MNDeerHunter.com

[DeadBuck]

Was thinking of planting some food plots on our land in wisc. when should i start tilling and planting, i have absolutly no knowlede on planting anything so any advise will help. thank
DB
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I love big Racks

[Bigshooter]

It really depends on what your time of year you want to focus on. It depends if your planning to hunt over the plot or helping the deer in spring when they need it most. We usually plant a few different plots on our land. We usually start digging them up as soon as we can. This helps by keeping the weeds to a minimum. We'll dig it maybe every two to three weeks until we plant it. We usually plant towards the end of July. We plant a plant called rape which the deer seem to love. By the time hunting season rolls around it has lush green leaves that have stayed green through our firearm season.
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Hunting is the Life

[DeadBuck]

well i guess i would like to plant something that will hold the dear on our prperty year round, as im fairly sure the go to adjecent farmland to feed. the only thing that we really have going as far as food is a 20acre field that at one time had been hay now its just overgrown but there are allways deer in the feid at night. i would like to plant several small plots in the feild area and few in the woods maybe on old loging roads. is thee such a thing as overplanting? we have 200 acres how many acres of plots would be suitable?
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I love big Racks

[Bigshooter]

In my opinion, I don't think over planting is an issue unless you really start clearing land. I've heard that if you plant smaller plots ,such as four or five three acre plots surrounded by good cover,rather than a twenty acre plot the deer will visit the smaller plot at anytime of day because they feel more secure. If you have several different plots you can plant different things in each for each time of year. Anytime you Plant a new food plot the deer will come because it seems like they always find the freshest new plants to eat. If you want to hold deer on your property you also need adequate cover or bedding areas. If you have that you'll have deer staying with you all year around.
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Hunting is the Life

[DeadBuck]

we have no shortage of cover for the deer on our land. were would one get information about the best plots to plant? and would it be worth it to plant smaller plots in the woods maybe 1/2 acre or less just wondering as there are areas on our property like this.

DB
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I love big Racks

[big drift]

http://www.mnqdm.com/

Try here for Quality Deer Management in Minnesota, also just do a google search for Quality Deer Management lots of ideas out there.

bd

[Bigshooter]

If you really want to get the right plants that will grow the best, do a soil sample. I'm not sure exactly where you could obtain it where you live but ask someone in your town. What a soil sample does is tells the land owner what type of plants that are the best for the type of soil present. It will tell things like if the soil may need some fertilization. I think half acre plots in the woods would be a good idea. The deer are more comfortable. If you find a type of deer mix you really like, first consider looking at the ingredients. You can save a lot of money by buying the seeds individually at a local feed store. It's just something to consider. My hunting crew usually does that.
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Hunting is the Life

[big drift]

Also understand there are federal and state aid programs. I know the MDHA has seed sales every year for plots.

Most county extension offices also will assist with identifying hazardous plants and some offer financial aid for weed control.

An example where we hunt in North Dakota the county will reimburse 80% of the cost for weed control on certain weeds and identify the chemicals you should use to mange them.

bd

[DeadBuck]

our land is near rice lake wisconson. is the soil test the same as a ph test, cause for these i can just send a sample to the university right and they will tell me what kind fertalizer? im gonna really have to do some reaserching i think to get the right plants in there. by the way what does severl acres of plot cost?

DB
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I love big Racks

[big drift]

http://www.mndeerhunters.com/index.php

once there go to the programs section on the left side of screen then scroll down to the section ya want.