A corn patch for a food plot?

[9dawgs]

Dang what a fatty! That's a nice little buck. Good eats too I bet.

[sam03]

Ever thought abt soy beans? Just saw this yesterday.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80BrWv7C4HI

[treefarmer]

Sam03, beginning about 1980 I had the priviledge of hunting a property that was planted in soybeans. Killed my 1st muzzle loading buck on that property. That was probably the best hunting I have ever experienced. Killed a pile of deer there, my son killed his 1st buck on that place when he was 9 years old.

Eventually the property owner decided she was allergic to the spray that the farmer was having applied to the soybeans with a plane. He said he couldn't grow the beans without the protection from the worms that would defoliate the beans so the land lay out one season , not as many deer, no feed. The kind lady told asked me to plant a few acres for the deer as I had been providing her packaged venison in exchange for hunting rights. Planted 5 acres with a grain drill and had great success for a couple of years, then her family persuaded her to plant that 120 acres in pines, you know the rest of that story.

Tried beans here, where the corn patch is located, they got about 12 inches high and then we had visitors. They wiped them out in about 3 nights. Most of the soybean fields around here have evidence of deer feasting on the beans, from the edge out to about 50 feet the plants are usually destroyed. So it takes a large field to produce beans to maturity if there are a lot of deer in the area. Small food plots such as mine would have to be protected by fencing or a chemical band. Remember last year Iluv2hunt suggested using a product around a pea patch called Milorganite which really worked well here to stop deer from destroying the peas as they matured. That ought to work on soybeans as well, or at least get them established enough to withstand grazing before they are mature.

The combination of soybeans and clover would probably be a great comonation, will consider this a little more.

Treefarmer

[treefarmer]

Day 250 Corn patch food plot

As everybody in Florida knows it has been unusually warm for this time of the year. Right now it is 80 degrees, overcast with a strong south west breeze. We've had several frosts, but there are still green things in the woods and there are a lot of things blooming, pear trees for one.

This last week is the slowest week I've experienced in deer hunting for many years. Killed one on the 7th of January and have not seen a deer in the corn patch now for 9 days. Haven't been to the lease so don't know if they have moved there or not. I've been able to sit and watch most afternoons for the last hour and nothing is moving, a few doves. I did notice that the corn that has been picked over, pushed down and then bush hogged creates a very bright back ground for that last look, the 30 minutes after official sundown.

Pictures this time show we're still having night time visitors, no bucks this past week, some ol' man went by the camera refreshing the fire lines that will be used in March when it's time to burn and there is a picture of an almost 100% home produced dinner. It was a very simple meal, fresh venison liver, grits made from the corn patch food plot ears and zipper cream peas from the garden last summer. The Red Diamond tea was from the store. My wife and I are very thankful for all the blessings the Lord has allowed to come our way!
Treefarmer

[Iluv2hunt]

Zipper peas are a favorite of my family! Absolutely the best of any pea!

[kc45]

You are blessed...

[GoodOyster]

Zips and grits! MM-MM-MMM! Not sure about the liver, haven't tried it, but glad you like it!

[9dawgs]

Zips and grits! MM-MM-MMM! Not sure about the liver, haven't tried it, but glad you like it!

X2... But I have tried the liver and it's a no go for me

[GoodOyster]

Yeah, about the only liver I've ever likes is chicken liver. But when it comes to food, I'll try just about anything once, most things a lot more!

[treefarmer]

Boys, the secret to cooking the deer liver is salt, pepper, little bit of flour and some hot peanut oil in the old black skillet. Just enough smokin' hot oil to cover the sliced liver and cooked only about 90 seconds . It might be an acquired taste for some folks, it is different, just as venison heart is totally different. You got to eat it for what it is and not expect it to taste like any other part of the deer.
Treefarmer

[GoodOyster]

Well, if the Lord blesses me with another deer someday, I'm keeping the heart and liver, just to try them out!

[treefarmer]

Day 257 Corn patch food plot

I have to express my disappointment so far in the corn patch food plot. There is plenty of sign but daytime movement is just not happening. I've only killed 2 little bucks so far and I feel that this corn patch may not be what I had hoped it to be. The weather has still not killed all the green stuff in the woods and this maybe a factor. Previous seasons there was a lot of early morning and late afternoon deer movement in the oats, rye, or clover plantings. The corn patch is being used but it appears to be only at night. The shooting house is secure enough that I feel that a smart old doe is not out there calling the shots, when to feed and when to lay low. It's been intresting to say the least and there are several more weeks 0f hunting left in our zone. I've neglected hunting on the lease just to see what would show up here at the house. Still have several deer on camera but very few in the daytime.
Treefarmer

[M12Gunboy]

You are blessed Treefarmer. Someday I will hopefully be as fortunate as you and your family.

[Iluv2hunt]

Treefarmer, in your opinion what is the best combo for planting in the fall for the fall/winter plot?

[treefarmer]

Iluv2hunt, the best food plot to me so far has been a Imperial whitetail clover planting.
I have alternated between the clovers, the cereal grains, rye grain (not rye grass) and various brands of oats and wheat. I did a blend a couple of years ago that had all sorts of seeds, oats, wheat, turnips, a couple of clovers, even had Austrian winter peas in it. They all work if you have a good season. Planting some of the cereal grains too early usually results in a bad stand as they wont tolerate the late summer/early fall heat.

Back to the clover plot, the Imperial Whitetail Clover is a perennial, it is rather expensive so I did a small experiment. I planted the Imperial whitetail Clover in a well prepared seed bed, about an acre and across a little branch I planted some White Ladino Clover from the feed store. It was less than a 1/4 acre. Planted in the fall of 2000, it did not do anything for that years hunting season but it took off in the sprimg and summer and was unbelievable! The deer couldn't tell the difference between the high dollar clover and the clover seed from the feed store. We had 7 bucks that stayed in those little patches all the way up till just before hunting season. I was able to kill one of the bigger 8 points on Thanksgiving afternoon, 2001. Once these perennial clovers are established they are a year round plot.

Clover needs a smooth level seed bed and should not be covered with a disk! Planting guides only say 1/4 inch deep!! If the tiny little seeds are too deep they are not able to make it to the surface as they germinate. We put them out with a little hand seeder and then drag the field with a chain-link drag.

I found that it is a big job to maintain a clover patch. There are lots of issues with grasses and weeds that need to be controlled. The clover should be mowed about once a month during the growing season to help stimulate growth. Some herbicides will take out the grass but there is not much you can do about broad leaf weeds except keep 'em mowed so they don't reseed. Clover seemed to do best when mowed to 8-10 inches. My larger patch lasted several years and I just neglected it and finally there were to many weeds to contend with so I went back oats and then this time to the corn.

I believe there will be another clover patch down below the house! PM me if I've muddied the water!
Treefarmer