PA food plots??
Pennsylvania
Interested in hearing about your food plotting experience, plans, seed choice, etc. I have done Winter Rye and White Clover in the past. Thinking of switching things up this summer/fall. Got some areas brush hogged and sprayed. Waiting for everything to burn from the spray and then disking to prep for a late July Early August planting.
Don't know if you've been here and it's not PA specific but Pat has this forum as part of the Bowsite.
http://deerbuilder.com/
I've done buckwheat, cowpeas and winter pees.
My buckwheat plot saw almost no action.
Both plots where easy to make and did pretty good. My cowpea plot got hit pretty good when it first started growing, but later in the year the action died off.
My Austrian Winter Pea plot got HAMMERED up through November. Winter peas do well in the cold. I think mine stayed green until it was in the low 20's for a week or so.
This year I'm planting two winter pea plots. I'm starting to prep the land now and plant in mid to late August.
Thanks Phil. yes I have seen it but was more interested in PA specific (Climate, Soil, Same Deer, etc.) plots so I figured I ask here.
Thunder- I've done buckwheat many times but mainly in May-June as a way to shade out weeds and build organic material into the soil in prep for a fall plot. Never used Buckwheat as a fall food plot. Buckwheat will die at the slightest sign of frost.
Nice thing about peas is that they like higher PH soil. I thought about doing corn, but the amount of work I'd have to do to prep the soil was crazy.
Last year I also dumped a trailer load of mushroom dirt into my plot and drug it into the soil. The cow peas loved it and did really good.
I also use an electric fence to control over browsing.
My buddy has a fence to control browsing on his Eagle Beans until they get well established. I don't have a fence so I will most likely be planting grains like Buck Forage Oats and some tubers. Been using the local seed for years and thinking of trying the Whitetail institute stuff this year for the first time.
Dan, thanks I may copy that idea next year.
you can get an electric fence with wire and wire holders for about 100.00.
I have been planting winter wheat for years. It seems to work well,plus it last into winter.
I planted radishes last year and they did Ok and the deer loved them all winter long. This years crop is doing fantastic.
Been small scale food plotting for 10+ years, mostly with a rototiller and a rake, this past year got access to an ATV with a small disk, on two very different types of properties and here is what I plan to do in 2019.
I can get a 50 LBS bag of Winter Rye for $15 and toss it just about anywhere before a forecasted rain and as long as that rain comes...the rye will germinate and make for a nice fall kill plot around my treestands even in wooded areas.
On small 1/2 acre plots where I prep the soil, I will plant a mix in late July of radish, turnip. ect. AND regular Soy beans. These will grow nice in late summer and when a September rain is forecasted I will broadcast Winter Rye maybe oats. I don't care if the deer wipe out the soy bean from overgrazing, the radish, turnip and Rape will still grow.
