If you are looking for a good source for information on: 

Choosing the Kind and Rate of Fertilizer or a Handy  Herbicide Selector Tool here are the links. I hope you find them useful.

http://www.agric.gov.ab.ca/app23/herbsel  (herbicide)

http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/agdex3904  (fertilizer)

Just look for the information on small grains, legumes, grasses and this should cover most of what you need.

Have you ever wondered why everyone talking about deer food plots speaks about cool season and warm season annuals and then further complicates it with north and south, biennials and perennials.

Even more intimidating is the fact that there is no easy separation between these food plot plants in all areas. In other words, you have annuals that can act like perennials in the right areas and can be encouraged to reseed, but in other deer food plot regions reseeding is not viable. A plant may be an annual in one area a perennial somewhere else.

Seeding times may vary and are not as easy plant in the north on such and such a week and in the south do something different. Then there is the deep  south, mid south, regular south, south east, south west, the plains…..yikes. It is no wonder that things are a little confusing.

Mostly all coverage of the deer food plot plants is given in a list of plant profiles which give the technical classification. Occasionally you are lucky enough to have someone say north versus south. But that still leaves out east versus west.  Then you have acid versus basic soils, loamy versus sandy.

So you go online to find a seed mixture and notice that even though everyone is talking annual, perennial, biennial  all of these are in a mix together: now what is going on?

Here are some general concepts that may help you out:

The legume list for deer food plots and small game is the longest.

Legumes are almost always mixed with something else. AS a matter of a fact, in most cases food plots are a mixture of plants. It is important to remember that just because you want different plants in your plot thoughout the year, does not mean they have to seeded in the form of a mix.

 Here is a plot where rapeseed and chicory were planted  one in front of the other.  http://www.diydeerfoodplots.com/articles/5-steps-to-successful-fall-planting-of-whitetail-food-plots.html

My small grains, such as oats  I also do monoculture in some locations. Mixes were created for you to help ease the burden of decision making and improve your success but they are not necessary.

The “something else” that is mixed with legumes are

1.       small grains (oats,rye,wheat),

2.       annual grasses (annual ryegrass) , corn,  milo or grain sorghum

3.       brassicas (rapeseed, turnips, kale)

4.       other:  plants like buckwheat and chicory, vetches,

The legume and “other” choice for the food plots are based on

1.       season planting

2.       soil conditions(upland, bottomland, pH, moisture, wet lands, shady )

3.       when peak growth is preferred

4.       level of browse

5.       weed competition

6.       winter conditions

7.       equipment availability

8.       size of plot

9.       need for quick growth, recover crop, or targeting specific seasonal stresses.  

Although some legumes can stand acidic conditions, shady conditions, wet conditions, sandy soil etc, in general  food plot legumes do better in near neutral pH’s in well drained soil. 

Soybeans  are susceptible to overgrazing and therefore should not be used on small plots unless you have the ability to fence the areas off until they get established as deer tend to eat them immediately after germination and the weeds take the plot over.

Cool season Legumes are generally planted in the fall (Sept-Nov)

Warm season legumes are generally planted in the spring(Feb-June)

Both cool season and warm season plants are mixed together depending on the goals of the plot.

For example: buckwheat, alyceclover, American jointvetch are often combined with rape and forage turnips even though the last two are considered cool season annuals. The mix itself is considered warm season mix because it is predominantly warm season forages. It is planted early summer and will provide feed for early fall before mast is available.

Even perennials mixes often contain annual grains and rapeseed (brassica) because of the benefits of thse plants for protection nd cover while establishing alfalfa and ladino clover

Most legumes grow both north and south but sometimes perennials or biennials can become annuals depending on location and conditions.

The further north or south you go and the more severe temperatures are then the selection of plants can become narrower.

The deep south is the most difficult area because of the heat and moisture stress.

The far north only creates a problem when needing plants to overwinter and become active in the spring. In extreme far north conditions (when there is a lack of snow cover or inadequate cover crop protection, or prolonged severe temperatures) there may be some limitations if wanting to choose perennials or biennials. Successful deer food plotting in some regions is limited to cool season annual with rapid growth phases for late fall hunting or summer annuals for early fall hunting.

Cool season deer food plot forages are generally considered to be those plants that are planted in later summer, early fall or spring. They are great for whitetail deer, mule deer, turkeys etc. The plants  provide fall and winter deer food when the deer are under a significant amount of stress during the rut.  Those plants that are planted in fall but emerge in the spring are great for giving does additional support during lactation.

When considering using cool season deer forage in your food plots  generally all legumes should have a grain, annual ryegrass or rapeseed (brassica) mixed with them.

The cool season grass ( annual ryegrass)  and grains ( wheat, oats, rye)  have multiple functions in a food plot.

*help prevent erosion

*can compete effectively with deer food plot annual weeds

*grow quickly and therefore provide quick food supply for deer

* are a cover crop for the legumes which means they protect the legume through the winter and early spring when frost risk is high and allow for a good stand in the spring.

Commercial seed mixes for deer food plots generally have legumes, small grains, grasses and/or brassicas in them. It is not essential to use a mix. You can buy seed at a local distributor as well and mix the combinations yourself.

Just remember if you are going to use low till or no till strategies you have to stay with the small seeds as these are the ones that need very little soil coverage. With these small seeds the soil coverage is generally 1/4 inch or so, which lends itself to using a rake (if you are covering manually) or a drag behind an ATV. Very small seeds can also be mixed with sand in your seeder to help with even spreading, especially if they are to be planted as a monoculture (by themselves). 

When planting your food plot feel free to premix as mentioned above, mix your own and spread it that way, or plant as single culture patches. The advantage of planting several types of plants together is especially evident when you need a cover crop for your legumes. I have planted both ways though and had success in either strategy depending on the plot and the deer pressure.

The deer don’t care how the feed is presented so much as they care about their safety when getting to the food and also that it is tasty when they arrive.  

Do you have a small piece of property on which you would like to grow a whitetail deer food plot. Short on equipment? Got more time than equipment or money for tilling? Have to do small plots for hunting or photography to allow good distance ratios? Have you a piece of rented land that is a mere 40 to 50 feet wide?

On our property we have some such areas and in addition to being small they are limited to fall annual planting due to the fact that they are low spots and we usually can’t get in there until mid Mayor later. Also, the soil conditions are such that the location is best best suited to fall attractant type plots. See more on annuals at www.diydeerfoodplots.com/ at the resource page.

Usually, we have to  wait until the winter run off water retreats and find an area that kind of interfaces one of our fields and a known bedding area. Then a soil test is done. If we manage to have picked an area where soil treatments are minimal, then we consider this gold.

Usually the area is covered in poor nutritional and poor tasting grasses (See the piece on food deer love), so it doesn’t hurt my feelings to give that a full coverage of glyphosphate and a surfactant in May. This is when plant growth is really just getting accelerated and things are turning green. Since the plot is so small, we can utilize a backpack sprayer. Usually, there are two sprays required or three for some really tough locations, usually 2 to 3 weeks apart, as new greenery starts to show up.

Late July or early August we can tramp through all the dead junk there. But here is the kicker about no plow, no tillage planting. You have to get that dead thatch out of the way! So here comes the back breaking labor. Oh, well, you saved on tillage right?

Out with a weedwacker and trim the dead stuff. Can’t use a lawnmower where we are at, because just too rough in there. After that, it is manual pick up. Again, no equipment access and just too rough, so it’s pick up the stuff  by hand or rake off the plot to the bush. With a rake we just rough up the soil a little just to allow a little seed to soil contact.

Using a hand seeder, we have used whitetail Institutes No Plow for these plots. It  is nice for these tough spots. Then finally we rake after broadcasting the seed.

Just a heads up about using this approach. Saving on tillage doesn’t mean you can entirely ignore all parts of the growing process.  Make sure to soil test for best results. This mix has cereal grains, brassicas and clover which all do better on near neutral soils. It is not that you can’t put this on more acidic soils, it is just that best growth, palatability and sustainability occurs when conditions are more ideal.  The more the conditions deviate from suitable, the more likely you are to have excessive weed competition and disappointing efforts.

It is always a great idea to use products both suited for deer plots and suited to the region you are in, but unless you tend to some of the agricultural needs, you may still be disappointed. We have found that NO PLOW from whitetail institute is one of the best options our there for no till food plot plans.

I have a few other ideas up my sleeve for those of you wanting some results but are short of property, money or time. I shall keep you posted.

For more information please visit our DIY Deer Food Plots Website

            When it comes to your basic cool-season legume for deer forage, alfalfa (Medicago sativa) can’t be beat.  It is a perennial, but it can also be used as an annual in deer food plots, especially in more southern regions. 

            Alfalfa does not do well on clay soils; keep that in mind if your plot is located in such an area.  At about 19% protein and 1.35% calcium, alfalfa is especially good to supplement whitetailed diets in the spring and early summer.

            Alfalfa is a common forage crop used to make hay for cattle and sheep.  If there are alfalfa fields located at or near your hunting ground, be sure to factor that into your food plot design.  Deer that are used to grazing alfalfa elsewhere may not be as tempted to try it in a new planting.

            There are other legumes that are often recommended for deer food plots.  A number of these are warm-season annuals: hairy indigo, partridge pea, cowpea and deer vetch (also known as Aeschonomyne).  Of these warm-season annuals, cowpea can have good early-season forage potential for deer in some regions.  A cool-season annual, Austrian winter pea, has also performed well in more southern regions.

            For a fall forage legume in my part of the world, though, you almost have to go with a cool-season annual like vetch (Vicia) or birdsfoot trefoil.  These can be important legume forage sources that can complement the grasses and grains in your food plot’s design.  Don’t forget to properly inoculate the seed before planting.

            And never plant a legume without taking a look at soybeans, which I’ll deal with in the next blog.