snooker1
Senior Member
What is your spring /summer food plot choice. I have a good clover plot going now, but I have cleared out two new areas that I want to plant. I have taken soil samples from both and waiting on the results.
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Spring / Summer Food Plots
- Thread starter snooker1
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Gadestroyer74
Banned
Soybeans corn hard to beat.
doomtrpr_z71
Senior Member
With fertilizer prices I'd lean hard towards doing forage soybeans as cheap as the seed is for them.
Canuck5
Food Plot advisor extraordinaire !
And innoculate them ... Code S 
Just make sure you have lots of acreage otherwise they will get wiped out.
Just make sure you have lots of acreage otherwise they will get wiped out.
snooker1
Senior Member
And innoculate them ... Code S
View attachment 1126331
It's not lots of acreage, each area is about 30 feet wide and about 150 feet long.
Triple C
Senior Member
With that small of an area I'd highly recommend waiting til October and plant durana or ladino clover along with oats, wheat or abruzzi rye as a nurse crop for the clover. Beans of any type will get wiped out overnight if you try and plant a summer crop.
My largest plot is 6 acres. I no longer plant a summer forage. Just too much trouble and even with 6 acres in one plot, deer will come close to wiping out beans of any type. Clover will feed em all year long with enough rain during the hottest part of the summer. Clover is the gift that keeps on giving.
My largest plot is 6 acres. I no longer plant a summer forage. Just too much trouble and even with 6 acres in one plot, deer will come close to wiping out beans of any type. Clover will feed em all year long with enough rain during the hottest part of the summer. Clover is the gift that keeps on giving.
Gadestroyer74
Banned
I agree with deer wiping out small bean plots. I planted a 2 acre plot of beans surrounded by corn about 2 acres. I put milorganite On them soon as they emerged and then again after a hard rain. They made it, Plot was dynamite. The corn was used as a screen and then mowed shooting lanes into it as season came in. Seen most deer ever seen that year
doomtrpr_z71
Senior Member
I think the key to small bean plots is to plant them in the spring in April and at production ag seeding rates. Corn seed is expensive but so is clover seed but clover has more benefits. The nice thing about soybeans are that they are cheap enough to plant and if the deer wipe them out your out very little in seed costs.
Gadestroyer74
Banned
The other affect of beans is they provide alot of protein and nutrition during the summer and provide a great late season food source during late winter into green up in the spring. Your only going to get one crop with corn and it comes at the end of the summer no real help during the summer.. With your plots being new and small it’s gonna take alot of work to get them ready to plant soil condition ph etc.. so it may be best to plant buckwheat let it goto seed and then mow it. It will replant itself then plow it under before it goes to seed again as a green manure crop..that gets your soil health started in the right direction. You will most likely need lime as-well. clover is a great crop to plant for deer in the fall. It will put on roots then and top growth in the spring, It will go dormant during the summer and you do have to do maintenance work to keep it plush and palatable to deer such as mowing fertilizer etc.. I don’t know what you have equipment wise tractor etc. planting successful food plots no matter the season takes time, money, dedication and a desire to help the wildlife.. there isn’t a miracle crop you just throw out and it does it’s own and you don’t have to do anything. So you have alot of choices to make to decide which route is best for you… a lot of great info on the this site and this thread for you. Regardless of what you do a soil test and lim are a must if you are to grow anything and get the best benefits from what you plant and into the wild life ..
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SakoL61R
Senior Member
I'll be doing sunn hemp, sorghum, buckwheat once soil temps are in the high 60's.
davidhelmly
Senior Member
That’s a great mixture, it will grow pretty much anywhere and the deer won’t wipe it out in a weekend.
SakoL61R
Senior Member
Thanks. It works good for me and the critters, large and small, fur and feather. Might throw some Egyptian wheat into the mix as well. Got a couple of wild quail coveys I sure do like watching.
I do hafta use milorganite like GaDestroyer does to get the sunn hemp going. The deer will eat it like candied soybeans after it sprouts.
Gadestroyer74
Banned
I haven’t planted sum hemp or sourghum yet. I have heard about sun hemp being pretty good… doing anything is better than doing nothing anyday.. I just love doing things for the wildlife and being outdoors .
SakoL61R
Senior Member
Me too on both.
sunn hemp does well. Been planting it off and on for 10 years.
Seed quality varies. Recommend Petcher seeds. I’ve tried others.
If you plant it, make sure its in well drained soil.
After planting peas , corn , soybeans , sun hemp and a number of other things during the summer sorghum is my new favorite . I’ve planted a few acres of it the last 2 years. I’ll be at least doubling my acreage this year . It’s so easy to grow it makes me look like a real farmer ! And pretty much everything eats it , and the deer really take to it about the start of archery season 
Gadestroyer74
Banned
man that looks good ! A lot cover there too. I have to keep that in mind for future plantings .
WishboneW
Senior Member
How long does milorganite keep deer off your crops? How much per acre?
davidhelmly
Senior Member
I agree completely ant. Here a new plot I planted in 2020, it was a mix of sorghum, sunn hemp, alyceclover, deer vetch and buckwheat. It did really well in the unamended soil and is a nice clover plot this year.
https://youtube.com/shorts/vZiHeDXob3s?feature=share
SakoL61R
Senior Member
Wishbone,
Depends on the weather as rain decreases effectiveness.
Also on deer density and if it's the first time they will see it.
Once they get a taste, they devour it. At least the deer around my place.
I do spread milorganite immediately after planting to keep them away/moving/ noses outta the dirt, especially if soil moisture is sufficient for germination or if my schedule won't allow a farm day with in a week.
Will hit it again after germination or rain. Then once again, if needed due to rain or when the hemp is 3-6 inches.
Gotta play it by ear so to speak depending on conditions. My motto-Keep it stinky until it's 6-8 inches high
Most often 3 bags per acre per treatment. Believe the bags are 34 lbs or so.
I don't use any other fertilizer for this spring mix unless I'm planting fresh ground.
All limed, of course.
Random pics over the years.
Note: The
pix with my hand was taken early march. Residue from sunn hemp I let grow as high as possible for a screen. It incorporates easily at this point or no-till into it.
WishboneW
Senior Member
Appreciate it!
