Small Food Plot for Deer

I would like to plant a small food plot (soon) that is perennial and shade tolerant this month, it would be in an area that has pine and hardwoods, I've talked with Sav some but has anyone planted in a shade tolerant area with good results?

What does everyone use to test the soil?

 

shade tolerant forage would likely be fescues, clovers and maybe rapeseed
under pines can be tough because they have shallow roots appropriating both the moisture and nutrients closer to the surface.
I'd pick forage with deeper root systems if you don't see much for local grasses there now.
You want browse that persists during the Winter ?
Take cues from what is there now as to what will survive given the seed and a chance.

 

This is the area where the splitter is and down the hill, there are only some specks of grass showing. I had planned on raking it up and then test the dirt.

 

Hey thewoodlands during a search I came across this,

Might be worth a look

 

If pines are there, the soil is probably acidic, clover needs lime.

 

I've been doing some reading so I think that we'll go with this for starters.
Osceola Ladino Clover Seed (Coated)

 

From my 20 years of plotting ive leared one thing. Monoculture food plots tend to fail more than they succeed. Seriously consider a mixture of annuals and perennials if you want to feed deer in all 4 seasons.

Scratch the dirt the following year, overseed more annuals in, and keep the weeds at bay.

This is done in early spring and late summer to provide fresh forage for the critters.

Oats clover brassica peas wheat etc.

From looking at the pic, you need more sun to grow anything successfully imo

 

It's already too late or close to too late for grain like sorghum for Fall feeding. If this is for a hunting spot then you want to plant what they will hit dring hunting season.
Green, live pine needles are acidic. Brown pine needles falling off the tree are not. They contribute no acidity to the soil. This is a myth. Ignore the pine needles. Cut the pines down if they have no value to you and if their roots are out in the plot stealing the nutrients you want your plot to have..
If this is just a food plot to provide a potpourri of feedstock throughout the year then just cut a few trees down to increase light on the forest floor, maybe toss down some 10-10-10 to at the rate recommended on the bag for an accelerating boost to aid all the seed that normally comes up and dies due to lack of light and nutrients . Maybe plant/disc/rake in some seed for a boost to the plot to get a open space permaculture going.

 

It's just food for the deer and not for attracting deer for hunting. We do have a nice area on the property that I usually cut on but that would take a good three months just getting ready for a food plot but it gets plenty of sun.

 

I'll look on that back hill for a better spot that gets sun, but between the hills and the big pines, there isn't very many areas except on the northside where the new garage was built which gets a ton of sun.

I'll also check along the brook but that is surrounded by hills.

 

I would plant more than one species. I plan to plant the back of my property late this summer,it is shaded near the wood line. I am using a mix of several different clovers, perennial rye grass, annual rye grass and some sort of fescue. I'll also seed 100 lbs of winter rye with it as a nurse crop-I am planting one acre.

Some county extension offices can help with a soil test, or most of the food plot seed companies will do one for $20 or so. I am sure that you will need lime, most upland soil in NYS does. I'll warn you, it becomes addictive. I have bought a 26 gallon sprayer, a chain drag, a 3 pt roto-tiller, a spin spreader and over the past 3 years, and I am looking at a cultipacker tomorrow: It all started with a quarter-acre I did 6 years ago by hand. I'll be around 4-5 acres this year!

 

If I wanted to feed the deer in the Winter I'd plant arborvitae, hostas, yews, fruit trees and carrots.

I'd also cut down a few oaks and leave the tops spread around easy to get to in the snow.
I've tossed all my fruit tree trimmings and hemlock trimmings in the woods in January and they clean all the tender tips out of all of it leaving a rather shallow pile of denuded twigs and branches .

 

I'll need four hours of sunlight for it to grow according to the company I talked with, I'll look at a few more areas around the house that gets more sun.

 

We get soil tested at the local county ag extention office.
Here there is no charge for doing it since we are county residents.

You want to dig samples at lest 5" deep and do several samples from around the plot.

Al

 

Good advice

 

I was back in the area that I thought the plot would go but like bocefus78 said, there's not enough sun. We'll see what I can find for a better area for next year.

 

When I was talking with Backwoods Savage , I was telling him that out in the area of the new garage is getting six plus hours of sun so that is where we'll put a small food plot. I have some brush cleanup that will start this week which should be done before the end of August of this year.

I'll either test the soil or get it tested like one of the above posters mentioned. I was also wondering if anyone has used the ripper shanks on a box blade to turn the dirt.

 

Thanks trail twister , I'll call our county offices this week.

 

I've used the scarifiers recently, it'll rip up some ground for sure.

Drop em all the way down & go to town.

There will be a lot of grass clumps to move afterwards, but not a big deal.

Rip it up.


Want to put in a food plot as well.

 

Thanks Chaz , that was the area we felled all the pine so once the cleanup is finished, I thought that I would use the backhoe to turn some dirt and also make sure any roots are gone.

I'll look at a 3 point tiller, a regular tiller and the box blade which we could also use on the trails and driveway. I actually have a tiller but I let a family member use it for about two years but they left it outside uncovered, I'll see what that will cost to get fixed, it's a nice rear tine tiller.