# foodplot ideas



## coup (Feb 28, 2007)

diff things you plant or do for food plots,,or mineral sites.
that what i asked my wife for christmas was deer mineral's.....


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## big rockpile (Feb 24, 2003)

Food plot I like Winter Wheat and Clover.

Mineral I like this


Ingredients: Makes 200 lbs. for about $39.50 The price has gone up but used to be around $25.00

1 part Di-calcium phosphate, this is a dairy feed additive bought at feed stores. 
Comes in 50lb Bags at around $34.00 you need one bag. 

2 parts Trace mineral salt, the red and loose kind without the medications. 
Comes in 50lb Bags at around $6.00 you need two bags. 

1 part Stock salt, ice cream salt. 
Comes in 50lb Bags at around $4.00 you need one bag. 

Directions: 
Put entire 200 lbs into one hole

-Dig or tear up a circle in the soil about 36 inches wide and about 6 to 12 inches deep. Myself I replenish in March and in August.

-Dig ground Mix your mineral mixture with the soil. 

Helpful hints from horntagger:

One is best times to put it out is February/March/April and I put all 200 lbs in one hole. This time of year will help more with antler growth, and fawn health, plus deer will need salt for shedding winter to summer coat.

Also do not make multiple licks unless you are on large tracts of land. Remember deer herd home range is around 800 acres. Rule of Thumb 1 per 40 acres.

Also keep it in one spot so near the center or the spot you start hunting. Keeping the deer on your land for the most amount of time increases your odds.

Also I like a water source to be within 100 yards since salt is being used.

I put it out in late summer (First of August) just put 200lbs won't do as much for them now, other than salt requirements. But will be a great draw. Because of shedding of the summer coat begins around August, the deer need the salt so that is the next best time of year to replenish if needed.

Very Important - Try to find a overhanging branch, it will become a like a scrape also.

You will be amazed on how well this works. I have been using this since the year 2000.

The ultimate goal of mineral supplements in deer management is to increase antler size and improve overall health of deer herds by providing minerals or trace minerals that may be lacking in a given area.

Although the jury is still out on effects of mineral supplements on wild deer populations since most studies have been on pen raised deer. Studies on wild population have been inconclusive and to a degree the same on pen raised deer due to other variables such as supplemental feeding that takes place in these areas. The direct benefits will probably be far greater in certain regions that lack certain trace minerals in the soil and plants.

One mixture or home recipe of deer minerals we recommend to landowners is a mix of one part Dicalcium Phosphate, 2 parts trace mineral salt (loose), and 1 part loose stock salt. All of these are available to purchase at most local feed and farm supply stores.

Just to give you a little background on these minerals and what they are designed to do lets start with the Dicalcium Phosphate

Dicalcium phosphate is used primarily as dairy cattle feed additive and other animal feeds. It promotes feed digestion, weight gain, and milk production, which is obviously beneficial to a lactating doe deer. Dicalcium phosphate contains roughly between 18 and 21 percent phosphorus and 19 to 23 percent calcium.

You're probably asking why this is important by now. Well if your talking about growing antlers on deer you need to take a look at what is the makeup of a deer antler.

Hardened antlers contain 40 to 50 percent organic matter from mostly proteins while the most abundant minerals consist of calcium and phosphorus. The demands for these minerals on a daily basis can be significant for antler production.

In addition, a lactating doe's milk contains high percentages of both calcium and phosphorus to pass on to their young, also causing a significant mineral drain on the doe. What makes all this significant is the fact that phosphorous cannot be synthesized by the body so it must be provided in needed levels in the animalâs diet. This is where a mineral mix such as this could be very valuable if an area is lacking in these naturally.

Trace mineral salts do two things for deer. The first and foremost is it does have the salt/sodium to attract the deer and promote the use of the mineral. Secondly, it provides the trace minerals such as magnesium and potassium that are very important to herd health but are not found in significant quantities like others.

Stock salt is again like part of the above. It has the sodium to attract deer to the minerals. Most mineral mixes have salt as their most abundant ingredient since a mix of just phosphorus, calcium, and other trace minerals have little attraction to deer once mixed with the soil.

Myself I replenish in March and in August. Most use seems to be during the spring and summer months on mineral licks. It's a good idea to keep these areas replenished and stocked in the same spot to maintain use.
Also when doing Deer Population Survey, this is one of the best spots to do it, you will feel up memory cards fast.


big rockpile


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## bowdonkey (Oct 6, 2007)

Thanks for posting that rock. Good info.


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## coup (Feb 28, 2007)

rock thanks,,,,,when do u plant,do you fertilize?


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## OkieDavid (Jan 15, 2007)

I plant a fall mix of wheat and brassica in the fall. Occasionally throw in some turnip as well. The deer eat the greens all winter and I get a few turnips. Spring I plow everything under and plant cowpeas, watermellon,corn. I pick what little gets past the critters and they get the rest.


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## big rockpile (Feb 24, 2003)

coup said:


> rock thanks,,,,,when do u plant,do you fertilize?


I bring Soil up to test for what I'm planting.If I was going with Winter Wheat and clover I wouldn't wait past last of December.

This will be Good for I figure 3 years.

big rockpile


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## Silvercreek Farmer (Oct 13, 2005)

I haven't done a feed plot yet, but I was thinking about just going to the feed store and putting together my own mix using their bulk bins. I figure it has got to be cheaper than a premix. Oats, crimson clover, and austrian winter peas would be high on the list. 

Here is the break down on Pennington's Rackmaster mix ($50 for a 50lb bag)


54% 1529 Wheat
12% Winter Grazer Rye
19% Coker 227 Oats
03% Yuchi Arrowleaf Clover
05% Dixie Crimson Clover
05% Austrian Winter Field Peas


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## coup (Feb 28, 2007)

while the wife and i were at tractor supply today,,she asked me for something else to buy our son for christmas,,,,i said well here is 20lbs,of antler king red zone for $20. she put it in the cart......i will plant for son and me,,suppose to plant half acre...has soybeans,forage peas,buckwheat....been wanting to try soybeans..

would like to try some sugar beets also but bulk is hard to find here.

wife asked for the dicalcium phostphate,,,at souther states feed and they said it was fertilizer....


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## K.B. (Sep 7, 2012)

feed plots and mineral supplements are something that I haven't had a chance to try yet, but I am interested to see how they would work in our area.

Thanks for the info on the mineral mix, Big Rockpile! you make that mix sound so good, I half wonder why we aren't using it as a table salt...

For the feed plots, I'd like to focus on perennial plants (or annuals that re-seed easily) that can be used as browse.

Low-growing plants: clover, vetch, daikon radishes, dill, fennel, chinese cabbage and comfrey.

low to midsize plants: autumn olive, siberian pea shrub, alfalfa.

Trees that can be planted at a high density and kept shorter through browsing or pruning: black locust, mulberry, apples, pears, etc...

I'm thinking on putting in plots of some of these that are wide rows (~4') by 50' or so long. Maybe protect them with wire fencing for the first year or so to get established.


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## RonM (Jan 6, 2008)

I have great luck with turnips, rape and kale , usually planted seperately, deerr were hitting turnips really hard in Pa a couple weeks ago......


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