Food Plot Basics

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dennishoddy

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Got the plot worked up for the last time tonight. It's about an acre, maybe less. Put down 150 lbs of 13-13-13 tonight. I'll put in the wheat and oats tomorrow.
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Deer Slayer

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How sad it is that he no longer has an interest in hunting, business or no business. Yes, go ahead and plant, you will see it come up and it will help the deer during the winter when they need it.
 

dennishoddy

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My oldest son owns a business now and doesn't have any interest in hunting anymore, and my youngest son is usually done with deer hunting by the first of November and only worried about duck hunting.
Its your oldest sons latest adventure. I'll bet he will get back into hunting down the road.
I raised two sons. Oldest took up hunting, but moved to Dallas, and can't afford the lease prices down there, so he quit. Youngest son was too soft hearted toward animals to kill one.
He watched me field dress many deer and birds, so that part didn't bother him. He just couldn't take it upon himself to kill anything. He still accepts care packages of deer, elk and fish, so he is not opposed to eating it either.
No way to explain it.
 

retrieverman

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My boys are 24 and 22, but I also have a daughter who's 11 (with the same wife lol!). She has shot with me a few times but never had any interest in hunting (not opposed just no personal interest), but she has decided she might like to give it a try this year. I'm hoping she likes it, but I'm only cautiously optimistic. My youngest son is actually a little mad at me for planning to bring Ellie up there this year, and my wife says he's still suffering from middle child syndrome.:scratch:
 

Deer Slayer

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My oats are up and developing rapidly. My alfalfa,clover, chickory and plantain have started to germinate too. My fields are holding 2X the deer this year over last year at the same time. The only difference is that the fields have been remediated for the last couple years and the deer can tell the difference. Others on this forum that have been working with me are seeing the same thing on their plots. More deer and their plots are getting eaten into the ground. One member who has been working with me for a couple of years now, told me tonight, that last year he remediated 2 of his fields and the deer ate the dickens out of those fields. The other 2 plots he fertilized with conventional pelleted fertilizer and the deer did not use them as much. When he told me that I just smiled and said " your learning, the old man didn't lie, did he"? He laughed and said "No". We will be remediating all of his plots this year to increase the quality of the forage which will be detected by the animals using it. These products are cheaper than pelleted fertilizers for the multiple benefits that they provide and the deer can tell. They go to the highest quality forage that they can find. One of the benefits is that the forage helps settle their stomachs. The deer and the operator are the only ones that know the difference...... and that is the way it should be.:clap3:
 

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Soil is made up of billions of various bacteria colonies, worms, fungus's, molds etc. that, hopefully, are synergistically working together to make up this environment. The soil can get out of balance if it is lacking , micro-nutrients, macro-nutrients, organic compounds,pH is too high or too low thereby inhibiting the plants from uptaking the vital nutrients that they need to survive including water. For example, if the soil becomes impacted by too much salt. This can come from an oil and gas well having a poly line break spilling saltwater onto the soil and causing the grass to die and the soil is unable to grow anything for years. Why? Well the salt forms an ionic bond to the soil particle and filling in the spaces between the soil particles making the water unable to pass thru the soil structure. The plants cannot uptake the water and nutrients, no matter how hard they try. This is called osmotic pressure. The plants cannot overcome this and die and as long as this environmental condition exists then nothing grows in this area. Another soil problem can be too high or to low of pH which binds up the plants ability to utilize the nutrients. What this all boils down to is the soil is out of balance and the plants are having difficulty in growing. Most people do not realize that pelleted fertilizers are salt based. If too much of these fertilizers are used over a long period of time then problems slowly build up. What happens? The person MAY realize that he is having to use more fertilizer to get the same result or worse. NOW WHAT DO I DO???? Well the soil has some deficiencies and is out of balance. The soil needs to be remediated to correct these issues. When the soil deficiencies are corrected then it is amazing what can be grown in a healthy soil.
I was contacted this week from an OSA member who was in need of some lime to correct a pH concern. For this concern to be corrected it will take months for the lime to react and raise the pH, not to mention buying, hauling, spreading and incorporating the lime. But I want to plant a food plot this Fall, what do I do? This a concern that I,personally, have on a new field that I am planting tomorrow. What will I do? I will spray a gallon or two of a bio-active calcium carbonate per acre and go ahead and plant. I can also buffer the pH with a soil amendment and plant. When I plant my Buck Forage Oats each year I use a product that is contains an organic fertilizer,12-15-16, a soil microbe package, humic and fulvic acid and a bio-stimulant to enhance the growth and nutrient uptake of the plant. This amendment combination does everything I need to produce a vibrant food plot that sustains the deer all winter. I use a different organic fertilizer for my clover, alfalfa, winter peas etc because the plant needs are different. This all sounds so complicated doesn't it? Its pretty simple, if I need a high nitrogen fertilizer for wheat, rye, oats then I use one product. If I am targeting clovers and legume then I use a different product.

This year a couple of OSA members and I are doing some trials with a drought tolerant high protein plant that will help sustain the deer thru the hot summer months when protein content is, typically, low. It will be interesting see how the deer respond to this plant.
 

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