What is good to plant in a food plot? Also should I put lime down before I plant?

[lovetohunt]

What is good to plant in a food plot? Also should I put lime down before I plant?

[FairChase]

If you asked 100 people you might get 100 different answers. Kinda depends on your situation. Are there a lot of crops grown around your hunting area? What region of the country do you live in? Do you have acess to machinery? In my opinion soybeans can be just as good as anything. But if your surrounded by fields of soybeans you might have trouble getting deer to come to your plot. Might try to plant something they dont get much. Some good things to plant would be, corn, soybeans, cowpeas, clover, turnips, biologic, and many others. You dont know whether you need lime unless you check to soil's ph. If your serious about it you can send a soil sample off to be tested. Talk to your local Ag Extension office for more info.

[Chris Carpenter]

Alfalfa and clover are good starts. It always good to add lime and firtilizer

[herbie57_57]

alfalfa and clover and exspensive starts. Triticales, rye, sorghum (milo) or cheaper ways to go. Pheasants forever gives away a sorghum mix each year so if you know a member hit them up, it works great for deer too. You should get a soil test done to see if you need lime because thats a major expense also. Most state extension offices can send in a soil sample and get it tested to see how much N,P & K you need along with getting a soil pH. You could send your sample into a private lab also like Ward labs in NE or Servi Tech Labs in KS. Also check out the message boards there is a place under deer camp talking about food plots.

[jay]

there are several advantages to planting alfalfa.
1. If you mow and fertilize it should easily last 4 or more years without having to replant.
2. Alfalfa is very high in protein.
3. You can make money from it if bailed.
4. provides year round food source.

Of course, one of the biggest disadvantages is the cost of seed.

[NNMountaineer]

It depends what species your foodplot will target, what part of the country you are in, and how much money you are willing to spend establishing this plot. Step 1 will be to get a soil test done for your property and it will tell you how much lime and fertilizer to apply based on what you want to grow. You should also consult with someone that has experience growing food plots in your area or a biologist in your area in order to determine what grows best as well as what the wildlife are most attracted to.

[lovetohunt]

I live in Michigan and trying to attract whitetail.

[sayerbefiddlin]

I live down south and I always add lime as a buffer when I am hunting the soggybottoms. Just the cracks in the canopy is where I plant the winter wheat or turnips. Sometimes I luck out and the poke salad is still out.

[Big C]

I agree that a lot depends on the situation and your area. Definitely use lime and fertilizer to get the best results.

[rudyglove27]

Agreed with FairChase!