Southeastern Summer Food Plots

[TahoeDawgZ71]

What are you guys in the southeast planting for your Whitetails for a summer food plot? I want something high in protein for maximum rack development but I don't want to break the bank either. I've read a lot about the sunn hemp and also about the velvet beans. Just trying to get some input from some real people vs what I read online on a seed vendor's web page. We've got 207 acres in Louisville, GA where we hunt. About 10 acres of it is plantable, and can be broken up into 6 or 7 small food plots with the largest one being about 2 acres in size.

[Fairtax4me]

I dunno about deer, but chicken and cornbread seems to work pretty well for the ladies around here.


I'd go for whichever is easiest to maintain, or least likely to be taken over or killed off by weeds or grass growth.

[TahoeDawgZ71]

Originally Posted by Fairtax4me

I dunno about deer, but chicken and cornbread seems to work pretty well for the ladies around here.


I'd go for whichever is easiest to maintain, or least likely to be taken over or killed off by weeds or grass growth.

I'm through chasing the two-legged ones. I've had the same one for 13 years now and I'm not sure I could afford another one.

[Swan]

Originally Posted by TahoeDawgZ71

I'm through chasing the two-legged ones. I've had the same one for 13 years now and I'm not sure I could afford another one.

It gets worse the longer it goes lol

[buckmanmike]

The forum at gon.com should give you alot of advice about food plots. There is a whole thread about plots.
I hunt in SWGA and find no need for summer plts due to local agriculture. Your area maybe different. I plant late fall plots with brassicas, wheat, clover, etc. Down here the plots really help in late season. Early to mid season, hunt natures acorns, and find the does. When rut comes in, so will the bucks.

[TahoeDawgZ71]

Originally Posted by buckmanmike

The forum at gon.com should give you alot of advice about food plots. There is a whole thread about plots.
I hunt in SWGA and find no need for summer plts due to local agriculture. Your area maybe different. I plant late fall plots with brassicas, wheat, clover, etc. Down here the plots really help in late season. Early to mid season, hunt natures acorns, and find the does. When rut comes in, so will the bucks.

The only local agriculture around where we hunt is pine trees. International paper owns tons of land in the area and they grow pine trees on all of it. My family has been hunting this piece of property since 1973. I began hunting with my Father in 1990 when I was 8 years old. Since then, I've heard stories of back in the 70s when the land was farmed with soybeans and corn. They used to see so many deer, and big deer. It's not the same now as it once was. All of this farm land now has big pine trees on it and we really don't have as much room to plant as we once did, but I'd like to take advantage of what we do have. As for fall food plots, we've always done those and they seem to help tremendously.

someday !!!

[buckmanmike]

We lease our land to a timber company but retain the hunting rights. We are covered up with pine trees.
Got lemons, make lemonade. Lots of ways to attract the deer.
I have studied deer travel routes through two pine cuttings and have patterned thier movements.
On your property find the travel lanes between food and bedding areas. After you estasblish this, study the routes of individual deer by using trail cameras or personal viewing.
Its not easy. Ive tracted some big deer sll preseason, never to be seen again until after season. Thats the fun/challenge.

[TahoeDawgZ71]

Originally Posted by buckmanmike

We lease our land to a timber company but retain the hunting rights. We are covered up with pine trees.
Got lemons, make lemonade. Lots of ways to attract the deer.
I have studied deer travel routes through two pine cuttings and have patterned thier movements.
On your property find the travel lanes between food and bedding areas. After you estasblish this, study the routes of individual deer by using trail cameras or personal viewing.
Its not easy. Ive tracted some big deer sll preseason, never to be seen again until after season. Thats the fun/challenge.

Yeah man we've been doing the same thing for years with the cameras. It's definitely a lot of fun.

[BigOL3]

Various clovers are really good, and usually will come back for following years. What they REALLY love is Iron/Clay Peas. If you have many deer, they will wipe them out before they have a chance to mature UNLESS you can keep them out for a while. I found the simpliest way to do that is to get the sweeping off the floor of your local barber shop. Sprinkle hair ever few yards around the edge of the plot and replenish after every rain. After the plant matures enough to start blooming stop putting out the hair and they will WHIP THEM OUT in short order. Before they are ate slap up, start redoing the hair to give it a chance to grow back and rotate to other plots, maybe opening 2 plots at the time.