For most
folks, the term food plot conjures up images of an expansive sea of green
filled with unlimited potential. As the sun slowly sinks in the western sky,
you watch the first deer filter out; a couple of fawns followed soon by a
watchful doe. Soon, more deer appear, at first peeking from safe cover, and then,
seeing a few of their kind feeding in the open, venturing out. Next come the
young bucks, alternately feeding and harassing nearby does that aren’t quite
ready to receive their affections. In time, the herd grows, and, nestled
comfortably inside your shooting house, you watch, patiently waiting and wondering
if the painstaking effort, time and money you put into building the plot will
pay off.
Building big plots is an
effective way to coax whitetails into the open, but it’s not the only way. Very
effective alternatives exist for folks who lack the ways or means to build big
plots. You might not have the acreage, equipment or time, or conditions might
make hot areas inaccessible with larger equipment. Whatever the case, you have several
ways to create attractive plots with minimal equipment. One of the easiest and
least expensive is to let someone else do most of the work for you. Chances are
you have some timber on your property that you might occasionally have cut for
lumber, pulpwood or firewood. It can be a great source of income for other
management projects, but the process of cutting or thinning also creates more
attractive deer habitat. Cut-over areas will soon grow back with stump sprouts
and coarse, woody browse, which makes up much of a deer’s fall and winter diet —
creating an instant food plot. Later, it becomes dense bedding cover. Skidding
and hauling logs also creates linear stretches of bare ground that provide the
ideal starting point for small food plots.
Again, the hard work is
done for you with someone else’s equipment. You need only add a few of the
right ingredients and let Mother Nature do the rest. Those ingredients include
fertilizer, quality seed and maybe lime. Whether it’s 100 acres or 1/10 acre,
you should first test the soil and get a prescription. After the fertilizer and
lime, if necessary, are down, you need only add your seed mix, and Whitetail
Institute has three products ideal for such situations. No-Plow, Secret Spot
and Bow Stand can be planted with minimal ground preparation sufficient to
expose the soil to establish good seed-to-soil contact. They can tolerate a
wide range of soil conditions and as little as three to four hours of sunlight
per day. Further, they’re fast growing and will provide nutrition and
outstanding attraction for up to nine months. Even if you aren’t logging, you
can still create small deer-attracting plots with the aforementioned blends and
minimal equipment. All you need is willingness to work hard, a few hand tools
and an opening in the canopy large enough to let sufficient sunlight in for
three to four hours. The equipment list consists of seed, fertilizer and a
rake. I actually prefer the rake because I can scarify the soil a little when I’m
clearing my plot, which helps enhance germination. For seed and fertilizer, an
area of 4,500 square feet (22 yards multiplied by 23 yards) calls for about
four pounds of seed and one 50-pound bag of Triple-19 (or equivalent)
fertilizer. The total cost is less than $30. To build the plot, rake the
leaves, sticks and any vegetation away enough to expose the soil, and then
broadcast the fertilizer and seed by hand or with a hand-held spreader. Walk
over the area a few times to tamp down the soil. This will provide better
seed-to-soil contact and enhance germination. If you want bigger plots but don’t
own heavy equipment, there’s another option. Most hunters own an ATV or know
someone who does.
Add a few small
implements, such as a disc harrow and a spreader, and you can build
medium-sized plots without a tractor, often in places you couldn’t access with
a tractor. An ATV of 400 ccs or more will work, but bigger is better, and
fourwheel drive is highly recommended. Preparation will vary with conditions, but
you want to start with loose, bare soil. Treat and plant it the same as you
would a larger plot. If you don’t have a drag or cultipacker, ride over the
plot a few times, flattening the soil before and after spreading the seeds to
promote better seed-to-soil contact. In addition to being quick, cheap and easy
to build, smaller plots can also be built at the last minute. You can locate a
hotspot just before, or even during, hunting season, plant it and then hunt it,
all in less than a month. Your biggest limiting factors are sufficient rain and
growing season. Obviously, you have to plant the plot to be able to hunt it.
