I hope this is the right forum for this. I have bitched enough to the man in charge of the club that he's put me in charge of food plots. It was too late this year to do it all right when he gave me that responsibility. I did manage to get him to double the fertilizer this year. In years past they'd used about half what was needed.

The club is Lowndes Co. 2700+/- acres. Lots of clearcuts/planted pines, very little hardwood left except in the "ditches" in the clearcuts mostly. Biologist has said we have very good natural browse. We have numerous feeders that we keep stocked with corn around the property from September through February. We have several food plots. About 25 of them. Range in size from .25 Acre to 2.3 acre. Most are .30 to .5 acres. Total acreage of food plots is @ 22 acres. Our deer seem to rarely use them. We, in the past, planted a 3 way mix Wheat/Oat/Rye. As I said, they've skimped on fertilizer in the past, and from satellite photos you can see ours are not near as lush as neighboring green fields. They've never limed as far as I know.

So, I want to do it right next year, and am looking for advice on what resources to go to, and find out what I need to do for next year.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Depending on what part of lowndes co you may not need lime. Matter of fact PH may be too high as is. Need a soil test first and foremost. Then you can plan accordingly based off that

What he said.

After soil samples ( per field ) are sent off , they should tell you what to add to the soil.

You will pay to get them right, but it will be worth it in the long run.

Plant something besides 3 way. That Alabama blend looks good. Soil test is what you need.

Yeah you could very well have a pH of 7-7.5

Buy the seed with the picture of the biggest buck on the bag.

Set up a few utilization cages so you’ll have a better idea of growth and browsing pressure.

This 2x

Unless you aren't managing for trophy buck. If you just want numbers of deer, but the bag with the most deer on it.




Like a few of the guys above said, do a soil test and start there. I'm sure someone can let you know how to go about the soil test and etc

This and i would also change what you are planting. Id for sure add clover, diakons, and a mix of greens, chicory etc.

It wouldnt be that much more to get some different things in the plots for them to eat.

iirc diakons planting rate is 5-10# per acre @ $60-75 a bag.
a 5# bag of greens mix shows to plant a full half acre and was $7 this yr. one bag of it would do quite a few plots.
Crimson clover is about 5# a acre when added to a mix.

When you ratio and mix those in with what you are already planting its not much more cost and gives more variety in the plots.

Proper fertilization is way more important than what you plant as far as attraction goes. On one of our leases, the landowner planted a 15 acre hay field in the fall to cut for hay I'm the spring and didn't fertlize at planting. I came in behind him and overseeded and fertilizer a strip in the middle of the field. Regardless of what direction deer came from, they went straight to the fertilized strip to feed. Taught me a valuable lesson

Is that similar to an exclusion cage?

I’ve heard it both ways. Not sure which is more appropriate.

I like this advice. ;-)

Soil test to be done.

Soil test #1 and get the lime, if needed, out asap. I like oats. If I could have found the BFO brand I would plant them, but I planted Coker oats this year and have some great fields. Then you can hope you get needed rain after planting.

Soil test, soil test, soil test. Throwing money at something before you know the problem, is foolish. If the ph is really low, your fertilizer is not going to help. Low ph binds up the fertilizer in the soil and won't let it release. After you get your soil amended, plant any mix you like. Next year put a few exclusion cages in a few fields to show how much the deer are eating it down.

Agree with above- spend $ on plenty of right fertilizer. Deer will find the more nutrient rich plots, regardless of what id planted there.

Thanks for all the tips

Don’t plant too thick. Follow directions on amounts. Too much is as bad as too little. Needs to be able to grow.

Got my soil test kits from the extension office, and will get samples opening weekend to send off. In touch with a super nice guy with the AES that gave me lots of good info. Some same as here and some I didn't have. Thanks again for the advice.