Deer Diner: How healthy is your deer’s dinner plate?”

by Lucas Leahy

                Throughout the years of deer hunting there have been numerous new innovations and techniques to help you bag that “Bruiser” of a buck. One of those leading innovations has been the planting, growing and use of food plots. Food plots have proven themselves year in and year out to keep deer on your property, provide a nutritious food source and give hunters the edge over their next deer harvest. 

                Many hunters, when thinking about using food plots on their property to help increase their hunting odds, fail to realize where everything gets started. And this starting point is the exact soil they have their tractor and plow parked on. Before hunters even think about plowing, digging and planting, they should take numerous soil samples from the plots in which they want to use. On average, one soil sample is taken per five acres. But in cases such as food plots, five acres is often seen as a large food plot and not used as often.  Generally 1-2 acre food plots are normally used and thus I believe a sample should be taken for every acre in that food plot. And to be more specific, a sample consists of eight cores taken within that acre and put together. It is just not one core taken randomly in that acre. By providing more soil samples for your food plot, you will get a better picture of the underlying soil and its health. 

                The soil’s health plays a big role in what needs to be planted in that area, how much can be planted and what is needed for fertilizer. Many times hunters will plant whatever they want in that area without even taking a look at the soils health and fertility. This is where hunters will see problems with their food plots not growing or reaching maximum potential.  And in the end, negatively affect the health of the soil. There are many choices when it comes to food plot crops. Small grains (oats, wheat and barley), soybeans, alfalfa/clover mix, rape, and turnips are among the most popular of the food plot choices. But what hunters fail to realize is that all of these crops need specific nutrients and soil conditions to grow effectively.  I have personally seen, watched on TV or read in magazine hunters who will read the back of the package of their food plot crop and apply N-P-K fertilizer recommendation, often times even more, without realizing what is already available in the soil.  This often results in a waste of money due to the fact that the plants are going to only use what they need to grow and what is left over will leach out through the soil or become ineffective to that plant. By researching the soils health, a hunter planting a food plot can alter his/her fertilizer application rates and maximize their dollar spent on their food plot. 

                Another issue hunters see with their food plots is erosion and the loss of available nutrients. To help reduce both of these issues, hunters can plant cover crops. Cover crops are used to protect the soil against harsh climatic factors and also replenish or hold nutrients in the soil. Hunters who plant soybean, corn or small grains in larger plots and also wish to harvest them in the fall to get a monetary return on their investment often times leave the soil exposed and vulnerable. Providing a cover crop like turnips or rape will protect the soil from erosion and will also hold nutrients in the soil for future crops to use. 

                So when planning a food plot, keep in mind that the very soil you are standing on is the key determinate in how well your plot will turn out. Choosing the right crop to plant after researching the soil’s health is the key to keeping the soil fertile and not allowing it to become poor right after the first growing season.  Applying too much fertilizer to your food plot is without knowing how much is actually needed can be a waste of money and actually detrimental to the soil’s health. By leaving the soil bare you are exposing it to some of Mother Nature’s violent climatic factors that will further degrade the soil’s health.  By doing some soil sampling, researching past and current soil conditions and choosing the right crops along with the right rates of fertilizer applications will not only keep more deer on your property, but will also grow bigger deer.  Remember that everything a deer does revolves around its stomach.  Having the best food plots will allow you to have your best deer hunting season ever!