Derek Reese 29
5 year old buck +
So I just had an idea for this spring/fall 2026...(bear with me I'm a biologist by degree and an amateur farmer at heart)
I have 2 plots at my in laws place, one is a ~0.4 acre plot that was mowed/sprayed/seeded in the summer/fall 2023 (see this thread: https://habitat-talk.com/threads/existing-thick-pasture-stand-to-food-plot-how-to.15749/page-5) and has only had rye/brassicas added to it and been mowed a couple times since then. This is going to be my spring prep plot. Plan to spread some lime on it ASAP, then ask my FIL to lightly till it as early as possible (hoping for earlyish April), then come in a few weeks later and seed/spray same day (might be early May or so before that happens). Going to plant a combo of Alice, Alsike, Crimson, MRC and mammoth red clover with some chicory and oats as a nurse/cover crop. Then will wait till July to mow/seed fall brassicas and add WR later.
2nd plot is a 0.3 acre plot that was mowed/sprayed/seeded with clover/brassicas/WR in one go in the late summer of 2024. It came up like gangbusters and I killed a good buck in it in Oct 2024 (see thread: https://habitat-talk.com/threads/first-entry-in-the-successful-hunts-category.17360/). Now it's a kind of weedy clover/WR plot, and half the field isn't planted, just old hayfield. Plan here is to let it go, with maybe some late spring/early summer mowing to keep the grass/WR from going too crazy. Didn't do too much to it in 2025, other than mowing and adding some brassicas/WR. I want to expand the plot to encompass the whole field (about 1/2 of it is planted now). Plan to mow, then till in early July, then, depending on rainfall, seed and spray in late July with same mix as other field, while including brassicas and WR to come later.
I think this may, at least for me, answer some questions about whether spring/fall planting is best, especially on soil that may not be the greatest. Also, will have a camera running constantly on each plot to compare usage. I often worry that if I don't plant in the spring the deer will not get used to being in the plot come fall. Even though I know from my experience with plot 2 above (planted late summer 2024-saw almost immediate and constant usage AND harvested a buck in it) this isn't really the case, but maybe I just want to be doing some planting work and can't be patient. Also, both of these plots have had some great bucks in them the past 2 years and I really want to see if the spring vs. fall planting has any impact on buck movement/usage. Red Xs in both pics are stand locations.
Thoughts or suggestions are welcome!
Plot 1: Ag to south and west, adjoining to west is 2 acre hayfield
Plot 2: Thick, steep bank to East behind stand, Large Ag field (yellow in pic, planted in WW now) to West. Plot slopes from West to East then drops off sharp bank with great bedding cover down off the slope.
I have 2 plots at my in laws place, one is a ~0.4 acre plot that was mowed/sprayed/seeded in the summer/fall 2023 (see this thread: https://habitat-talk.com/threads/existing-thick-pasture-stand-to-food-plot-how-to.15749/page-5) and has only had rye/brassicas added to it and been mowed a couple times since then. This is going to be my spring prep plot. Plan to spread some lime on it ASAP, then ask my FIL to lightly till it as early as possible (hoping for earlyish April), then come in a few weeks later and seed/spray same day (might be early May or so before that happens). Going to plant a combo of Alice, Alsike, Crimson, MRC and mammoth red clover with some chicory and oats as a nurse/cover crop. Then will wait till July to mow/seed fall brassicas and add WR later.
2nd plot is a 0.3 acre plot that was mowed/sprayed/seeded with clover/brassicas/WR in one go in the late summer of 2024. It came up like gangbusters and I killed a good buck in it in Oct 2024 (see thread: https://habitat-talk.com/threads/first-entry-in-the-successful-hunts-category.17360/). Now it's a kind of weedy clover/WR plot, and half the field isn't planted, just old hayfield. Plan here is to let it go, with maybe some late spring/early summer mowing to keep the grass/WR from going too crazy. Didn't do too much to it in 2025, other than mowing and adding some brassicas/WR. I want to expand the plot to encompass the whole field (about 1/2 of it is planted now). Plan to mow, then till in early July, then, depending on rainfall, seed and spray in late July with same mix as other field, while including brassicas and WR to come later.
I think this may, at least for me, answer some questions about whether spring/fall planting is best, especially on soil that may not be the greatest. Also, will have a camera running constantly on each plot to compare usage. I often worry that if I don't plant in the spring the deer will not get used to being in the plot come fall. Even though I know from my experience with plot 2 above (planted late summer 2024-saw almost immediate and constant usage AND harvested a buck in it) this isn't really the case, but maybe I just want to be doing some planting work and can't be patient. Also, both of these plots have had some great bucks in them the past 2 years and I really want to see if the spring vs. fall planting has any impact on buck movement/usage. Red Xs in both pics are stand locations.
Thoughts or suggestions are welcome!
Plot 1: Ag to south and west, adjoining to west is 2 acre hayfield
Plot 2: Thick, steep bank to East behind stand, Large Ag field (yellow in pic, planted in WW now) to West. Plot slopes from West to East then drops off sharp bank with great bedding cover down off the slope.
