What type of food plot would you recommend for this small property in southwest Michigan?
Filed under: Food Plots
My Dad has just recently moved onto 30 acres in South West Michigan of low, wet land with a river running through the property which makes it impossible to get quads and other equipment back onto the property. I have always been interested in building a food plot because of your amazing videos, but I have a small budget and very limited knowledge on the topic. What would you recommend for size, type, location to the river, and any other recommendations you may have? My family and I have seen many doe, a few fawns and also my brother has seen 3 shooter bucks! I have attached a picture with the property outlined, while still showing the surrounding land! Praying you you and your family! Keep making amazing videos!
God Bless,
Ben Rand
Ben,
It appears your property is in a great travel corridor! I believe a few small plots could be very useful to attract deer to your property as they travel the river corridor.
We often make small plots using hand tools. These plots are simply to attract deer as they can receive excellent nutrition in the local production ag fields. Once those crops are harvested your plots should become a great attraction!
I use backpack leaf blowers, rakes, etc., to remove the duff and expose the soil. Because there probably won’t be much forage available during the hunting season forage wheat, brassica, etc., work well to attract deer. Eagle Seed’s Broadside blend would work well and provide a forage that palatable during the early, mid, and late season. Be sure to add plenty of fertilizer as healthy plants taste much better (attract deer better) than malnourished crops!
The biggest limiting factor may be sun! Forage crops require at least 4+ hours of direct sun to be productive. You may find areas where a large tree has died, etc. Anywhere the sun is reaching the forest floor will work. If there’s nothing growing there it’s probably because the areas holds too much water or doesn’t receive enough sun. You may remove enough trees to create a small plot! Look for slightly higher elevations that are weedy and it’s probably a great food plot location!
If you are removing trees then pick a location that allows the hunter to approach, hunt, and exit without alerting deer. If feasible create multiple locations so no matter what the wind direction is you can approach, hunt, and exit without alerting deer!
Finally – I suspect the thermals drift down the river during the morning and evening. Spend some time checking out these thermals before creating plots. Locations where your scent will go down the river could be fabulous hunting locations!
Enjoy creation,
grant
November 16, 2015
