Food plots?

[B.A.]

Ok so here's the deal, I want to set up some small food plots on my parents property. They decided to sell off their tractors which is great except when you need a tractor. So this is going to have to be done with an atv. Any advice on equipment and what to plant would be helpful.

[gascolator]

Ok so here's the deal, I want to set up some small food plots on my parents property. They decided to sell off their tractors which is great except when you need a tractor. So this is going to have to be done with an atv. Any advice on equipment and what to plant would be helpful.

Man, if you can find a vintage Farmall Cub with attachments, you'd be a happy puppy with a cool tractor. Don't do eggplant. The bugs have a field day. Tomatoes are a great PA bet, and don't require much soil-prep. So is corn, but it depletes the soil, so you'll have to fertilize. Peppers, from bell to cayenne grow great here in PA. All sorts of squash, from zukes to butternut also do well.

[keystoneman 85]

I think he wants the food plot for the deer, and not the family. Clover in the spring. Winter wheat, rye, oats, peas in winter. Fall you could go with corn.

[B.A.]

Yes keystone for deer mostly. Also this is going to be in NY not PA but terrain is similar to poconos. It's an retired dairy farm so it's mixed open field grown over pasture and hard wood. The idea is to plant some bigger tracts of the fields with some thing like alphalfa and do some smaller plots in open area in the woods and along the edges of old pasture.

[hunterdan]

Depending on the tract, soy beans are a good bet to get the deer in the area, then spread a later blooming crop nearby. And something that stays green almost year round. Winter wheat is good, timothy, clover, or the like. Check out a bag of the blends you can buy, then create your own using the same ingredients, usually ends up being much cheaper when doing a larger area. Another thing to check out would be honey suckle, black berries, apple or other fruit trees.

Dan

[Chazman321]

An apple tree takes forever to produce fruit as with anything else that produces fruit or berries. Honeysuckle will attract bees (which is good) but I can honestly say I've never seen a deer eating it as it's usually a last resort kind of feed...

I'm a big fan of clover. Deer love it and it stays alive all year long. You don't need to till the soil with most clover, it will usually grow just sitting on the ground. You use about 12-15 pounds per acre... Clover puts nitrogen into the soil so you can rotate fields every year of corn and clover and be fine. If you throw some winter wheat into the mix it can only make things better. While the wheat and clover will grow every year due to self seeding, you will get some bald spots here and there were the seeds didn't reach/didn't survive so re-planting every year isn't a bad thing...


-Chaz

[B.A.]

We already have apple trees on the property (which I intend to do some trimming and pruning on). Honey suckle doesn't grow wild there at least I've never seen it. I'm diggin the clover idea maybe mix that with alphalfa and some thing else. I think the winter wheat will be good for the smaller more covered areas.

I was thinking corn but I know it takes a lot to grow it up there (neighbor tried grew great one year not so much the next). Not to mention the bears tear it up pretty bad. But I'll keep it in mind since I'm thinking of convincing my parents to get pheasant.

What about implements. I was looking at some atv stuff in northern tool catalog. Any idea on this stuff?

[dk99358]

Are you looking to plant now or next year? About the only thing that will grow now is rye and wheat. It may be too late for wheat up there already, it's just past prime seeding time here. Rye will germinate if simply broadcast on the surface, no tillage necessary. Clover is relatively easy and can be frost seeded (again, no tillage needed) next year. Alfalfa is great but takes a lot of work, your soil may not be suitable.

Did you take a soil test yet? Check with the local Cooperative Extension (I think it's thru Cornell in NY, in Pa. it's PSU) office for region specific information.

Dale

[B.A.]

Thanx dale. This is for next year. I guess a soil testis in order and I believe you are correct as to who to contact about it. One was done on the property before but it was decades ago. Maybe I'll steer away from the alphalfa then I do know our soil isn't great. So clover wheat and rye. Any other ideas.

[father-of-five]

We had a fenced garden up until last year. The only thing the animals didn't eat (assuming small hungry animals that fit through the fence!) were tomatoes.