Taking a year or 2 off from food plots?

[gunther89]

Has anyone ever taken a year or 2 off from planting food plots? It seems like the last couple years have been a struggle for me with food plots and it just isn't as fun as it used to be. Thinking if I take a break from it to unwind, maybe it will do me some good. Anyone else experience this?

 

[Peplin Creek]

I haven't taken a year off, but like you, I get frustrated with it sometimes to the point it's not a lot of fun and a lot of work. I think a lot of what I am experiencing is burn out and I think that's where some of these other methods like no till, and throw and mow help out. It's less time so it doesn't feel as time consuming. I planted buckwheat plots this spring by simply spraying and broadcasting. Turned out great.

 

[4wanderingeyes]

If you aren't having fun, it isn't worth doing. I do it because I enjoy it. If I didn't enjoy it, I certainly wouldn't be doing it. The deer in almost all cases will survive just fine without food plots.

But saying that, rather then taking off, I would first go simple, just spread winter rye over it and walk away, it will give you almost a years worth of weed suppression for very limited funds, or work.


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[bueller]

If you aren't having fun, it isn't worth doing. I do it because I enjoy it. If I didn't enjoy it, I certainly wouldn't be doing it. The deer in almost all cases will survive just fine without food plots.

But saying that, rather then taking off, I would first go simple, just spread winter rye over it and walk away, it will give you almost a years worth of weed suppression for very limited funds, or work.


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^^^this plus some red clover and you can do nothing else for the next 12 months while still providing an attractive forage for the deer. If you feel up to it overseed again next August-September with more rye. I've done this on one of my plots and I'm very thankful that I no longer work my ass off there giving me more time to do whatever else I want to do.

 

[Fall's Legend]

Agree with above, but I love doing it.

 

[pointer]

I don't have the time to spend doing the plots as I'd like due to schedule and distance to the camp. So, I've adopted the less is more strategy like above. I'll spread some combination of winter rye and clover seeds on Labor Day weekend and roll over with the cultipacker. Might spray, might not depending on what I see as I haven't been to camp since June. I'll let good enough be just that...

 

[Nova]

I have a serious passion for doing food plots, that's why I do it. When it gets to be a chore I will slow down or quit. That being said I have converted about half of my plots into long term clover plots the last 2 years, BUT, I also added a few new plots. Vicious circle

 

[j-bird]

I have gotten frustrated at times and have even given it more of a long term thought. Do I really want to be messing with annual plots when I'm an old man? Probably not. As such my interest in growing low maint. mast trees and even shrubs has grown and I think will be a far better long term solution for me along with perennials. As much as I hate to say it.....getting out all the time to do the work I do isn't going to last forever and to be honest I think it's a better deer/habitat solution anyway. Less of me out screwing with things and more natural foods. I have considered converting all my plots to shrubs/trees and then simply broadcasting some cereal grains and brassica into my harvested corn and bean fields and keeping trails in clover and calling it quits. May be exactly what happens when it's all said and done.

 

[Barndog56]

The hard part for me is getting motivated for the spraying. With just a 2 gallon handheld it seems to take forever. Good thing I only have 1.5 acres. Broadcasted buckwheat, sunflowers, and peas this spring without spraying, just mowed afterwards. Germinated ok, and all 3 have outgrown the weeds to this point, but it took the deer a full month before they could tell the peas were there. Just started to browse them now.

I'm planting more and more trees every year. I'm up to 35 chinese chestnuts, and 16 fruit trees in that 1.5 acres now. The bigger they get the less I should have to plant to keep them coming back every fall.

 

[Tree Spud]

I have a serious passion for doing food plots, that's why I do it. When it gets to be a chore I will slow down or quit. That being said I have converted about half of my plots into long term clover plots the last 2 years, BUT, I also added a few new plots. Vicious circle

Unfortunately too many come on sites like this, or read the trade rags, or hire a consultant, or watch the TV shows, or read the BOB lit they get and feel that in order to compete for that deer ... you have to ...

Some rules of thumb ...

What we do as land owners who are habitat folks, should only result in frustration, not
stress. Our jobs, family, finances, etc. should be able to give us all the stress we
need.

We should accept failure ... none of us are professional forresters, land managers, or
farmers. Failure should not cause us stress, but the drive to be curious and learn
more.

In theory, this is our hobby, not our livelihood ... relax, enjoy the process, and smile a
bit. The ability to own a second property to cultivate, create, transform should
invigorate us, not depress us.

To answer your question, yes, take a year or tow off. You might be surprised by the deer that show up once you stop being all you can be ... you might also have a chance to step back and gain a new appreciation ... be well

.

 

[Bszweda]

I tried food plots once and it was a disaster. I lack the time and equipment. One of these day I'll try again ☺

 

[Big Snow Man]

Food plots are like farming and sometimes it's a crap shoot and hunting can be the same but that's why we keep coming back!

 

[4wanderingeyes]

The hard part for me is getting motivated for the spraying. With just a 2 gallon handheld it seems to take forever. Good thing I only have 1.5 acres. Broadcasted buckwheat, sunflowers, and peas this spring without spraying, just mowed afterwards. Germinated ok, and all 3 have outgrown the weeds to this point, but it took the deer a full month before they could tell the peas were there. Just started to browse them now.

I'm planting more and more trees every year. I'm up to 35 chinese chestnuts, and 16 fruit trees in that 1.5 acres now. The bigger they get the less I should have to plant to keep them coming back every fall.

I have about the same scenario in one of my plots. But as the trees get bigger, I am not sure what to plant around the trees. I was thinking just plant it in clover, and let it go for a few years.


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[browndog]

Has anyone ever taken a year or 2 off from planting food plots? It seems like the last couple years have been a struggle for me with food plots and it just isn't as fun as it used to be. Thinking if I take a break from it to unwind, maybe it will do me some good. Anyone else experience this?

Yes, I have been dealing with this the last few years. I am so close to selling all of my equipment and easing into retirement. My equipment sales would put a nice down payment on a cabin up north somewhere....I am ready to hand over the reins to someone else in the next few years and guide them. My fire is fading every year.

 

[yoderjac]

Has anyone ever taken a year or 2 off from planting food plots? It seems like the last couple years have been a struggle for me with food plots and it just isn't as fun as it used to be. Thinking if I take a break from it to unwind, maybe it will do me some good. Anyone else experience this?

My plan is to take off forever from food plots as most folks know them. I tend to see food plots as an emergency room and recovery situation. They are generally a high cost, high effort, way to feed deer during times when nature is stingy. They help "fill the gap". Small plots, often perennials like clover, can also be used to attract deer to a specific location at a fairly low cost in terms of money and effort. A smart QDM plan, in my opinion, uses a combination of methods on a larger scale to both increase the carrying capacity of the land for deer while reducing deer numbers if necessary to keep them in balance. Things like timber management with controlled burns can both produce enough income to both offset cost and even produce a profit. These can improve both food and cover on a large scale if done in a smart rotation. I think that a low-maintenance permaculture approach that plants low-maintenance mast producing trees that provide a variety of mast across many months of the year can largely supplant the function of most of my food plots over the long-haul. The region you live in is a factor as to how far you can take this concept.

Keep in mind there is only so much we can do. We are generally limited by the our dirt. I don't want to end up in a situation where I have a high intensity food plot program that is suddenly cut off because I get ill or simply too old to support it. I think that does more harm than good for my deer herd. Instead, I think of my program initially as an ER/Recovery approach. The next step is long-term physical therapy that brings my land back to full health. This includes those large scale habitat projects, permaculture, soil health improvement and such as the transition. My hope is to even stop calling what I'm doing food plots and start thinking of them as wildlife openings that may have a perennial clover base and support a low density of low (hopefully zero) maintenance mast producing trees. I hope most of my maintenance is simply using a bushhog now and then to keep these openings as openings.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[Bill]

Two years ago I just didn't have the time to put in all the plots I had been maintaining. So I cut them in half.

Very few good bucks on camera that summer and early fall. It was frustrating and disappointing.

We ended up having a banner year and killed more good bucks than ever before???

This is my third year now with 1/2 the plots I used to do. My beets failed, the clover is brown(but it will come back) and the beans are only 6 inches tall as of this week. I'd have to say this is my worst year for food plots. I'm not sweating it.

Truly I think the best thing I did was stop letting the neighbor hay my fields and let them go fallow and turn some into native grasses. That along with using a chain saw and putting in fences and blockades in to steer deer.

Food plots are pretty and make us feel good but get to much attention as far as I'm concerned. Cover and manipulating the movement of deer are far more important and longer lasting than a bean plot yet don't get the attention they should.

 

[jsasker007]

I'm looking to change what I grow to something that gets reseeded every 5-10 years like a clover and chicory plot with maybe alfalfa/chicory in the second plot. Plant, let it grow, and mow as needed. I'm growing food plots on ground that stays wet for a good portion of the spring time so planting options are limited and would be better to not try working with heavy equipment too early before the ground is ready. Deer have survived for centuries without food plots.

 

[bbcoach]

As of right now NO!!!!! First thing is I enjoy it too much. Second thing is I have a buddy that enjoys it as much as I do. His philosophy is when 1 person does it, IT IS WORK! When 2 people do it, IT IS FUN!!!! And when 3 or more do it, IT IS A PARTY!!!! We plant our plots together, we enjoy the FUN, it feeds the wildlife when they don't have much, we take satisfaction in seeing what we can grow (with God's Grace) and it gets us out to the lease more often. If your that person that considers it WORK, then take some time away from the trudgery and see if you can get a couple extra people to work with you to make it FUN and a PARTY. Best of luck to ALL of you that are getting ready to plant. And to those that are taking some time off, I hope the BUG will bite you again real soon.

 

[g squared 23]

If you don't enjoy it, drop it. I do one small plot because I don't have the equipment for anything else. Plus my other management efforts are just as rewarding and probably more effective.


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[trampledbyturtles]

Take a step back an take a breather if needed. It will reinvigorate the mind.

I needed too this past week after the last 2 months, 17 days in the field working, that's with a 50hr a week job. The boat hasn't even seen the water yet this year, sad day. Pretty much every free min of time was spent trying to get everything done before Aug. Fell short by a bit and was discouraged. But that was out of my control. Could not find a tractor an plow to rent out. And that work has to be done by Sept 1, so I will plan accordingly an make one more push an should finish in a day or 2s worth of work.

I rolled the dice on my fall food plot and have hit snake eyes twice since I planted july 22, I have missed every rainfall event in the area. Got 2 inches 7 miles away. A tenth on farm, hope the thatch sucked it up preventing any early germ. Finally got 6/10th last night. Hope that kicks it into gear an starts some growth.

Looking back on my records, it lights a fire seeing how much one can learn & accomplish. Started in Feb will end Aug 15th with some luck.

Funny thing is, when I took a step back, I meet an awesome lady. Both being so busy, for a first date I took her out to the farm on a weekday evening. She wanted to help with watering the trees. It brought a whole new light to things when I was able to show some of the hard work I have put in the past half a year, and the results that can be accomplished.