By David Hart
Planting season can be a confusing time of year for food plotters. Not only do we have to decide when, where and how much to plant, but we have to figure out what types of plants to put in our plots. Imperial Whitetail Clover or Whitetail Oats Plus? Summer plots or cool-season plots? Annuals or perennials?
There isn’t necessarily a right answer, said Steve Scott,
Whitetail Institute vice-president. What you plant and how much you plant of each
variety depends on several factors, including you. “If you live hundreds of
miles from your land and you don’t have the time to work on food plots and
maintain them on a regular basis, you might consider planting mostly annuals,”
Scott said. “They require less work and are somewhat easier to plant. You can
plant them and forget about them, for the most part.” It’s true: Perennials
require maintenance to stimulate vigorous growth and control weeds. However,
they can last up to five years, which means you won’t have to go through the
planting process every year. As a general rule, though, Scott recommends an
even split between annuals and perennials. There’s no rule about how much of
each is best. Deer eat both. Whitetail Institute offers several great choices
that provide high-quality nutrition and magnetic attraction all year. Annuals and
perennials can attract deer and provide outstanding hunting opportunities from
the start of bow season through the last day of gun season. Pennsylvania hunter
Kris Klemick agreed. He and his family plant a variety of Whitetail Institute
products on their 250-acre family farm. They’ve had great luck with all the
products they’ve tried. Although he says it doesn’t make too much of a
difference to the deer, Klemick typically follows a 60-40 mix, with the
majority in perennial plots. “The larger portion is in plots that provide
forage during the summer months,” he said. “That’s seemed to work well for us.”
The Big Picture First, though, remember that food plots shouldn’t be the only part
of your habitat management equation. To provide everything a whitetail could
want, you need to look at the big picture and manage your property on a
landscape level. Everything from woods and fields to food sources and bedding
areas might need some attention. However, the general rule is that food plots should
account for three to five percent of your land. Klemick’s food plot acreage is
on the smaller end of the total land area, but only because the property sits atop
a mountain, and plantable ground is at a premium. Scott knows some landowners
who put as much as 10 to 12 percent of their property into plots. Some plant
such a large percentage of their acreage because they have a high density of
whitetails and need lots of food to sustain the plots throughout the seasons.
Others manage land that provides little natural nutrition for deer, and a few
simply like to overwhelm the wildlife on their property with food.
Nutrition Matters All of the above reasons are viable for planting summer nutrition plots.
Keep in mind that an overabundance of deer could be part of a bigger problem.
Too many whitetails can over-browse natural food sources, resulting in
undernourished deer or over-browsing pressure on your plots. The best solution,
at least in the long run, is to reduce the number of deer on your land to
strike a healthier balance. The only way to determine if the deer on your
property are healthy is to take a variety of measurements, including body
weight and antler-beam diameter. You can ballpark it if you don’t want to get
too wrapped up in your management. Comparing general body and antler sizes to
whitetails from surrounding properties or throughout your region can give you a
rough idea of what’s going on. (Your local biologist can offer some
guidelines). Thinner antlers, smaller fawns and yearlings, and lower body
weights of all deer can be an indication of poor habitat. Deer aren’t getting
enough quality food when they need it most. However, even when your herd
numbers are closer to ideal, you still might need to give them a dose of
high-quality nutrition when they need it most. Nursing fawns and lactating does
will benefit from an ideal mix of naturally occurring and planted food sources.
That’s why summer nutrition plots should be a part of your plan. There is no
ideal acreage for summer nutrition plots. However, there’s no question it’s
better to err on the larger side. A field of Imperial PowerPlant, a blend of
annuals that includes peas, beans and small amounts of sunflowers and Sunn
Hemp, provides high levels of protein and will attract whitetails almost as
soon as it sprouts. A small field might not last long. Perennial plots can also
provide high-protein forage during spring and summer. Fusion — a blend of WINA
100 perennial forage chicory and Imperial Whitetail Clover, and Chic Magnet — a
single-plant product, are drought and heat tolerant. Clover might go dormant
during the hottest period in summer, particularly in southern regions, but the
chicory will remain viable thanks to long tap roots that reach moisture deep in
the soil. Klemick includes about three acres of Fusion for spring and summer nutrition
sources, plots that no one hunts. They exist to feed deer and keep them on the
property. It’s clearly worked. The clover stays green all summer, and
whitetails flock to Klemick’s nutrition plots. “Before we started planting food
plots, we might have seen a few deer in a day,” he said. “Now we see lots of
deer all the time. Our buck quality has increased, too.” It’s not a bad idea to
plant a mix of perennial blends such as Fusion and an annual blend such as
PowerPlant on your land. A 50-50 mix of perennials is a great starting point,
but there’s nothing wrong with changing that ratio when you determine how deer
use the plots and what works into your management activities.
The Hunting Factor In some regions, summer nutrition plots will continue to provide high-quality
forage into hunting season, which means they can also serve as a hunting plot.
Sometimes, however, they don’t survive into bow season. An early frost can stop
the growth of some spring-planted annuals, such as the plants in PowerPlant. “Some
guys either don’t want to plant a summer plot for whatever reason, or they don’t
have enough room, and they just want to plant for hunting season,” Scott said. “There’s
nothing wrong with that, but it’s important to consider the quality of your
habitat and food availability year-round.” As Klemick learned, if your land
doesn’t provide adequate forage during summer, deer might be less likely to use
it during fall and winter. Summer nutrition plots aren’t just for boosting
nutrition. They serve as a great tool for keeping whitetails in your
neighborhood. You’ll still need to decide what to plant and how much of each
variety to plant. Again, Scott recommends an even split between annuals and
perennials when you are starting out. “Imperial Whitetail Clover is a great
choice for your perennial base,” he said. “It will remain a viable option at
least until the snow gets deep. It’s a perennial, so you won’t have to replant
it for up to five years.” Whitetail Oats Plus is a great early-season option.
It’s an annual, but it grows in a wide variety of soils and is highly
attractive to deer. Even better, it grows fast and provides a lot of forage. As
the season progresses, early-season plants can go dormant in cold weather, are
eaten down to the stalks or change in such a way that deer prefer them less.
However, frost or a hard freeze alters some plants in a way that makes deer
flock to them. Winter-Greens, a blend of brassicas and turnips, is a perfect
example. Both plants are less palatable to whitetails until they are subjected
to a frost or hard freeze. The cold alters the composition of the plant, making
it highly attractive to whitetails after it changes. In regions with high deer
densities and marginal habitat, whitetails often eat brassicas before they have
been touched by a frost or freeze. “I know a lot of guys will split their food
plots in half and plant one side in an early-season annual like Whitetail Oats
Plus or Pure Attraction and the other half in a late-season product like
Winter-Greens or Tall Tine Tubers,” Scott said. “Putting an early annual and a
late annual in the same plot is a good idea for hunters with a limited amount
of space.” Your preferred hunting method can also dictate your food plot
ratios. Dedicated bowhunters, for example, might prefer a higher percentage of
plots in perennials such as clover and chicory and alfalfa or annuals such as
Whitetail Oats Plus, Pure Attraction, the new Ambush or another Whitetail
Institute annual. They tend to attract and hold deer earlier in the season.
Gun-hunters might want a higher portion of their plots in late-season annuals
like Winter-Greens and Tall Tine Tubers. “We just make sure we have enough
variety to keep us hunting over or near a food plot from the start of bow
season through the end of our late muzzleloader season,” Klemick said. “There’s
usually something like brassicas or turnips that still provide food for deer
after the seasons end.”
The Bottom Line If you still aren’t sure what to plant and how much of each
product type to put in the ground, Scott recommends experimenting. Start with
an even mix of perennials and annuals, and don’t hesitate to divide individual
plots. Some Whitetail Institute products excel at times when others don’t do
quite as well. Environmental factors such as drought can hamper some plants,
and other factors such as soil type, location and browsing pressure can create
varying results. When you find something that works for you and your situation,
stick with it. You might find the perfect balance the first season, or it could
take several years. However, be sure to rotate brassica plots like Winter-Greens
or Tall Tine Tubers at least every two years. “They won’t grow well if they are
planted in the same spot year after year after year,” Scott said. Blends
typically contain at least two plant types and are designed to complement each
other. One plant might thrive while another in the blend is dormant. Even
better, a blend such as Double Cross contains Imperial Whitetail Clover and
WINA brassicas, an annual that deer tend to favor toward the end of the season.
You not only get an annual and perennial in the same plot, you get one plant
that attracts deer in the early season and another that attracts whitetails
later in the season. Scott concluded by saying “50 percent annuals and 50
percent perennials is a good starting point but if you choose to plant 100 percent
of one or the other, your hunting will improve and so will the quality of your
deer. Have fun experimenting.”
