Tracy Breen reminds us that you don't need a lot of fancy (and expensive) equipment to plant an effective food plot.
Article and Photos by Tracy Breen
Food plots have changed the way deer hunters hunt deer. Twenty years ago, most placed a stand over a runway or scrape line and waited for a buck to walk in. Things have changed now deer hunters are putting in food plots. Thousands of outdoorsmen are purchasing ATV’s, plot machines, and tilling the ground, putting down lime, planting clover, brassicas, and a variety of seed blends with one goal in mind: bringing in deer from miles around that can’t resist the taste and nutrition a food plot provides.
Over the years, food plots have become a game for the rich. Have you looked at the price of a bag of food plot seed lately? Putting in a plot practically requires mortgaging your house a second time. Have you looked at the cost of a plot machine? Most plot machines cost a thousand dollars and up. If you throw in the cost of a new ATV that can cost up to ten thousand dollars, you can see how putting in food plots can be out of reach for the average blue-collar American.
If you are in the blue-collar category, don’t give up hope. There are a few ways to put a plot in wiathout spending a small fortune. To plant a plot, you need lots of seed. Most seed blends only cover an acre or two of land. If you plan on planting a large section of field, you may need multiple bags of seed. The first cost-cutting method is to save money when purchasing seed. Consider purchasing seed from a local seed company rather than a nationally known seed company. Many of the national companies have great ads and flashy seed bags but that is often the only difference between the quality of their seed and the quality of the seed from your local farm store. Buying generic seed from a local farm supply store can save as much as 50% on the price of seed.
In the North Country, many seed companies sell seed blends that are designed specifically for the North Country. Many of the national blends available were designed to flourish in southern climates where the temperatures are much warmer than they are in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. If you live up north and plant a blend designed for the south, you might find that you have to replant the plot every year because the cold winters killed the seed. One way to reduce the cost of plots is reduce the number of times you plant. Finding a seed that is designed to flourish in your neck of the woods is one way to do that.
Planting a perennial instead of an annual is another way to save money. Clover is the most popular perennial on the market. Finding clover seed at a local farm store is easy and inexpensive. Most clover blends are meant to last a few years and with proper care, they will. This means less planting which results in less seed, less lime, and less time spent in the field working. If you want to save time and money, you may want to consider buying a new clover seed on the market - Lucky Buck Perfect Perennial. Although the upfront cost of the clover blend may be more than other brands, it offers several advantages. It lasts up to six years, which is two to three times longer than most clover blends on the market and will save you time and money. There are a few varieties of clover in the blend that mature at different rates, so a new clover is constantly maturing, giving whitetails something new to eat all the time.
If buying a plot machine is out of the question and you have a strong work ethic, consider a food plot seed blend designed to be planted without using heavy machinery. A rake and some weed killer are the only requirements. Below is a list of some seed blends for the guy who has a $10 rake, not a $10,000 ATV and plot machine. Many of these seed blends that don’t require heavy equipment are only made by national companies, so the seed will cost more than seed blends you would find at the local feed store. However, it’s still cheaper than buying an ATV.
Imperial, a seed company that has been around for years, has an annual seed blend called No-Plow. This blend is readily available at Bass Pro Shops and other national sporting goods chains. No-Plow consists of clover, grasses, and canola that will attract deer, turkeys, and a variety of other game animals. This product is great because plowing is not required. Simply kill the weeds in the area you want to plant with a weed killer, rake the soil, and plant. If your soil is extremely acidic, some lime will be needed before planting. Adding fertilizer before seeding will also help.
Biologic, one of the best-known names in the food plot arena has a blend called Hot Spot. The Hot Spot blend is designed to be planted without tilling. Hot Spot is a blend of buckwheat and winter peas. One bag is meant to be planted in a 20x20 area and sprouts quickly if lime and fertilizer are spread first. If they are not added, the plot will still grow, just not as quickly. The no-tilling blends are designed to be heartier than your typical seed blends and don’t require as much care or water in most cases.
Frigid Forage Food Plots of Northern Minnesota makes an easy-to-plant food plot called Autumn Quick Plot. I’ve had the opportunity to hunt over this blend and was extremely impressed with its’ ability to grow anywhere. I hunted over it in West Virginia. The blend was planted on a remote two track a few weeks before I arrived to hunt. It received very little water, yet it was lush and green. The Quick Plot only takes a few weeks to start growing and is perfect for the hunter who wants a nice plot close to a remote treestand. The Quick Plot has a variety of things in it including Winter Rye, Hairy Vetch, Winter Peas, and Dwarf Rapeseed. You can plant a small Quick Plot for under $20.
If you want to plant a large plot that will require the use of an ATV or a tractor and a plot machine but don’t want to fork out the cash it takes to purchase the equipment, try to find a farm store or sporting goods store that rents the equipment needed to plant a food plot. If you decide to take this route and have a few friends who might also want to plant a plot, you can split the cost of a rental to bring down the cost of the plot. This also goes for the seed. Buying it in bulk and splitting it with a few friends is a great way to save a few dollars.
Even if you have money to burn and want to plant enormous plots that will be limed and watered regularly, you may want to consider planting one of the seed blends discussed above. The biggest problem with most food plots is they require a lot of care after they’re planted. If they don’t get enough sun, they die. If they don’t get enough water, they die. If the soil isn’t just right, they die. Do you see the pattern? Food plots can be difficult to grow. The blends discussed are meant to be planted in remote locations where controlling the sun and water the plot gets can be difficult to control. These hardy blends are perfect for anyone that is short on time or who has a brown thumb (like me).
Most of these seed blends sprout extremely quickly. If time gets away from you this summer and you don’t have time to plant a plot, some of the seed blends listed above can still be ready by next hunting season. If you plant it in September, you can hunt over it in October and November. Or, if you plant a plot and it dies out for some reason before hunting season, many of the blends will work great as a last-minute backup plan.
Food plots can be fun, but they can also cost a lot of money. If you don’t have a lot in the bank but want to experience harvesting a whitetail over a food plot, try some of these suggestions and you may find yourself hunting over a food plot this fall.
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