Deer Food Plot Basics 2

Deer Food Plot Basics - Part 2
Making A Virtual Buffet For Whitetails

By Larry Self

The evening of my second day at the Biologic Southern Testing Facility at Portland Landing in Alabama's Black Belt region found me once again aloft over a prime looking food plot from a sweet gum tree. When head guide K.C. Nelson dropped me off near the stand, he asked me how many bucks I had seen the first evening. Three was the reply. He grinned and said, "You'll see more than that this evening." It had been two years since I'd been able to pull my bow back following a boating accident. The pain and muscle spasms in my neck weren't going away. A bow change and a setup tuned down from a 70-pound draw to a mere 47 pounds had me hoping for a close shot. After a short 30 minutes spent perched over the food plot carefully constructed in the middle of a cutdown,deer began to show. Before a fat doe could present a shot, a monster buck appeared at the far end of the food plot headed my way. He was the fourth buck to enter the food plot. Knowing I had to have the perfect shot with my bow setup, I waited. Before the big buck could maneuver for a good shot, a second 8-pointer
walked out of the thick stuff to my right. He would have been a trophy by anyone's standards and I had a shot, but he wasn't as good as the big buck out in front of me. I chose to wait on the older, bigger buck with the gray patch of hair between his horns. After watching the deer for an eternity and slowly
running out of patience, the big 8-pointer walked into a shooting lane between the sweet gum limbs broadside at 25 yards -- it was time to draw the bowstring to take the biggest trophy of my life.

The Next Step
Prepare for step two of our three-part series on food plot basics.
We've transformed three days spent with the Mossy Oak camouflage staff at the first ever Biologic Food Plot Field Days last fall into a food plot education. Mossy Oak's BioLogic expert Dr. Grant Woods opened his talk last fall with an appropriate quote from the Bible. In Proverbs 12:11 it says, "He who works his land will have abundant food, but he who chases fantasies lacks judgment."
You can apply that statement to chasing whitetails as well. Keep in mind food plots aren't a magical fix to what ails your deer hunting, but if done right, they can be instrumental in increasing your successes.
In last month's issue, we dealt with the first four key steps to developing a successful food plot plan. We set the stage with defining a mission for food plots, selecting a location, doing a soil test, and
determining what to plant. Based on Woods' research, we're communicating his "11 Steps To
Successful Food Plots" program. His strategy is food plots begin with planning and lead to hunting. In this second portion, we'll look at steps on when to plant, how to plant, and seedbed preparation.

When To Plant
Planting in the spring can provide forage all summer long for whitetail populations. Soil temperature is the key to springtime planting. The temperature of the soil is key because you want to have enough moisture content to allow the seed to germinate. Woods said if high temperature is a consideration, soil moisture is even more of a consideration. He said the easiest way to test soil moisture is to go out and squeeze a handful of dirt. Deciding when to plant is also determined by what you're planting. Clover blends can be planted early in the year and then broadcasted over with BioLogic's Maximum blend in the fall. The end product can be brassicas coming up in clover for years to come. Blends are important to get deer to browse as other forage in the mix matures. If you're not sure which blend is best for your food plot situation, each BioLogic bag gives a brief description on the front with detailed planting instructions on the back. A different-colored bag for each blend helps you to pick the right blend for your property. Planting in the fall is also reliant on soil moisture. You'll also want to make sure the blend or forage that you plant still has enough time to mature in order to benefit your hunting and the deer herd as well. Most hunting plots are planted in the fall while forage fields are planted in the spring.
The timing of fall planting is also important when considering you're competing with alternate forage such as agricultural plots like beans and corn or natural foods like acorns. One more consideration in timing
your fall planting is the arrival of the first frost. You'll need to start a growing season long enough to get around frost.

How To Plant
The first problems to solve in how to plant your food plot is equipment choice, and if you can get it to the location. Determining whether to use a tractor drawn seed spreader or disc, or those pulled by an ATV is based on the location of the plot and the type of soil, or the condition of the seedbed.
Woods said you have a no-till situation if sod is present but the sod must be dead. Broadcast spreading is acceptable if the seedbed is rough or the blend you've chosen includes several sizes of seed. You can drill or broadcast seed if the seedbed is level and firm or the seed is approximately the same size. Large seed requires a better seedbed, which means more preparation. Woods said the reason is large seeds do not geminate well unless they're covered by dirt. Woods said your planting technique may be determined by the equipment you have at hand. The Tufline equipment company makes agricultural
products but has gone a further step in developing a BioLogic product line for use with ATVs.
For the hunter, that's a plus. Many of us have ATVs but not tractors. ATVs also can get into some backcountry not accessible by tractor. Tufline makes ATV-pulled harrows, spreaders, culti-packers, discs, and more.

Preparing The Seedbed
The first process in seedbed preparation is controlling existing weeds, especially if rye has been previously planted in the food plot. Sod must be broken or killed. Woods said spraying and killing is an
excellent sod removal technique. Once the sod situation is under control, it's time to plow. Woods said
to plow early if soil moisture is limited. Plowing itself accelerates the evaporation of soil moisture. You're looking to create a smooth seedbed to enhance seed-to-soil contact. Smooth seedbeds can be created though culti-packing. He added you may have to break the "hard pan" to allow roots to get to nutrients depending on the plot's history and/or soil type. The hard pan is under the topsoil and may have been compacted after several plantings and discings. Chicory that's found in many food plot blends has a root that's three to five feet long, which can actually crack the hard pan. Now we're nearing the planting stage but before that happens you need to review your soil test results we discussed in the last issue. Woods recommends using pelletized lime to get the soil's Ph up if necessary. You're shooting for a Ph level of around 7.0 but it's acceptable to obtain 7.1 or 7.2 since it's only going to decline. Farmers use lime to raise soil pH so plants can utilize available nutrients. Economical Ph meters that use a probe to test the soil's alkalinity and acidity are commercially available.
After you've limed the soil, Woods said you can fertilize next. BioLogic actually has a blend of lime and fertilizer called pHFertilizer that they said saves time and labor while jump-starting food plots in the most
difficult soils. It's a combination of fertilizer and quick activation lime in one, easy to use bag. Woods said it's okay to seed the bed just two hours after the fertilizer application, but it happens most often the next day. He also said if you're serious about your food plot, you should do soil checks twice each year. If the Ph is where it should be, you'll get a lot more production. Woods said there's no magic bean out there but you'll do better with your food plot by using certified seed. You need to check germination rates and inoculation dates before purchasing a product. Other key planting tips to remember include planting when there's adequate soil moisture and not to cover seeds too deep. Woods said seeds are living organisms with limited energy until they germinate and photosynthesize.

Closing The Deal
For two hours on that second evening, I had done everything perfect -- patience, timing, and now skill came into play over the BioLogic food plot. I found my anchor point with the release and bowstring and placed the sight behind the big buck's shoulder. As I started to trigger the release, I caught movement out of my right eye and glanced around momentarily to see a three-pointer throw his head up and look dead at me. I had to shoot. I turned back to the string, looked down the sight, and released.
The white fletching on the gray carbon arrow moved in slow motion as I followed the arrow's path just over the big 8-point buck's back. I knew as soon as I hit the release I hadn't regained my anchor point. One mistake -- one less trophy. But the hunt and BioLogic education wasn't over. Pick up next month's issue where we'll close out this look at food plot basics with steps on monitoring your plot, top dressing it, controlling weeds, and scouting to hunt.