Sometimes you can’t stop Mother Nature from handing you a food plot failure or many failures. If you want to avoid this disappointment, it’s imperative that you do what you can to control the outcome. Your plants need healthy soil, the right seed, seed to soil contact, water, and your green thumb to nurse it properly.
Successful food plots are defined differently from one hunter to the next. It comes down to what the hunters goals are. These goals will define what a successful food plot is. There are several strategies, and some science, behind achieving a successful food plot. This article is going to provide you with the information it takes to grow a successful food plot that lends well to your hunting strategy.
Successful food plot strategies
Whether you are planting a food plot on ground with 100% exposure to sunlight, or you are in the darkest part of your woods, the location, shape, and size of your food plot will impact your hunting success.
Think about how your food plot will fit in with the larger picture of the area that you hunt. Don’t just think about your property but the neighbors properties as well. Picture your property in the middle of square mile and try to learn what food sources are available to deer in that area. Plant something different from what your neighbors are offering within that square mile. If you provide a particular food source to deer that they can’t find anywhere else on neighboring properties then you are going to have better luck attracting deer to your property.
Choosing a Food Plot Location
The first thing you should ask yourself when trying to decide on a food plot location is if deer will be able to smell, hear, or see you when they are in your future food plot. I always think about my entry into and out of every stand or blind location. How are deer on my property, or my neighbors property, going to be impacted by my movements?
A deer can smell you several hundred yards or more if they are downwind of your location. Blowing your wind toward your food plot carries the potential of ruining future hunts and educating deer. Deer will be more likely to move during daylight hours and maintain predictable movement patterns as long as they feel safe on your property. The way you do that is by never letting deer know they are being hunted.
As a general rule I hunt the outside edges of my property and always blow my wind on the neighbors property. Ideally my wind is blowing in locations i don’t expect deer to be such as an open Ag field. If deer smell me on my neighbors property that’s necessarily a good thing. Chances are that those same deer go on my land and now they are educated to my hunting pressure. Always try to make sure your wind in blowing toward areas where deer are least likely to be so you aren’t educating them.
Give as much of your property to the deer that you can by treating the majority of your property like a sanctuary. Even on 10 or 20 acres I would have at least a five-acre area that I would keep away from, and that includes keeping my wind from blowing into that sanctuary. Give those deer a place on your land where they feel safe and untouchable from any predator or hunter. Deer are a prey species so give them a good place to hide and they will stay there.
Planting in river bottoms, valleys, or low land areas can be problematic. If you plan to hunt over plots in a bottom, then I highly recommend hunting in an enclosed blind that can lock your scent in. The wind typically swirls in a bottom and deer are more likely to catch your scent. Also, a deer’s most predictable feeding pattern happens in the evening, which is also when thermals are dropping and pulling your scent down into low areas such as a bottom.
Planting in river bottoms can also be an issue if flooding is common. Hopefully you have an idea from past seasons how often the ground floods. This is useful information prior to deciding whether to go through the trouble and expense of planting a food plot in a specific area. If you have a wet area that you plan to grow a food plot in, make sure to choose a seed type that does well in wet soils.
If you are planting a river bottom food plot in a location that gets minimal sunlight throughout the day then make sure you are choosing the best seeds types for low light conditions. Check out my article best food plot seed for low light.
All properties consist of their own unique circumstances. Sometimes it’s in the hunters best interest to plant a food plot in a location that they never plan on hunting. It takes discipline to put all that work in planting a food plot and not hunt over it but it could play a critical role in your properties overall hunting strategy depending on the layout of your land. It’s amazing how much better the hunting can be in the general area surrounding a food source that has no hunting pressure on it. If deer can feed in a food plot comfortably without human intrusion, then imagine how comfortable they will be walking around the surrounding habitat during daylight hours.
Planting on ridge tops is ideal for hunting and planting. Seed is less likely to wash away, soils drain better giving you more options on which seeds to plant, and your winds will blow more predictably without much swirling. Additionally, ridge tops are typically easier for transporting food plot equipment in and out of. Bottom ground and low land areas are more likely to flood or have ditches and creeks that need to be crossed making access much more difficult.
One consistent feature that is a must have for every food plot is side cover. When a food plot is surrounded by thick cover such as switch grass, evergreen trees, miscanthus giganteos, and so on, bucks are much more likely to make an appearance during daylight. Side cover could also come in the form of a terrain change. If you are able to walk by a food plot without being seen then the side cover is sufficient.
Cutting down the sightline from humans looking in, and deer looking out, helps the deer feel more comfortable. Deer obviously don’t want to see humans, but many folks don’t realize that deer can be stressed out by other deer which is commonly referred to as social pressure. Bucks fight bucks and does fight does. Additionally, bucks harass does during the rut which can cause does to be cautious when walking out into open areas where they can be easily seen from a long distance. Cutting down site lines will help the deer avoid each other and stay more hidden.
Having a barrier or screen along a food plot will help hunters access hunting spots undetected. Because I never want deer to see, hear, or smell me I typically don’t recommend planting a food plot directly next to a road or access trail. There are exceptions to this depending on the layout of the property. However, in most situations if you have great side cover where deer cannot see you walking on a road or access trail, chances are they will still hear you using them. The walking surface itself will make a big difference in how much noise you make walking or riding along a trail or road. A gravel road or dry leaves can make a lot of noise when walking or driving on them. Use common sense by asking yourself if a deer will be able to hear you going down a trail or road based on the distance a food plot is away from these areas. Deer can hear just about the same and as well as a human.
There are two categories I would like to discuss in regards to the shape of a food plot. The first category is food plots that funnel deer and keep them moving along as they eat. The second is a food plot that attracts deer to an area and holds them there for an extended period of time.
Food plots that attract deer to an area and hold them there are also referred to as a deer’s primary evening food source. This is the food plot where a deer makes a dinner reservation in advance and when they get there, they will spend a good amount of time eating.
Funnel food plots are more like drive through restaurants. Deer will walk along and keep moving from one area to another. Typically they are traveling from their primary evening food source to bedding in the morning and from their bedding to primary food source in the evening. Your funnel plot is what connects them and directs traffic.
Not every hunting property is capable of having a primary food source. These food plots are typically several acres in size. Also, they don’t always attract mature bucks until after daylight hours. If you don’t have the means to plant a primary food source then don’t sweat it. The funnel food plot will offer fantastic hunting opportunities that bring deer within shooting range.
The shape of a plot can funnel deer right where you want them to walk. For bow hunters this key to getting deer within shooting range. As a general rule of thumb, plant your food plots in long strips of ground that aren’t wider than thirty yards. I want to be able to shoot a deer walking along the far edge of the plot.
One shape that works well is the “V” shape plot. Set your tree stand up at the bottom of the “V” where the two legs meet together. If you have two different bedding areas, you can point your food plot to two different bedding areas and pull the deer from their bedding to the bottom of the “V”. If you know where the deer’s evening food source is then point your “V” in the direction of the evening food source.
Another popular food plot shape that works well is the hourglass food pot. This food plot shape has two large size food plots, one on each end, that connect in the middle somewhere and pinches the deer down within bow range. This is the place where you put your tree stand or blind.
Lastly, and my favorite food plot shape, is the long skinny line. Again, this food plot is no wider than thirty yards and it meanders through the property in a strategic way. Typically these will follow a ridge top, or connect different habitat types. Sometimes these plots follow a tree line or some other habitat edge where two different habitat types come together. Food plots like this can also connect one bedding area to another. Or it can go from food to food, or bed to food.
I like long and curvy food plots because it keeps deer moving along and feeding. It also makes it easy to plant a few different food plot seed types side by side and rotate them from year-to-year so you can maintain soil health and prevent disease from setting in. It’s easy to connect different habitat features, and the curves in the plot will help reduce social pressure among the deer since sight lines will be blocked by the curves. Several deer could be feeding in the plot and one group of deer might not even know that another group of deer is feeding on the opposite side of the plot. During the rut when bucks are searching for does the buck will have to walk the entire length of the plot to see if does are in the plot or not.
Food Plot Size Selection
When considering food plot size I’m really only thinking about a few things. Is the plot a primary evening food source or a funnel food plot? Do I want to hunt the plot with a bow or a gun? What do I plan on planting and will the deer eat it to the dirt?
If you are planting a primary evening food source then most likely your best odds for killing a buck on it will be with a gun unless you create a way to pinch deer down in front of your hunting location. There are a few things you can do to bring a buck within bow range on an evening food source. You can install a scrape tree, set up a deer decoy, or plant a different plant species within bow range. I like planting a green food source within bow range if you consider implementing this option. Lastly, try using fences or cutting trees down to encourage deer to walk within bow range.
Funnel food sources are my favorite because of the variety of options and strategy that can go into it. Also, this type of food plot is more likely to get visited by mature bucks during daylight hours. A mature buck may arrive to his destination food source just at dark but he may be walking through a funnel food source during the last few minutes of daylight.
The downside to funnel plots is sometimes they can be pretty small in size. Often times these food plots will need to be planted in seed types that deer won’t eat to the ground such as cereal rye, clover, or brassica mixes.
The science behind a successful food plot
Okay, so now that we have discussed the strategy side of planting a food plot, it’s time to talk about the scientific side of making a successful food plot.
Let’s make this simple. To grow a successful food plot you need to have healthy soil, live seed, seed to soil contact for germination, water, and human effort.
Healthy Soil
To find out your soil health you should take a soil sample and send it in to a lab. They will send you a report back that will tell you what your soil PH is and how much lime you need to spread to amend the soil. Do this several months before you intend to plant so you can apply a slow release fertilizer.
Doing a soil test and applying lime when needed are both inexpensive and worth every penny.
Live Seed
The seed type is obviously one of the most important factors if you want to have a successful plot. However, many people still don’t realize that they should read the seed tag on the label and make sure they aren’t buying old seed or a bunch of filler seed. Buying live seed is critical for good germination rates.
Seed to Soil Contact
How do you plan on getting good seed to soil contact? Old school mentality would say to disc up the area and make a good seed bed and plant your seed. Old school definitely still works and will always work. However, this strategy is not for everyone. If you have very dry soil conditions then turning your soil over by discing might not be a good option because you will most likely make it more difficult for that soil to hold moisture after a rain. How you achieve seed to soil contact is important, and how you go about it should be based on your specific property and the spot you are planting.
Each plot is different in its own unique way. Your method for prepping the soil prior to planting seed should be based on the specific conditions. In most cases you should do what the farmers are doing in your area. If Ag farming isn’t common in your area then talk to other food plotters in your area that are growing food plots successfully and ask them about their planting process and the equipment they use.
No-till food plots seem to be getting a lot of attention in the food plot industry. However, try to stick to what others are doing successfully in your area. If you want to implement a no-till food plot strategy on your lands then check out this article to learn more about my no-till strategy.
Water
Hopefully i’m stating the obvious when I say that plants need water to grow. I like to time my plantings right before a long rain starts. This helps reduce seed loss from birds eating at it, and also helps drive your seed into the soil for good seed to soil contact. Again, if moisture retention is important to you then don’t disk your plots too much if you can help it.
On the flip side, too much water is a bad thing. If you’re planting in bottom ground, valleys, or areas that hold water then you could be fighting an uphill battle. Some areas can be hit or miss depending on how much rain you get at particular times of the year.
I have seen some creative ways for watering food plots during a drought or dry conditions. Fire trucks, sprinkler systems, and pumping water from a lake are a few examples. Sometimes you have to go the extra mile if you are going to beat Mother Nature.
Human Aid
There are a lot of things you can do to almost guarantee a successful food plot planting. However, success can almost always be measured in the amount of effort you put in to making sure the food plot meets your expectations. Food plot work might consist of needing to spray or mow weeds, fertilizing it, and maybe even watering it during drought conditions. Some food plotters have to protect their plots from deer eating the plants to the dirt. You may have to build a fence around the plot to keep deer from eating the plants before they have a chance to grow. Fencing off a plot just to make sure the food is there during the hunting season might also be something to consider doing. You don’t want your food plot to get completely eaten before you have a chance to benefit from the hunting opportunities that it will provide.
Human aid means work! And the more work and money spent on a plot usually relates to ensuring that your food plot reaches it’s full potential to feed and attract deer. If you’re lucky sometimes a food plot doesn’t take much work and maintenance. However, no plot comes without its own unique challenges.
Conclusion
There are many ways a food plot can fail that isn’t always Mother Nature’s fault. Take your time to do the research and map out a plan for yourself. If you haven’t grown a food plot before it’s a good idea to write down your plan and make a step-by-step guide for yourself. Keep track of when each step needs to happen and the details for each step that will help you along the way. Include these details in your plan so you don’t forget to do them.
You will learn a lot just by just doing. Grow your plot and learn through the process. If things didn’t go as planned then give yourself an honest self-assessment. Did you do everything you could have to prevent a food plot failure? If you can answer no, then you know what your opportunities for improvement are.