Deer Food Plots | Panhandle Outdoors

Now is the Time to Start Preparing for Cool-Season Food Plots

by Mark Mauldin | Sep 2, 2018

A buck chases a doe through plots of wildlife forages being evaluated at the University of Florida’s North Florida Research and Education Center. Photo Courtesy of Holly Ober

I know it feels too hot outside to talk about hunting season or cool-season food plots, but planting time will be here before you know it and now’s the time to start preparing. The recommended planting date for practically all cool-season forage crops in Northwest Florida is October 1 – November 15. Assuming adequate soil moisture, planting during the first half of the range is preferred. Between now and planting time there are several factors that need to be considered and addressed.

Invasive and/or Perennial Weed Control – Deer and other wildlife species utilize many soft/annual “weeds” as forage so controlling them is usually not a major concern. But from time to time unwanted perennials (grasses and woody shrubs) need to be controlled. An unfortunate and all too common example of and unwanted perennial is cogongrass – a highly invasive grass that should always be controlled if found. Effective control of perennial weeds, like cogongrass generally involves the use of herbicides. Late summer/early fall is a very effective time to treat unwanted perennials. Fortunately, this coincides well with the transition between warm-season and cool-season forages. If you have unwanted, perennial weeds in your food plots get them identified now and controlled before you plant your cool-season forages.

Cogongrass shown here with seedheads – more typically seen in the spring. If you suspect you have cogongrass in or around your food plots please consult your UF/IFAS Extension Agent how control options.
Photo credit: Mark Mauldin

Soil Fertility Management – In my experience, the most common cause for poor plant performance in food plots is inadequate soil fertility. Before planting time collect and submit soil samples from each of your food plots. Laboratory analysis of the samples will let you know the fertilizer and lime requirements of the upcoming cool-season crop. It is very important to have the analysis performed prior to planting so performance hindering issues can be prevented. Otherwise, during the growing season, by the time you realize something is wrong, it will likely be too late to effectively address the problem. This is particularly true if the issue is related to soil pH. To affect soil pH in a timely manner lime needs to be incorporated into the soil. Incorporation is impossible after the new crop has been planted. Soil analysis performed at the University of Florida’s Extension Soil Testing Lab cost $7 per sample. Your county’s UF/IFAS Extension Agent can assist you with the collection and submission process as well as help you interpret the results.

Variety Selection & Seed Sourcing – Sometimes it takes some time to find the best products/varieties. Just because forage seeds are sold locally doesn’t mean that the crop or specific variety is well suited to this area. The high temperatures and disease pressure associated with Florida, even in the “cool-season” mean that many products that do very well in other parts of the country may struggle here. Below are some specific forages that are favored by wildlife (specifically white-tailed deer) and generally well adapted to Florida. You may discover that these varieties are not sitting on the shelf at the local feed & seed. Often local suppliers can get specific varieties, but they must be special ordered, which adds time to the process. Hence the need to start planning and sourcing seed early.

If you are debating trying food plots on your property for the first time, please carefully consider the following. Food plots are not easy – Making productive food plots that provide a measurable, positive impact to the wildlife on your property takes considerable time, effort, and money. Considering this, food plots really only make sense when viewed as habitat improvements that provide long term benefits to multiple wildlife species. If you are looking for nothing more than a deer attractant during hunting season food plots are not a very practical option. For more information on getting started with food plots contact your county’s UF/IFAS Extension Office and check out the reference below.

Underperforming Food Plots? 3 Possible Reasons Why

by Mark Mauldin | Dec 5, 2014

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

Deer hunting season has begun in Northwest Florida. As hunters venture into the woods and sit for hours on end they have plenty – sometimes too much – time to contemplate what they could have done or should do to make there hunting experiences better. These plans for improvement may involve all kinds of things; if they involve improving underperforming food plots allow me to offer a few points for contemplation.

Are your plots the optimum size? Small plots, less than one acre, don’t stand much of a chance. If you plant something deer like and there is a substantial deer population in the area the young plants will be “mowed” down before they have time to establish. At best, you’ll create a low growing green carpet. This might make you feel better as a hunter but it’s doing very little in the way of providing nutrition to the deer herd. Deer will get the maximum benefit from multiple plots (2-3 acres in size) that total around 10% of the area you are managing. This scenario is ideal for the deer, it might not be ideal or even feasible for the hunter.
Are your plots properly fertilized? This is a very common issue with underperforming food plots. That bag of 10-10-10 really doesn’t do much. Hunters who have no farming experience are often amazed and disheartened at how much fertilizer it takes to produce a crop – food plots are simply forage crops. Consult your county’s agriculture agent for assistance with soil testing and fertilizer recommendations for the specific crops you are producing. UF/IFAS fertilizer recommendations for forage crops reference additional applications after a grazing rotation or haying; how does this translate for food plot management? A cool season food plot planted in mid-October will be productive for about six months. During that six months you should apply Nitrogen at least three times, Potassium twice, all required Phosphorus can be applied at planting. This steady supply of nutrients keeps the food plot going throughout the entire growing season. Using slow release or enhanced efficiency fertilizers can simplify this process somewhat, since the number of applications is reduced.

Soil testing and the resulting fertilizer recommendations are key to successful food plots.

Did you plant the right crop at the right time? There are lots of choices when it comes to selecting what to plant in your food plots remember plant varieties that are suited to your particular environment not the one that have the prettiest packaging or the most TV commercials. Planting time can be an issue; when cool season crops are planted too late they are unable to establish enough roots and top growth to withstand grazing pressure through the middle of winter when short days and cold temperatures greatly slow growth rates. Even if planted at the correct time most “winter” forages produce the majority of their biomass in the spring, once day length begins to increase.

Hopefully considering these points will help you to improve your food plots. Remember, producing high quality food plots can be a challenging endeavor but the process makes more sense and is less frustrating if you view food plots as long term habitat improvement designed to provide additional nutrition to the deer herd not simply an attractant during hunting season. For more information on any of the topics addressed contact your county’s UF/IFAS Extension Agriculture or Natural Resources Agent.