I just read this book Grow ‘Em Right written by Neil and Craig Dougherty.  Neil and Craig are experts in deer management and members of an established outdoor consulting company in Canisteo, NY.  I thought I would share some of the most important ideas from the book, some ideas that render themselves more useful to the average American hunter rather than the one with access to expensive equipment like a bulldozer. 

Food Plots for Feeding

Food plots come in two forms, Destination Feed plots and Hunt Plots.  It is important to recognize the difference between these two.  Destination Feed plots are designed and managed for agriculture, not hunting.  The objective is to produce as much high-quality forage for deer space permitting.  Of course remember that one deer consumed approximately 1.5 tons of forage in a year.  If possible make your agricultural fields as close to commercial as possible.  This will save time and money.

Do not bother planting cattle feeds.  For example, medium red clover is often used in cattle hay mixtures and has high stem content.  This makes it much less digestible for deer than the fine-stemmed clover that they prefer.  This is a good time to mention mowing clover plots.  The reason you mow them is to keep them from maturing.  At the point where your clover has begun to flower and seed the clover is too mature and majority of the nutrients are going to the stem.  This stage in the life of the plant is mainly useless protein and indigestible and should thus be mowed before then 2-3 times a year.

It is recommended that any food plot less than two acres can be created with atv implements, but above that it could take an unnecessary amount of time.  For commercial implements, as mentioned above, lime can cost just over $30/ton but when you begin to do it by hand with pellet lime it can cost upwards of $130/ton.

Midway through the growing season you can apply special herbicides to control weeds and grasses.  Herbicides such as Poast or Arrest.  These do not harm broadleaf forage, they just work on grass.  Another one you may consider for your clover plots would be Slay.  Slay is designed specifically to destroy broadleaf weeds.

I talked a lot about how important lime is in my first post, but I am going to reiterate the fact so that it hopefully sticks in your heads.  You want to take several soil samples from different areas of your food plot and mix them together to get an average pH.  To measure the pH of your sample you can use soil sample kits from your local agriculture store (they might do it for you), sample kits from Antler King, or even a sample kit that works forever, not just once, from BioLogic.  Note that a pH of 7 is neutral and this is where you want your soil to be.  A 5.2 pH food plot will waste 40% of the fertilizer you spread on it.

After determining the pH of the soil you should spray the destination with a herbicide.  After waiting about a week turn the soil over and begin the preparations towards planting the food plot.  Remember to add the necessary amount of lime as recommended by a specialist.  Note that most commercial seeders or farmers may plant the seed too deep when most food plot specific seeds only need to be spread over the top so make sure you mention something if that is the case.

Just a few extra facts.  An acre is about the size of a football field, 50 yards wide by 100 yards long.  Corn is a one-month wonder and does nothing for antler growth or body size.  Do not plant cattle forages such as red clover, tall white ladino clover, and timothy grass.  Mowing of perennial plots should be mowed when they reach 12 inches in height.  Early season mowing stimulates clover and chicory growth.  Chicory is a secret weapon for dry conditions.

Food Plots for Hunting

Hunting plots are laid out differently than destination food plots.  These are usually small, ¼ to ¾ acres, irregularly shaped and planted with specific forage to attract deer during the season (brassicas in the North).  Cover, like a peninsula, often juts into the middle of the plot. 

To locate the perfect location for a Hunt plot you must consider several factors.  Consider prevailing winds (in the North they are typically westerly) during the hunting season, and leave concealment cover intact.  Consider bedding areas and anticipate a deer’s route from the bedding area to a destination plot.  Consider how you might approach the plot.  Deer will approach from the downwind side but you can alter this by felling trees and piling brush to funnel the deer away from the downwind side.  Also, consider the tree you might place a stand and build the plot around that.

The authors of this book offer some great designs specifically made for hunt plots but since I am not sure where to find a picture and I don’t want to copyright something even though I have already cited this as my source, I will describe them to you in the most detail possible.  To begin, round and square hunt plots are not recommended.  Deer work these in an unpredictable manner and enter from all directions. 

Hourglass Food Plot – This is probably the most popular design for food plotters.  So obviously the hourglass food plot is shaped like a hourglass.  The pinch point, or the center of the hourglass, should be no wider than 30 yards and brush piles and windrows should be located here.  You may also want to place mock scrapes and licking branches in these locations.  The basic concept to this design is to get the deer to naturally move from one end of the hourglass, through the center (pinch) where your stand is located and to the other side.  Deer will do this if the plot is created properly.  The idea is to make one side of the glass viewable from the other side at all times.  This will increase the deer’s curiosity drawing them through the pinch to the other side to see what else there is.  The pinch will also provide deer with the best visibility of the entire plot. 

Boomerang Plot – This plot adapts better to smaller areas than the hourglass.  It generally covers a ½ acre or less designed for bowhunting.  The key to the boomerang is its ability to intercept multiple deer trails in one spot, and once the deer have entered the plot, the draw them through the elbow.  You may have a mock scrape and licking branches located at the elbow with the stand at the other side.  When I read this I came up with two main ideas of how the boomerang would be best utilized.  If you wanted to perhaps cut off deer and draw them into the destination food plot this might be an excellent design.  Also you may perhaps place it on the downwind side of your property at a corner.  Deer will naturally travel this location scent checking the property, but the boomerang ensures they check at once location and keeps the deer on your property.

S plot – This was the last design and isn’t nearly as favorable as the other two, nor does it offer the most for the deer.  This is typically used by both gun and bow hunters because it offers the most visibility and averages about 20 yards in width.  A bulge that is about 30 yards in width is where you will place your stand.  The bulge also features several licking sticks and scrapes and is a spot that cruising bucks will check out because it is a little wider than the other locations.  This plot is best planted with long lasting perennials because it is hard to cultivate.

There were a few other plot designs but they were pretty basic.  These were placed on the edge of a CRP field boarding a wooded area.  The wooded area was generally downwind of the food plot but several windrows and brush piles were scattered amongst the edge and well into the woods to funnel deer movement. 

Planting by Compass

This chapter was awfully complicated but there were a few key ideas that I would like to point out.  South slopes, in the North, will absorb the most sunlight during the day so they should try to be avoided.  Of course you cannot predict how well a plot will do, so this one may prosper during a summer consisting of a lot of rain.  Northeast facing slopes are the best.  I will often have plots all over my property on different slopes so that some will do well when it is hot and dry and others when it is wet.

Dougherty, Chris and Neil. Grow ‘Em Right A Guide to Creating Habitat and Food Plots. Newark: NCW Press, 2006.

Tags: Deer Management Food Plot Planting Deer Plots Perennial Annual

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