have a question for experienced food plot guys

[lost9340]

okay, this spring i want to put a food plot in one of my properties i hunt and got the ok from the land owner. the spot i want to put it in is a natural clearing on the property that needs minimal clearing and is right threw a natural travel corridor that the deer use very frequently. with the clearing i plan to do should make it around 1 acre large and give it around 8 hours good sunlight daily. now the problem i'm worried about is a part of the plot is kinda in a low spot that gets semi swampy with alot of rain. will this affect the growth of what i plant in that section? will it even grow in that section? there is a stream close by and would digging a small trench to the stream help with better drainage of that section?

another issue im worried about is that the property has alot of deer that comes threw. will the deer over take the foodplot and browse a 1 acre plot down to nubs not allowing it to grow.

I want to plant something that will attract the deer to after feeding the the fields at night from the adjacent property. eveny morning the work their way from the large fields down threw my property to bed in the swamp and heavily wooded hillside.

any help and tips on what to do would be appreciated. i have planted small food plots before but with little luck. soil has been tested and is just above 6ph and wild grass and weeds grew in clearing and sprayes in fall to get rid of them. planning on clearing in the next couple weeks and tilling as soon as ground thaws and will not freeze back up.

thanks for any help in advance

[tcook8296]

okay' date=' this spring i want to put a food plot in one of my properties i hunt and got the ok from the land owner. the spot i want to put it in is a natural clearing on the property that needs minimal clearing and is right threw a natural travel corridor that the deer use very frequently. with the clearing i plan to do should make it around 1 acre large and give it around 8 hours good sunlight daily. now the problem i'm worried about is a part of the plot is kinda in a low spot that gets semi swampy with alot of rain. will this affect the growth of what i plant in that section? will it even grow in that section? there is a stream close by and would digging a small trench to the stream help with better drainage of that section?

another issue im worried about is that the property has alot of deer that comes threw. will the deer over take the foodplot and browse a 1 acre plot down to nubs not allowing it to grow.

I want to plant something that will attract the deer to after feeding the the fields at night from the adjacent property. eveny morning the work their way from the large fields down threw my property to bed in the swamp and heavily wooded hillside.

any help and tips on what to do would be appreciated. i have planted small food plots before but with little luck. soil has been tested and is just above 6ph and wild grass and weeds grew in clearing and sprayes in fall to get rid of them. planning on clearing in the next couple weeks and tilling as soon as ground thaws and will not freeze back up.

thanks for any help in advance

[/quote']

If you dont find your answer here, try the QDMA website. There are a lot of experienced plotters over there and a lot of good info

[Spent Brass]

What were you planing on planting?Heavy deer traffic will most def now it down to nothing with a small plot,but they sell that tape that you can try it might keep them out. We only plant corn and soybean and turnips in 30 acres of food plots so its hard to tell you what will grow in smaller plots.Tcook gave you good advice check.out QDMA website a lot of guys know there stuff over there.

[briarpatch]

Excessive water collecting in one spot will impact growth. Take a look at any of the bean fields along 206 and you'll see what I mean. I've used the PlotSaver tape, and it does work, but is by no means a magic bullet. The product needs to be re-applied after rain, so some maintenance is needed. To me (and I'm no expert), the shape of the field is just as important as the size. Our fields are typcially longer than they are wide, and have made a couple kidney-shaped to create funnel points. It also keeps the deer in close proximity to cover, so they feel more comfortable walking out into the field as opposed to standing near the edges.

 

We plant a mix of clover and brassicas...and last year tried some turnips. The deer hammered the turnips once the weather got cold.

[Bucksnbows]

You may need to do some drainage work for that low, wet location. If you can dig a narrow trench a foot or two down headed out of the plot to your lowest point and line it with something like 3/4 shoulder stone with a fabric that allows water through it and then place the topsoil back over it, that will serve as a drain for most rains, site depending. Otherwise, don't expect much in that spot to grow.

 

We do corn, alfalfa and Imperial Whitetail clover and all our plots are between 3 and 5 acres. That is large enough to keep the deer browse low enough to let the food plots grow to maturity, and that's in PA where our deer herd is lower per square mile than most of NJ. If you can fence for the initial growing season or use the products others mentioned to get the plot up out of the ground, you'll be better off. Set your expectations low the first year and you may wind up pleasantly surprised.

[lost9340]

ok i was planning on planting mostly clover brassicas and turnips threw most of the plot. and then add oats in the fall for high draw power to my small plot. there are already huge fields of beans, corn, and alfalfa on the surrounding properties that i wont be cable to compete with. im trying to plant something a little different in the area to draw them to. at another one of my hunting spots i hunt the corner of a massive bean field and to draw the deer in i would but down imperial oats in the corner to draw the deer to my corner. the property now that im putting my own small food plot in is about 14 acres surrounded by a couple horse farms and large fields that are planted annually. I'm right in the middle of the action come the rut, but slow in the early and late season. so i'm trying to just add a little something to draw the deer into my stand site before bedding down for the day. the plots shape is going to be a B kinda shape about an acre large butting up to a bedding area. im also have permission to plant the back portion of the property owners back yard which is like another acre large. i was planning on just doing a perennial mix so not to disturb her yard every year. i started clearing out the plot and put down some fertilizer so it starts to soak into the ground. plan on tilling as soon as the ground is thawed and no chance of freezing again.

another question is should i add seed a couple times after the initial plant? i also plan of fencing it off and spraying some plot savers to get the plot started.

[lost9340]

also have rock fabric for the trench to drain the low spot. trench will be about 50 yards to stream. how much stone approx will i need for trench?

[Meshach]

plant half in oats and half in brassicas