Easiest Food Plot for Deer (2024)

Cereal rye is theEasiest Food Plot for Deer. Throw it on bare dirt and it grows. Plant it 2 to 6 weeks before the first average frost, 50 to 100 pounds per acre. Get a good kill and throw it in the dying vegetation. It will grow.

Easiest Food Plot for Deer (1)

Easiest Food Plot for Deer

Red clover is theEasiest Food Plot for Deer. Spread the seed and spray the grasses to act as a mulch for the clover, or spray in the fall and frost seed in late winter right on top of the snow. The freeze thaw patterns of spring creates cracks the seed falls into to germinate.

Easiest Food Plot for Deer (2)

Easiest Food Plot for Deer

Radishes and rape are theEasiest Food Plot for Deer. Plant in late July through August. Spread the seed on a prepared bed and pack or simply spread into existing vegetation and spray glyph 2 quarts per acre to be your mulch. Easiest Food Plot for Deer.

Easiest Food Plot for Deer

Natural forbes are theEasiest Food Plot for Deer. Spray and old growth field with cloth to kill the grasses and the deer will eat everything else that grows. Simply killing grasses can be theEasiest Food Plot for Deer.

The plan is to not disturb the seed bed by turning the dirt, and by spraying the short weeds, they will fall over our seeds making a blanket to trap the moisture for germination during the heat of summer. These seeds may struggle with limited rain, but the compost we will make is like a dead nurse crop that helps our young plants get started.

Food plots failed

This technique will work for addressing low spots that died out, or very weedy areas that need some help before the deer season. Your food plots failed in spots, but you can jump in there with a backpack sprayer and some seed and be back in the game. If you fertilized well early on, take some of those credits and use less this go around, but always fertilize brassica. Many food plots failed because it was not fertilized.

By planting our brassica 70 days before the first average frost, we will hit that 60 – 90 day window that allows lots of growth and tonnage of forage, without letting the plants mature making them unattractive to the deer herd. We sprayed, planted and fertilized this plot on only 3 hours. It helps that we did not have to work the dirt because we could see it, and even though our food plot failed, we will still have greens this fall. Check the average first frost in your area to discover a good time to easily plant a brassica blend when your food plots failed.

Easiest Food Plot for Deer (3)Fall food plots for deerconsist of either annuals like corn and beans planted in the spring, or annuals, perennials and bi-ennials planted late summer. Today we will focus on a strategy for attracting bucks in the early bow season and until the first few hard frosts in areas where the deer feed heavily on clover, alfalfa or soybeans all summer long. Described as a green to green transition, this fall food plots for deer strategy is a dynamite way to get close shots at the biggest deer on your property.

Early fall food plots for deer are green and growing

As summer rolls into early fall, most of the plant life is shifting the focus from growth to seed production and energy transfer to it’s root system. When this happens your deer herd will shy away from previously attractive soybeans, clovers, forbs and grasses because as they stop growing, they just do not taste as good. Your job as a hunter is to find what they are switching over to and hunt that source. Acorns are key this time of year but they are everywhere and hard to hunt. Your best strategy is to give them some fresh green growth that is tasty and attractive. A late season planting is the best fall food plots for deer strategy in this scenario.

Easiest Food Plot for Deer (2024)

FAQs

What is the easiest deer food plot to grow? ›

Red clover is the Easiest Food Plot for Deer. Spread the seed and spray the grasses to act as a mulch for the clover, or spray in the fall and frost seed in late winter right on top of the snow. The freeze thaw patterns of spring creates cracks the seed falls into to germinate.

What is the fastest growing food plot for deer? ›

Even better, wheat and oats are about the fastest germinating plot plant available. Cover them with a thin layer of damp soil and you can expect to see sprouts within a week or so. They will even sprout after a few days of rain when top-sown on loose soil, although germination rates tend to be lower.

What is the perfect deer food plot? ›

Selecting the right plants is crucial for attracting deer to your food plot. Consider planting a mix of annuals and perennials. Popular choices include clover, chicory, brassicas (like turnips and radishes), soybeans, and various grains.

How many deer will a 1 acre food plot support? ›

Using three deer per acre of food plot, determining how many acres of plots you need is simple once you've established your deer density goal. For instance, say you want to carry 100 deer on 1,000 acres (a deer per 10 acres). Just divide 100 by 3, and you'll find that 33 acres of food plots will meet your needs.

What plant attracts deer the most? ›

Soybeans usually take the top in a lot of conversations. Alfalfa and perennial clover are also mentioned in this conversation frequently because of their ability to provide forage almost year round, minus the dog days of winter. Some land managers will want to mention corn as one of the top plants for deer.

Can I plant a food plot without tilling? ›

Because tilling isn't necessary, a no-till grain-drill can make the difference in being able to plant during a wet year and planting on inclines where we couldn't before because with tilled soil the slope would have caused severe erosion.

What is the number one food plot seed? ›

In conclusion, the best food plot for deer depends on several factors, including location, climate, and deer population. However, clover, brassicas, soybeans, and cereal grains are generally considered to be the best food plots for attracting and sustaining deer populations.

What crop do deer like the most? ›

Deer love soybeans, but no single crop can meet all of a deer's year-round needs.

What is the number one food for deer? ›

The real mainstay food item of deer is browse. Browse plants can be shrubs or young trees within reach of deer. Browse plants will always be available in one form or another, no matter what the weather conditions.

What is deer's favorite food? ›

The top 20 deer foods are: acorns, alfalfa, apples, beechnuts, brassicas, cereal grains, clover, corn, cowpeas, fall leaves, fir needles, forbs, milo, northern white cedar, persimmons, pears, saplings and shrubs, soybeans, and treetops (felled or fallen).

What is the smallest food plot for deer? ›

Size of small hunting plots often is determined by the size of an existing opening, but shooting for a quarter- to half-acre is a good starting point. I have had success on plots closer to a tenth of an acre, but it can be difficult to establish plots this small in areas with moderate to high deer density.

What is the best layout for a deer food plot? ›

Ideally, your stand placement would be either at the mouth of the thin section or in the middle to put a deer well within range as they pass through the pinch point, opening up into the other end of the plot. The Field Goal The field goal plot offers bucks options.

Do you have to replant food plots every year? ›

Examples of cool-season annuals are wheat, oats, rye (cereal rye, not ryegrass), and brassicas. Perennials on the other hand, are typically slower to establish, but they re-grow from their root systems for two or more years, meaning you don't usually have to replant the food plot every year.

What is the best time to plant a deer food plot? ›

The timing of planting deer food plots depends on the climate and location of the hunting area. In general, there are two primary seasons for planting deer food plots: spring and fall. The spring planting season is typically from February to May, while the fall planting season is usually from July to September.

What is the best crop to attract deer? ›

Clover, beans, peas, alfalfa, and lablab are a few examples of legumes that are incredible for your deer. Legumes are very versatile and you can find a type and variety that will work for most soils in every part of the country.

What is a good year round deer food plot? ›

Consider Perennial Crops

You plant this crop one time and, with management, it provides a green food plot on an almost year-round basis for five years or more. Crops that fit this category include Durana clover, Ladino clover, Alsike clover, red clover, and alfalfa.

What is the best food plot shape for deer? ›

Shaping this plot like a horseshoe or L provides several advantages. First, making it longer, yet keeping the width at no more than 40 yards wide, provides deer with an illusion of safety. One jump, and they're back in the cover. This makes it much more likely that mature bucks will enter the plot before dark.

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