We are at the start date to plant winter food plots for deer. Product selection in this area is vast. Unfortunately many are tailored too large or too small for the plots we plant. That is why we’ve put together a build your own plot mix section. This allows a hunter to buy wheat, oats, chicory, clover, turnips and Austrian winter peas by the pound to make your own mix.
The number one most common mistake folks make is burying the seed too deep. The peas can handle it but not the clover and turnips. The second mistake is adding fertilizer and seed at the same time. You can burn the seed. Third is not having a way to monitor growth.
Here is a solution: Once the seeds are sowed, put four tee posts on about a six-foot long piece of chain link fence, and drag the plot. Fertilize two weeks before you plant or two weeks after the crop comes up. Drive the tee post in the center of the plot and wrap the chain link around them. This is the area where we monitor the growth of the plot. Even if we do everything right, we still need the right amount of rain at the correct time.
Let’s all have a safe and productive hunting season. And try to keep that deer meat under $850.00 a pound.