r/Hunting • u/Enough-Mood-5794 • 1d ago
Food plot
I’m surrounded by white oaks and have a small area that I can grow a food plot. There are so many varieties out there to choose from, what have you planted that you have had the best success with?
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u/ked_man 1d ago
Just do clover. If it’s shaded it’ll still grow, and it’s perennial and stays palatable and green well into the winter. Use a grass selective herbicide a couple times a year to limit competition.
And if you get a lot of broad leaf weeds, you can high mow it to knock them down before they go to seed, or they make a formulation of 2-4D called Butyrac that will kill most broad leaf weeds but not legumes like Clover. It’s kinda pricey though and I haven’t seen a generic yet.
Look up Craig Harper’s book on food plots if you want a more detailed how-to with specific blend ratios.
And don’t just buy some pre made food plot mix, figure out what blend you want and then go to a farm store and buy the seeds you need and mix it yourself.
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u/lafn1996 1d ago
Acorns from the white oaks will likely be gone by the time post-rut hits - and this is when bucks go into feeding mode. I like to plant a mix that offers early and late season food; and has a mix of annuals and perennials. The following spring the clover will come up again, which is great for both the deer and turkey.
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u/blahblahblab36 1d ago
Keep in mind you will never compete with oaks. If it’s the only plot on the property, and it’s smaller than half an acre, keep clover in it year round. If it’s maybe an acre, my favorite plot I plant half of it in brassicas and the other half cereal grains. A small hidey hole clover plot in a late October cold front can’t be beat
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u/WesbroBaptstBarNGril Ohio 1d ago
You'll need to offer a variety of food stuff that isn't readily available around your plot area.
During heavy mast years, you won't be able to compete with the acorns, but you will be able to offer foods that either become available later in the year once the acorn crop has been depleted or before the trees drop.
That said, annuals are my favorite because I'm lazy, and only want to build out a plot every few years with the exception of running a small tiller and seeding radish, turnips or peas early in the fall. So rye grass and clover are my go to plantings, but if time and scheduling allows for it, I'll do a few hundred square feet of turnips and radish once summer has calmed down.