My Favorite Fall Food Plot Mix

My go-to for a fall food plot mix is not something I personally came up with.  I am not a farmer, but have acquired a passion for habitat improvements, especially for whitetail deer.  Early on, one way I acquired knowledge around whitetail habitat improvements was through the Michigan Sportsman Forum website.  There was a member named DBLTREE, and he shared a lot of information from both his personal experiences and testing he did.  I didn’t know this man, nor had I ever met him, but he always shared his knowledge of food plots and the draw/benefits of cereal grains on the forum.  I have been planting this mix, or a version of it, for the last 10 years and have had great success.  Below is the mix that I broke out into 1 acre and smaller food plot sizes.  I tried to do the math, so you don’t have to.  Please note that the pounds of seed correlate with the food plot size.  

Planting Instructions

Clear ground of debris, leaves, etc.  Brush hog, and then spray with glysophate.  Wait 2 weeks, then disc ground.  Seed the Winter Peas and Groundhog Forage Radish.  Then run drag over ground to smooth out and bury the seeds.  Seed your rye and oats, then cultipack.  Now seed your clover and cultipack again.  Plant this mix no earlier than the last week of August through mid September.  The earlier the better when adding peas and clover.

It's important to note that when planting tiny seeds like clover you must firm the soil first, broadcast seeds and then simply re-firm the soil with a second pass with the cultipacker to cover the seeds. It's also important to note that larger seeds like winter peas must be buried a little deeper, which is why we disc them in before dragging and cultipacking.  For this reason do NOT attempt to mix all your large and small seeds together when broadcasting.  Be cautious of premixed seed mixtures of different sizes.   I tend to plant Labor Day Weekend. 

In the spring, clip off the winter rye when it is 12-15” high and allow the red clover to grow.  Because fall is the best time to establish clover, perennial white clovers can be substituted for red clovers where needed.  This combination has amazing draw and by adding the red clover (white clover works equally as well) I have a lush spring source of high protein for gestating and lactating does and bucks developing antlers.  I generally choose white clover for long term plots and use red clover as an awesome soil builder, weed smother, nitrogen fixer and food source.  Since rye naturally contains allelopathic chemicals that inhibit small weed seeds from developing, it is rare to have any weeds in the new spring clover. I recommend clipping the rye off in mid to late May and let the clover take over.  

At this point you  have two options……either till under the red clover in late July for brassicas or late August to repeat the cereal grain planting. The decomposing red clover slowly releases nitrogen stored in it's roots and tilled under plant parts and if rye is planted, it absorbs that N to be released the following spring.  What a powerful food plot mix and soil builder!

Seed Availability

You should be able to find all these seeds at your local grain elevator.  This will help you keep seed costs down, and you are supporting your local businesses. 

Soil Types

This mix will grow in different soil types, but it's important to get a soil test and determine what nutrients you are lacking.  Once that is identified you can amend the soil accordingly, prior to planting, and set your crop up for success.  If you can’t or don’t have a soil test, you can try the following:

Sunlight

If I have learned anything over the years, if your food plot doesn’t get sunlight, your odds of a successful plot are low.  You may see some growth, but it will not be anywhere near what it would be if you could get 6-8 hours of sunlight on the plot.  PIck spots that will allow for this, or open the canopy to let light in.

Equipment

Now I mentioned in the planting instructions the use of a disc and cultipacker.  The truth is, until the last few years, I did not have these pieces of equipment. I was your average outdoorsman with a lawn mower, a drag, pump sprayer, and some hand tools.  So my plots were not big, and there was a lot of sweat equity involved.  But they were just as successful as those plots I have done with a tractor, disc, and cultipacker. You have to get creative sometimes to execute your vision.  For example, you can drive your lawn mower or quad over the plot repeatedly to compact the soil.  You can use a small manual hand sprayer to treat weeds with glyphosate, and a lawn mower or weed whip to cut down the weeds after they die.  You can use a drag behind a lawn mower or quad to break up the topsoil….or just use a hand rake.  Where there is a will, there is a way.  Don’t be afraid to start small and see what works for your area and soil type.

Conclusion

So if you are new to food plotting or are a seasoned habitat builder, give this mix a try. There are no guarantees with any food plot mix, but the odds are good that you will have a successful plot using this mix if you have enough sunlight and you amend your soil, per your soil sample results. Its easy to plant, and you will really enjoy how it draws wildlife in the fall and early winter.