DEER FOOD PLOT MANAGEMENT TIPS - WHITETAIL OBSESSION OUTDOORS
What up guys? Happy new year and welcome to 2019!! WOOOOOOOOOOOO
What is this whole food plot thing going on around the world? Why are so many people planting them and having very poor results? I call it DWARF results!!
Id like to start out by saying i am by no means a expert on this. I am giving you my thoughts, opinions, observations, experience and most importantly COMMON SENSE TIPS!
When we look at food plots, most of us think of throwing some seed on the ground watching it grow and then watching deer destroy it! Right? Well i am going to give you some tips and explain why food plots fail and why some people don’t get to see the true power of what a food plot can actually do.
I know I know. People don’t want to hear, Hey did you get a soil sample? For some reason when people ask for help on why there food plot failed and you simple ask them did you get a soil sample they don’t want to hear it. When in fact its the number 1 thing you should do before doing anything else. Soil samples are pretty cheap you can get them done anywhere from about 12-22 dollars.
When planting a food plot a few things need to be considered. Entry and exit. If you cant get in and out without spooking its no good! Next is sunlight. Most species of plants need 4-6 hours of sunlight a day. Some clovers can get a little less. Long story short if you don’t have enough sun its no good. Sunlight provides vitamins to plants through photosynthesis. So you have to have enough sunlight. When you don’t the biggest indicator will be the plant grows really fast it will have heavy tops and then fall over from a weak root system!
Then obviously is a PH test. Once you get the results FIX IT! Add the correct amount of lime needed to bring up the Ph level at least to a 6.5. If you have a acidic soil the plants wont be able to pull the nutrients from the soil and you will be left with a crappy food plot that deer wont eat.
Buck wheat is very high in protein and also very good for the soil not only providing nutrients but also good organic matter. Deer typically wont eat it until it all flowers up at the end of its growing cycle which is about 70 days.
As mentioned the whole idea behind a food plot is to provide tonnage and to kill a deer. You need to make that food plot the most palatable food source around. If it isnt anymore palatable then anything else in the woods why would they eat it? I dont care how many ag fields you have around if you follow the steps deer will eat the plot!
Whats funny is you have all these so called professional food plotters and land managers and they are posting videos of there plot and its garbage. NO TONNAGE at all its Dwarf! Small leaves, thin and bare and deer arent eating it. I understanding people not having money for lime but lime is cheap. Stop buying bags of corn and feeding deer with it and save it. For every bag of corn you buy you can buy 2 bags of lime!
Again im no professional but my food plots turn out pretty good with tons of tonnage because i follow the correct steps. I dont want to waste my time in Planting something if its going to be half ass. I Want it to be the best it can be for long periods of time.
Another major factor that folks miss is micro nutrients in soil. These are your Zinc, boron, copper and manganese to name a few. These are so very important not only in having a good stand but also making that plant the most palatable in the woods so it can provide high levels of nutrients to the animals.
I started using micro nutrients about 3 years ago and its insane what happens when you use it. The plants become so palatable and much more nutricious. A lot of people dont realize that we are farming! We are just farming for deer. We want the best we can have but dont know where to turn for advice. All im saying is, if you follow the steps to have the best food plot you can most people will be in shock when they can see the true power of a delicious food plot!
This never gaunantees you success in the field. The biggest reward out of this all is watching that first deer take a bite and you can say “i created that” Its a awesome feeling!
To learn more about micro nutrients please visit : https://foodplotmanagement.com/
also check out : https://www.antlergrow.com/
I have tons and tons of videos about food plots and how to start them ill provide a link you can check out and if you enjoyed please subscribe to the channel : https://www.youtube.com/c/whitetailobsessionoutdoors
You can also give this video a watch for more management tips!
Here are some tips on deer food plot management that hopefully will help you guys out. Checking PH is always number one. Having the correct balance between perennials and annuals is also a important key. On small food plot where people just plant Brasicas is a huge mistake because once that plant is nipped off it wont grow back.