I planted 4 acres of Alfalfa around 10 or so years ago. The results were mind boggling. It lasts about 4 years, then you have to skip a year before replanting. There is nothing on this earth, that I have seen, that attracts and holds deer like Alfalfa. I saw that with my own eyes. The first year it was planted, we cut it for hay. It grew fast enough to cut every 21-24 days. It would be knee high. After the first year, the deer browse was so heavy that it rarely got above ankle high. I had a large exclusion cage in the patch and it still grew as fast as it did the first year, but the deer numbers on our place increased to the point that the deer kept it ate down. It stays green 10 months a year and if you over seed it with wheat in the fall, you'll have the best food plot you've ever planted. The Alfalfa produces so much N that the wheat will be a dark bluish green color when growing. My son lost interest in hunting during that time, so I never planted it again. But I will plant it again, either next spring, or the next.

The RR varieties are so very easy to grow. Plant in the spring when rainfall is plentiful and it'll take good. When I planted mine, I turned the field, cut it and used a cultipacker. I took my bag of seed to the Co-Op, bought a ton of 10-20-20 and go them to mix the seed into the fertilizer. Spread the fertilizer and seed, then ran the cultipacker over it again. I sprayed it about month after planting, then again later in the summer. Other than that, all I did was add P&K in the fall. One winter I spread a light coat of chicken litter on it. It burned it back, but it rebounded nicely.

If you get the pH of your soil up to 6.5 or above, it's as easy to grow as any other plot you've ever planted.

The post from the guy with 30 feeders, feeding all year, made me think to post this. Nothing in a bag will attract deer like alfalfa, plus you don't have to manage feeders. If you feed all year, even just corn, growing Alfalfa is cheaper.

So you've been holding out on us huh ?

No, I’ve mentioned it several times over the years but don’t think anyone has tried it. It is the single biggest “game changer” for deer hunting that I’ve had personally ever seen.

If you owned 1000 acres of prime bedding and feeding habitat, you’d have a great place to hunt. If I bought 40 acres next door, with half of it in woods, and the other half in one large field, I could plant alfalfa and by the 2nd year, I’d have all your deer on my property. It’s that attractive to them.

Won't grow this far South.

Hancock Seed Company has this variety. Bulldog 805 Alfalfa is an excellent choice for perennial food plots for deer in the southern climates including Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Texas, South Carolina and Arkansas.

Good to hear , I planted about an acre of it for the first time this year.

I always heard you have to keep it sprayed for insects down here............. yes, no , maybe?

I didn't.

I am actually considering it. I need something that can make it thru summer. What I have seen though says it likes very neutral soil.

It does and it's also fairly drought resistant, once it's established.

Wonder how it would do with a low lying field, that stays pretty wet during the winter?

I have no idea. I think it prefers well drained soil. Most plants do.

Not well I’d think

I had two fields of it back in 04-06
Like fur stated, deer were drawn to it, crazy like. The trails leading to those 2 fields looked like cow paths. I’d heard the guys on QDMA forums say it was like healthy ice crème for them. Lots of biologist in that site at the time.

All this thread is doing is reminding me how much better the midwest hunters have it. Even where the deer aren't getting fat from row crops on world class soil, the cattle pastures and hay fields are full of alfalfa blends instead of bahia or bermuda.

Planning to try it soon as I get my soil right

I remember you saying I should look into it a few years ago. I did look as far as checking the PH on the area I'd like to plant. As I thought, it was way too acidic but I'm bringing it up. A few bags at a time because of the location.

Yep. We tried it a few times after the deer tried digging a hole into the barn to get at it. There are some new southern varieties but deer won't take to it like the original stuff.

If I can ever get my little 40 cleaned up I’ll have about 20 I’m wanting to try.

I grew it several years back, and the deer absolutely loved it. I wasn't prepared for the chemical regiment at the time, so it only lasted about 2 good years, and then another so so year. I'm planning on planting it again soon, now that I have a better idea of what to spray with. If I could afford it, Id try the RR type, but its really expensive, so will propbably go back with the bulldog.

If I lived in south AL, I’d plant perennial peanuts