Affordable Food Plots

[realtrhunter]

I just got permission to plant a food plot that is about 2 acres on a piece of property. I am looking something to put down to help with antler growth and fawning and then something to bring the deer back in during the fall. I am only going to be hunting the property for one more season, most likely and the area has dendency to flood with large rains. So I would like to keep the seed at a reasonable price.

[wtnhunt]

Welcome to the forums. Might check out this site cooper seeds to get an idea.

They have a few wet land seed blends I happened to notice when checking out pennington dealers. My first choice in plot seeds is pennington.

[LETMGROW]

If you are just wanting to buy cheap seed, do yourself a favor and forget the food plot idea.
IF you intend to plant with a goal in mind you will have a lot of prep work and expense involved. The seed is probably one of the cheaper elements in the scheme.
By the time you kill the weeds, work up the ground, lime as required, fertilize, plant the seed, roll or cultipac the area and maintain it, IE: mow etc. the seed becomes one of the cheaper pieces of the puzzle. Why would you want to invest in an inferior seed when a good seed would only cost a little more.
Go with a specialized seed formulated for deer use.

[Born2Hunt]

If I were you I would plant a no-till annual seed. That way next year when you loose your hunting land the food plot will be long gone and the next person will have to do their own work.

[dogdoc]

when you say has a tendency to flood what exactly do you mean? Does it flood then the water is gone in a day or two or does it hold water for a long time?

What times of the year does it flood the most--spring and fall? This will determine what will be best suited for your needs.

todd

[realtrhunter]

The longest I have seen flood waters stay was almost 2 days. It tends to fllod both in the fall and the spring if it is a wet year.

[wtnhunt]

Might consider a blend with these types of seed
[ QUOTE ]
Cooper's Summer Wet Area Mix
Ideal For Summer Wet Areas. Ideal for deer, turkey, quail, dove, duck and geese. Buy 40 lbs. for only $44.95

Contains:

Forage Soybeans
Japanese Millet
Cooper's Hybrid Sorghum




[/ QUOTE ]

[dogdoc]

the mix that william posted above is a good wet soil blend--the soybeans will supply good high protein forage during the warm months and when the millet and sorghum mature out the deer will feed on the seed heads. Unless your deer are starving they will probably not feed on the millet/sorghum during the growing season of the plant.

As far as a good legume that will tolerate short times of water I would recommend a mix of trefoil and ladino clover--however these seeds aren't the chepest.

todd

[LETMGROW]

I have one area in my clover which gets flooded often. The clover is some of the best I have.
This is Whitetail Imperial but I am sure others would survive as well.

[realtrhunter]

Thanks for the ideas. I thought about putting clover in but I am not sure that I want to pay that much to put it in and not be able to hunt it again.

[luckyman4]

You are asking for something that will supply spring (fawning), summer (antler growth), and fall nutrition and doesn't cost as much as clover. There really isn't a foodplot variety that meets all of those criteria. One thing you can do is spread some fertilizer in the area to "sweeten up" the native plants and create a spot that is more nutritious during spring and summer and more attractive in the fall without costing alot. Another thought is, depending on what is growing there now, is to mow once or twice so it will be green and attractive during the summer.

With these alternatives you can spend more time scouting and less time managing foodplots that most likely won't meet your expectations anyway. From the description of your situation, good scouting is much more likely to help you connect this fall than a foodplot. Good luck!

[wtnhunt]

[ QUOTE ]
Thanks for the ideas. I thought about putting clover in but I am not sure that I want to pay that much to put it in and not be able to hunt it again.

[/ QUOTE ]

There is a "swamp pea" seed sold at the site I mentioned before, coopers seeds. I am kind of interested in this particular seed myself. Only problem I have is I dont think it will dry out enough to work my ground in time to plant it in the areas I would want to plant.

[TexasDeerHunter]

We use chickory and oates for the fall/winter, and chickory and/or Tecomate LabLab for the spring/summer. Chickory is really good stuff and seems to be drought resistant once established,it works year round, great for antlers, and it reseeds itself for about 3 years.

[LETMGROW]

Drought resistance is fine. However his problem is flooding. Quite the opposite.