Believe It or Not, It’s Time to Start Working on Cool-Season Food Plots

Deer grazing test plots at the NFREC in Quincy. Quality food plots take effort and planning.

The during the blistering heat of the last week of a Florida July is generally not a time when people think a lot about planting crops, but maybe it should be. Late summer can be a surprisingly active time in the world of wildlife food plots.

For those land managers who already have well established food plots, this time frame represents the end of the window for planting summer annual forages. Of the summer annuals that are particularly appealing to deer, cowpeas standout as the best option for late summer plantings. There are also several grass crops that can be planted late summer in food plots focusing on birds. While earlier plantings allow crops time to grow before pest and disease pressure peak in late summer, they also mean the crops will have matured and stopped growing before hunting season begins. Late planted forages may face some challenges and likely will not be the most beautiful crops you have ever grown but they will still be growing when archery season begins. Cowpeas take approximately 100 days to mature; this means that most years August 1^st plantings will have time to mature before being killed by frost. Even if we get an early (mid-October) frost the cowpeas will have provided high quality forage right up to the beginning of archery season (October 25 in the Panhandle).

For those who are looking to establish new food plots or those whose past management may have been somewhat lacking, late summer is really when the process of preparing cool-season food plots needs to begin.

Finding the Right Spot Can Take A While

For the creation of a new food plot identifying the location is the first step. Edges, transitions between habitat types, are often a good place to start looking. Utilizing locations where deer (or whatever wildlife you are focusing on) already frequent is preferential to the “if I build it, they will” come mindset. Additional factors that cannot be overlooked are the drainage and workability of any potential site. Suitable planting options for both poorly (stands water, even occasionally) and excessively drained (deep sands) sites will be severely limited. Sites with drainage issues often have less natural vegetation making them appealing for use as a food plot since less clearing is needed. However, these sites generally do not work out well. Don’t forget, successful food plot establishment and maintenance necessitates easy access with farm equipment and ground level enough to safely operate said equipment.

A final consideration when identifying possible food plot locations is the amount of space available to work with. When it comes to food plots, size really does matter.  Food plots need to be no less than ½ acre in size, preferably between 1 and 5 acres. The kinds of plants in food plots are, by design, ones that wildlife find highly desirable (because they are highly nutritious). Considering this, it is easy to understand why plantings smaller than ½ acre struggle to establish – the plants simply do not get a chance grow past the seedling stage before being eaten. Given all these considerations, finding the right spot really can take a while – get started soon because selecting the spot is just the first step.

Start Early with Pre-Plant Land Prep

After a location is identified, it is crucial to manage unwanted vegetation prior to preparing the soil and planting the food plot. If it is not eliminated, existing vegetation will compete tremendously with food plot plantings. Even if mechanical disturbance (disking, tilling, root raking, etc.) appears to remove the existing vegetation, much of it will regrow. This regrowth from established root systems will be more than a match for new seedlings. Apply herbicide before you begin soil preparation. Equally as important, give the herbicide sufficient time to do its work before mechanically disturbing the site (weeks, not days). Specific herbicide recommendations will vary depending on what vegetation you are trying to manage, but most food plot site prep applications will involve fairly high rates of glyphosate. Please don’t hesitate to call me (850-638-6180) – we can discuss your site and dial in an herbicide recommendation. You do not want to skip this step; get in front of weed pressure before you plant.

If you want a food plot to be productive and successful, you must also effectively address soil fertility issues prior to planting. First and foremost, soil pH must be corrected. Any needed applications of lime/dolomite need to take place first, well before any other fertilizer is applied (ag lime can take months to go into soil solution and alter soil pH). If fertilizers are applied before the soil pH is corrected the nutrients may still be unavailable to the plants. Once a food plot site is determined, collect a representative sample of the rooting zone soil and submit it to a lab for analysis. This is the best way to get the information needed to make informed choices regarding lime and fertilizer applications. Talk with the folks at your local Extension Office for more info on how to collect and submit soil samples. Take and submit soil samples now. Apply any need lime soon, during land preparation. Apply recommended fertilizer (N, P, K, and micros) at planting or soon after emergence. Fertilizer applied when there are no plant roots present to adsorb it is wasted.

Recap – Assuming the goal is to plant a cool-season food plot prior to the beginning of hunting season you need to pick and clear a spot, kill weeds, and soil sample very soon. After weeds have had time to die (30 days +/-), apply any needed lime/dolomite and till/disc under dead weeds and lime.

Ideally, you’d get all this done several weeks before the fall planting window (10/1-11/15) gets here. In that event, let the plot rest; let the tilled soil settle and rain-pack and let the next flush of weeds germinate. Many of our fall planted food plot crops, clovers in particular, do better when planted into a very firm seed bed making the resting period very beneficial. Additionally, another herbicide application, to take out the most recent flush of weeds, can be made at planting time ensuring your plot gets started clean and free from competition.

I know it’s hot, but as a land manager there is always something to do. Fall will be here before you know it, and now is the time to start getting ready.