Summer Food Plots
 

Any of you guys have experience with planting summer food plots? i am in beauregard parish and I am looking at planting summer plots for the first time. The only thing I have planted early in the past was iron clay peas and they seemed to get eatin up as soon as they sprouted. i am looking for someting that will feed them all summer up to planting for the fall. Any advice or suggestions is appreciated.

Any opinions on soy beans?

For deer?

Do you have a lot of cutover? If so you're just wasting time & money. A good size cutover has all the browse they want.

X2 I am on a lease just south of Deridder and the biologist with DMAP told us the same. Deer have plenty of natural food during the summer.

Thnaks for the comments guys. I understand that the deer dont go hungry around here especially in the Summer time. I am wanting to keep food content in my plots all summer so that the deer will at least use it instead of it being just Johnson grass and weeds. I am a bow hunter and I want the deer knowing there is a reason to come to my plots in early season. I plan on planting perrinial clover this fall and maintainig it but for this summer I just want something there.

I am starting my first food plot this year and I'll be planting this to start...

http://www.kestersnursery.com/drought_mix.htm

I don't know what the laws in LA are regarding corn/supplemental feeding, but here in Indiana it is legal to dump out corn/minerals during the off season. It has to be removed during the hunting season, but it is a good way to keep the deer hanging around during the summer. One thing that the deer really seem to like is Record Rack Golden Deer Nuggets from Sportsman's Choice.

http://www.sportsmanschoicefeeds.com...gets/index.jsp

I have also heard good things about Deer Chow from Purina.

http://www.antlermax.com/products/default.aspx

American joint vetch.......you won't be sorry.

If I did anything I'd add lime & disk

I was going to say the vetch also, that is some good stuff.

I have been told that the first step in starting a food plot is having a soil test done.

Like Wtretreivers said...lime. You can get the quick release lime from most feed stores. Brown colored and grainy with a sweet smell, not the white powder. Sounds like your in the piney woods. Usually low PH dirt unless it's been brought up to snuff. My recomendation for a 1/4 acre plot, if the dirt is poor, work your dirt up ready to plant. Spread 50 lb. of quick release lime and 50 lb. of 8-8-8 or 13-13-13. Come back and disk that in a little and plant your vetch seeds. Used to order this out of Florida. Buy the hulled instead of the unhulled. Kind of pricey stuff but it's small seeds. Looks like seaseme seeds sorta. American joint vetch is high in protein and I think it has some sugar content. Looks kinda like a little fern. After it's up about 8" and it looks like it could use some more fertilizer you can top dress a 1/4 acre with 25 lbs. of 8-8-8.

When your fall plot comes around, leave enough joint vetch growing. It will grow until a hard frost or freeze gets it. The deer like to eat the tender little tops on this stuff and they won't clip it away like soybeans.

I will have to agree with the joint vetch proponents. It's been a few years since I could afford to plant it but it's amazing. Deer will eat in the plots ,sleep in the plots ,lay down in the plots, fight in the plots. oh well you get the message. We used to have to 'innoculate' the seeds by spreading them on plywood and putting some kind of moldy, sooty looking stuff to prevent diseases. I never could get it tall enough to reseed itself because the deer kept it groomed about 2" tall (that was several 3 acre plots). Good luck with whatever you decide to use. Every little bit of effort will pay off...

Sunflowers or clover are great attractants by like others have said get a soil test done, I would put more into feed and watering stations for summer months also a salt lick