Food Plots

[Russ 11]

19 minutes ago, Tier1 said:

A couple of plots that I've done for folks in the past...

The first one was a pollinator mix that I had put together, that was a real fun project to work on, as I don't get a chance to do those all that often. 

The next two were stand alone brassica and clover plots, I  prefer highly diverse blends as they are far more beneficial over mono-culture plantings, but sometimes you do what ya gotta do.  

The last three, are of experimental test plots that I put in on our ground in NY, as I was toying with some new ideas and tweaking some planting methods. This is an awesome fall blend with 16 different forages. No doubt my favorite and go to fall blend to use.  By using light minimal tillage techniques, cycling nutrients from the summer blend, and focusing on soil heath.  This plot had fertilization amounts cut in half in 2022 and no additional fertilization added in 2023.  A highly attractive plot yealding a ton of forage, with a savings in cost and time...A win, win in my book!!

Are you seeding  these plots with a no-till seeder or a hand seeder ?   

[Tier1]

4 minutes ago, Russ 11 said:

Are you seeding  these plots with a no-till seeder or a hand seeder ?

depends on the size of the plot, but either a hand spreader or a 3pt spreader

no-till drills are great and have advantages, but they have some disadvantages as well.

[Tier1]

2 hours ago, Livesintrees said:

Two pictures I found fast. One of a small portion of a plot after scalping the he clover to broadcast fall annuals. And the other of a small section of a cocktail summer mix. Fruit trees mixed in as pictured.

No doubt that clover is providing your fruit trees with a ton of "N"  

[tpr1921]

December and January photos.

[Tier1]

Some ginormas bulbs & tubers !!!!!

[tcook8296]

On 2/8/2024 at 7:25 PM, Tier1 said:

 

no-till drills are great and have advantages, but they have some disadvantages as well.

Yes they are heavy, most food plotters don't have a tractor large enough to handle one and they are very expensive for guys doing food plots as a hobby. 

[tcook8296]

Turnips and radishes are a great late season draw. 

I plant them every year as part of my food plot program. It can take deer awhile to figure out the tubers but they kill the big green tops after a hard frost. Get some snow on the ground and it's a great late season plot to hunt over. Having diverse plantings of winter greens will attract the deer in your area and will be deadly in prolonged cold temperatures and also snow. 

The radishes also help with breaking up hard soils. When they rot in the ground, they leave a large hole in the soil that will fill with water. 

The thawing and freezing breaks up the soil. 

At the end of the day, a green late season food sourcec will draw hungry bucks.