field of CRP Grasses that I am allowed to plant 20% of to food plots. Here I sprayed first with Roundup. Waited 2 weeks and disced it up and planted.

Biologic Full Draw seeds are in the ground.

The second method I used was to have my cousin plow up and old overgrown hay field. Let it sit a week and disc it up and plant.

Brought in the heavy equipment for this job.

My Tractor.

In my CRP field I planted about a 1/3 of an acre in Antler King-Honey Hole. It has taken off quite well and the deer are really using it already. I also planted about ½ an acre of Biologic-Full Draw. It is doing well and really leafing out.

Antler King-Honey Hole after 1 month.

In my upper field I planted 3 different plots of a clover chickory mix, totaling about an acre. A half acre of Purple Top Turnips, 1 acre of Winter Wheat, and a small plot of Biologic Hot Spot.

Clover and chickory filling in nicely.

Purple Top Turnips.

It’s a lot of work and expense, but I hope to reap the rewards of killing a few deer either using these food plots or on the trails leading to them. Who knows, I might even kill me a big old buck checking out the does in my food plots during the rut.

I know the deer really like the plots I have planted around my house. I took these pics this spring of mama and her twins.

Free meal in the food plot.

Hiding out in the plot.

6f93b621-c76f-4d36-b360-7926111cee33|4|4.8

Tags: food plots

Categories: Bowhunting Blogs | Bowhunting Journals | Pro Staff

Wisconsin Hopes “Dr. Deer” Will Improve its Deer ProgramDr. James C. Kroll might not be a popular figure among many deer biologists, but his communications ...BowHunting - Preserving the Element of SurpriseWhen deer hunting it is critical to preserve the element of surprise and this is most successful whe...Using Deer Lures: An Interview with Terry Rohm of Tink’s Hunting ProductsWanting to learn more about using deer lures to help me harvest a mature buck, I turned to industry ...

Comments

9/15/2008 8:24:30 AM #

Good read my friend. The property is looking great!!

mobow |

10/14/2008 8:33:16 PM #

good article sir, I must say that they must have some pretty good loams and landscapes in Illinois. Im up in central Wi and we have rocks to deal with. When I say rocks, i mean 3-4 dumptrucks of stone per .5 acre plot. So mine are all smaller plots, .25 to .5 acres each. I heard that it is better to plant longer, narrower plots. Each Direction n/s and e/w have their own advatages. so we did a few each way. The n/s plots are better for perenials like clover or alphalfa. This is because they get less sunlight in the summer drought. this prevents burn out. In the fall when planting annuals like rape, the e/w plots are better because of the extra amount of sunlight the direction provides. This helps get the most out of any nice days you may get thus producing optimal growth and tonage. The thing i wanted to get at is that in the 10 years i have been planting and all of the literature ive read about the how tos and dos and donts, no one has ever mentioned these 2 very important tricks to planting plots in the north. A) for your clover plots, you need to trim all of the limbs above your plots. If you dont, when the leaves come in spring and green up is here, the abundance of shade will completely snuff out your clover. Plants do need light just not the endless hours of a direct July scorcher. and B) when you plant your fall crops, whatever they may be, you need to attempt to remove some of the leaves that have fallen onto your plot. Otherwise the thick blanket of fall foliage will again snuff out all of your hard work and new growth. Just a thing or 2 that ive in the feild over the last decade. I would like to save some of my real world hunters some time, money, effort and possible heartache in their ventures to creating their own whitetail paradise. I also encourage some of you real world hunters to blog about your expiriances in food plotting. We are all after the same thing...success!

Derik Nemke |

6/22/2009 4:46:36 PM #

Yes, a gorgeous property, and perhaps a free meal, but you've definitely put a great deal of work to it! You're quite the strategist; I like it :)

plant pots |

6/24/2009 12:18:45 AM #

Wow, I never knew that Plant Foodplots. That's pretty interesting...

Kylie A Graham |

7/10/2009 7:12:23 PM #

Wow, doesn't that seem like a lot of work to attract deer? Great job. Have fun on your acreage.

camaros |

8/18/2009 5:47:50 AM #

Wow, I never knew that Plant It and They Will Come. That's pretty interesting...

Vino Rosso Piemonte |

8/18/2009 7:26:51 AM #

That's great, I never thought about Plant It and They Will Come like that before.

Vino Nebbiolo |

8/18/2009 8:44:16 AM #

I was just thinking about Plant It and They Will Come and you've really helped out. Thanks!

produttori vino piemonte |

8/29/2009 12:34:56 AM #

Admiring the time and effort you put into your blog and detailed information you offer! I didn't know that!

ofertas de los casinos |

9/8/2009 3:53:50 AM #

cool, thanks

rn salary |

9/25/2009 1:31:17 PM #

NO BEST WORD THAN TO SAY WOW!...THAT IS A LONGTERM INVESTMENT.AND IT IS A BIG ONE.IF I HAD MY WAY, I WOULD LOVE TO DO THAT ALSO.CHEERZ!

travel nursing |

10/6/2009 3:03:46 AM #

almost every day i need to read your Article. so good. Thanks for sharing those valuable information .

sexy lingerie |

12/18/2009 3:27:42 AM #

this is your best article sir.you need to trim all of the limbs above your plots. and this is a nachural. If you dont, when the leaves come in spring and green up is here. and tree is a normal condition , the abundance of shade will completely sajetion snuff out your clover. Plants do need light just not the endless hours of a direct July scorcher.and your site is very use full

How To Play Bingo Games |

12/21/2009 4:47:46 AM #

the e/w plots are better because of the extra amount of sunlight the direction provides. This helps get the most out of any nice days you may get thus producing optimal growth and tonage. The thing i wanted to get at is that in the 10 years i have been planting and all of the literature ive read about the how tos and dos and donts, no one has ever mentioned these 2 very important tricks to planting plots in the north. A) for your clover plots,

Shared Web Hosting |

1/4/2010 10:46:46 AM #

Yes, a gorgeous property, and perhaps a free meal, but you've definitely put a great deal of work to it! You're quite the strategist; I like it

Love Poems |

1/14/2010 6:24:44 AM #

good post this is good post as i know drivereducation-online.com/california-driver-education.html - CA Learners Permit has been offering Drivers Ed Online, drivers education course, Online Driver Education course since many years.and CA Driver Education course allows you to decide what pace is most convenient for you and your busy schedule. Your need to select the region and start of with your course.

Online Shopping now |

1/27/2010 2:52:21 PM #

Wow, it sounds like you definitely have a paradise. Hunting, plants, and deer, perfect. Never thought of it that way before, plant foodplots and the deer will come. thanks for a good read.

Clamshell Packaging |

2/9/2010 2:02:21 AM #