Plant Foodplots and the deer will come

LAST UPDATED: May 8th, 2015

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.

John Mueller