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| Blends can excel when single-species plots won't. Some plants may go dormant during extreme heat or cold while others remain, giving the deer a variety of choices throughout the season. |
There’s no doubt a single-plant food plot can give you a
great place to hang a tree stand. A stand of alfalfa or clover can also be a
reliable source of high-quality forage that can help bucks grow better antlers.
Imperial Clover is one of the best, if not the best, all-purpose food plot
product available. It’s not only good for deer, it’s great for deer hunting, especially
during early fall. But in some regions, clover goes dormant in late winter and
offers less benefit to deer or hunter. When the clover disappears, so do the
deer. You could plant brassicas if you want a late-season hunting plot. Deer
hammer it after the plant has been hit by a frost, and they stay on it until
the plant has been reduced to roots. But that means you’ll have to wait until
cold weather sets in before you can expect to see any deer.
BLENDS ARE BETTER
So what should you do? The obvious solution is to plant both
in the same field. Instead of guessing the best seeding rate for each plant,
however, grab a pre-mixed blend like Whitetail Institute’s Double Cross, a mix
of clover and brassicas. Blends offer a variety of foods in one plot, giving
deer a solid reason to stay on your property not just part of the hunting
season, but all of it. Just as we can’t get all our nutritional needs from a
salad or a steak, deer need a variety of foods to survive. Blends give them
what they need when they need it.
“We design our blends to give hunters and deer the maximum
benefit from a food plot," Whitetail Institute Vice-President Steve Scott said.
"A blend not only gives the deer a choice, it gives hunters more
opportunity to see deer throughout the hunting season because one plant might
be prime in October while another is most attractive in November or
December."
That’s because the plants in a typical blend don’t always
grow at the same rate. Whitetail Institute’s Pure Attraction, for example, includes
oats and winter peas, which germinate quickly and grow fast, providing an almost-immediate
food source for your deer. The third ingredient in Pure Attraction is
brassicas. Deer often won’t touch that plant until a frost has changed the
palatability of the plant. In fact, brassicas have become one of the hottest
late-season food plot choices for that reason. Unfortunately, hunters who only
plant brassicas are missing out on an extended opportunity to hunt one food
plot.
WHICH ONE?
Choosing the best blend isn’t as easy as grabbing the first
bag you see. Whitetail Institute offers more than a dozen different seed
blends. All attract deer, but each one includes different seed blends for
different situations and different purposes. Thankfully, choosing the right one
isn’t really difficult.
By their nature, blends offer a variety of plants that draw
whitetails throughout the life of the food plot. Some are designed to attract
deer during fall and winter, but others provide high-quality, nutritious forage
throughout the summer when bucks are growing antlers and does are nursing.
“Attraction plots are usually cool-season plots that include
clover, brassicas, peas or oats — things that provide a food source throughout
the fall and winter. Those are the plots you are going to hunt over,” Scott
said. “In some cases, you will have hunting opportunities over warm-season
plots, but those tend to diminish as the season progresses, particularly in the
North.”
Annual warm season forage blends are usually planted in
spring and are designed to provide high protein and other vital nutrients.
Hunters all across the U.S. report their warm season food plots have resulted
in healthier bucks with better antlers. Whitetails that have access to
high-quality forage in summer go into winter in better health, giving them
better odds of surviving harsh conditions.
Some warm season forage blends include annuals like
sunflowers, peas, beans and sorghum, but others have perennials like chicory
and alfalfa. Attraction blends can also include perennials like clover.
What you choose also depends on your plots themselves.
Although all food plot plants need at least three to four hours of sunlight,
some have different moisture requirements. Scott said alfalfa, for example,
does well in drier soils because it has a deep tap root. So does chicory.
Clover does best in ground that holds more moisture. Sometimes combining those three
in one plot can give you enough variety to cover all the bases.
“Alfa-Rack Plus, which has clover, chicory and alfalfa, can
be ideal for that situation,” Scott said. “A perfect example might be if you
are in hilly country and plan to plant on a plot that is sloped on one end and
flat on the other. Alfalfa might do better on the higher ground that doesn’t
hold moisture, but clover will excel in the lower, wetter part of the plot. A
lot of times, you might have just enough moisture over the entire plot that all
the plants will thrive. A blend covers all the bases.”
Some, like Whitetail Institute’s new Edge, includes
perennial plants like alfalfa, chicory, sanfoin and a fast-growing annual
clover. Edge makes a great summer nutrition plot, but also a super place to
hang a tree stand, particularly for early-season bow-hunters.
The obvious advantage of a perennial blend is the reduced
effort and cost. Plant them once, and you’re set for several years. Annuals
offer their own advantages: They can be somewhat easier to establish and weed
control can be a little easier, too.
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| By offering your deer a variety of foods in a single plot, you stand a better chance of seeing and harvesting more deer throughout the entire season. |
STILL NOT SURE?
“The
best advice I can give is to split up your plots and plant a couple of different
blends. That way, you can see what works best for you and your deer,” advises
Scott. “The more choices you have — and the deer have — the better off you’ll
be, no matter what you choose. For example, plant half your plot in a perennial
like Imperial Whitetail Clover and the other half in Pure Attraction.” Even
better, by choosing a blend you won’t have to answer the age-old food plot
question: Which one? Instead, you can simply say “all of the above.”
If you have more questions, call the Whitetail Institute at
(800) 688- 3030. Scott said he and fellow staff members not only are willing to
offer sound advice, but they enjoy talking food plots and deer hunting. “It’s
what we love to do,” he said.
