Establishing Food Plots

In general, grain plots or unharvested grain crop strips should be

• a minimum of ¼ acres in size
• at least 30 feet wide
• a minimum of one plot per 40 acres

Because wildlife often exhaust seeds produced on small plots by early winter, consider increasing the plot size to 1–2 acres to provide longer-term benefits where possible. In general, you won't need plots larger than 4 acres.

Ideally, plots should be placed next to or within 70 feet of good woody escape cover and diverse herbaceous cover

Plots adjacent to woodland edges may need to be wider than 30 feet to receive enough sun and rain to be productive.

When possible, use no-till planting methods. The residue left by no-till planting methods will harbor insects beneficial to wildlife.

• Create long, linear plots or strips to divide large fields.
• Make block plantings where strips are not desired.
• Plant on the contour to limit soil loss.

To maximize food diversity:

• Establish a rotation where you leave half of the grain plots fallow each year. This allows native food plants (annual broadleaves and grasses) to establish.
• Replant this fallow area the next year and leave the other half of the grain plot fallow.
• Include a legume, such as alfalfa or annual lespedeza, in the rotation every 3–5 years to build and maintain soil fertility.

• Provide adequate fertilizer.
• Protect plots from livestock grazing.
• Use limited weed control. The natural foods provided by annual weedy plants are important to many wildlife species.

• Select a site which is open and tillable but adjacent to quality wildlife cover.
• Stay at least 50 feet from any woodland edge to reduce competition with trees. Establishment a buffer strip of perennials and shrubs between the food plot and the timber.
• Place plots on flat ridge tops, bottomlands, or along the contour of gentle slopes.
• Green-browse mixes also can be planted on field roads, trails, and firebreaks.

For deer and turkey

• Place plots about 1/4 mile apart, or one per 40 acres.
• Plots should be a minimum of one acre in size.

For rabbits

• Space plots one per six acres and about 100 yards apart.
• They can be as small as 1/4 acre.

Prepare seedbeds for green browse plots in August thru early October. Fertilizer should be applied and worked into the soil at the time of seedbed preparation. However, it may be beneficial to apply lime several months in advance.

Correct fertilization is essential for successful plots. If possible, take a soil sample from the plots to the County Extension Office for analysis of fertilizer needs. Be sure to tell them the purpose of the food plot and which species will be used. Extension will provide recommendations for both initial fertilization and annual top dressings.

In absence of soil test recommendations, the following starter application should work:

Agricultural limestone

Apply 3–5 tons per acre if the site has not been limed before.

Fertilizer

Apply approximately 30 pounds of nitrogen (N), 90 pound of phosphorus (P), and 90 pounds of potassium (K) per acre. Applying 400 pounds per acre of 6-24-24 fertilizer will provide 24 pounds of nitrogen, 96 pounds of phosphorus and 96 pounds of potassium per acre.

Don't apply more than 40 pounds of nitrogen plant food; it will stimulate grasses and weeds which may crowd out the legumes.

All-purpose plots

• Seed uniformly with 30 pounds of winter wheat and two pounds of orchard grass at the time of seedbed preparation.
• At the same time or in early winter, overseed half of the plot with two pounds of Ladino clover and two pounds of red clover.
• During January through March, overseed the other half with ten pounds of Korean, Kobe or Summit lespedeza.
• If the soil within the plot is not uniformly productive, seed the clovers on the best sites and lespedeza on the poorer sites.

Deer or rabbit plots

• Seed uniformly with wheat at 30 lbs per acre, along with five pounds per acre of inoculated alfalfa, ladino clover, red clover, or a mixture of these.
• The wheat will die after the first year, but the legumes should persist and furnish succulent browse for three to five years.
• If an annual cool-season plot is desired for deer, a mix of species like winter wheat, oats, cereal rye, Austrian winter peas, forage radishes, and turnips may be considered.
• Consult a wildlife biologist for seed mix rates. 

• Mow the plots each year between July 1 and September 30.
• Top dress with 50 pounds of phosphate plant food and 50 pounds of potash plant food each September.
• Omit nitrogen fertilizer if possible. If you must use a fertilizer containing nitrogen, apply less than 20 pounds of nitrogen plant food per acre.
• Renovate and reseed when grasses or weeds have crowded out the desired legumes.
• Plots can also be mowed from March 15 to May 1. It is recommended that only one-half of the plot be mowed annually, and that mowed strips are rotated, to increase plant diversity.

• For maximum value to wildlife, protect plantings from excessive grazing.
• Lightly graze during the last half of June to remove about one-half of the growth.
• Do not graze during the fall or winter months.