Food Plots and Tree Plots for Bow Hunting | 3 Food Plots for Bow Hunting
The biggest question of may…”what food plots should I plant?”, you dare not ask that on Facebook as many so called “Food Plot Experts” rattle off countless mixtures, seed bags, and other not so great ideas. You’re a bow hunter, you want to know the details and you want to think outside the box, you have to in order to be successful. When it comes to food plots for bow hunting you know there is no on size fits all approach, but you are tired of hearing the same idea over and over again…you are looking for some new and fresh ideas. Here are 3 food plot ideas to execute now for bow hunting success this season!
Food Plot Idea 1: Go Simple with Clover
Not an original “Food Plot Idea” by any means, this is about as old and traditional as you go, but it might be a new one for your property. Some land owners and food plotters big and small go for putting on acres and acres of beans and corn, or a mix with a variety of species. Therein lies the food plot idea…go simple! Simple is better, and this news may spark an idea for the an absolute killer hidey hole food plot.
How To Grow The Best Clover Food Plots
(Video)- Clover can be a great addition to any wildlife manager’s tool bag in providing quality forage and hunting areas. Watch right here to find out everything we do to keep clover in our food plots for years to come! If you think mowing is the key — you’ll think differently after watching this video. The steps used here at The Proving Grounds have kept a clover food plot going strong for 11 (eleven) years! Also, we do a little scouting and find a new location to put up our Hot Zone fence to make a killer spot this fall!
Small clover food plots are the perfect addition on your property for the spring and early fall. Clover plots can be established anywhere, whether it is around or on the sides of a larger food plot or AG field, a stand-alone plot in the woods, or a larger staging area type food plot, and they all make killer food plots for bow hunting. They will be the first food plot a mature buck walks into with enough light to shoot in the early season and a great pace to catch deer working back from bigger AG fields to bedding areas in the mornings.
Planting a stand-alone white clover or mixing it in this case with wheat is simple and easy to plant and maintain. Ladino clover is the main species in these food plot cases. They establish fast, can take browse pressure, can be easily maintained with a couple herbicides, and can last for multiple years! They could potentially become great kill plots with the right planning and considerations, when bow hunting whitetails in the early season.
Food Plot Idea 2: Put A Fence Up
As you saw in the last video The Growing Deer TV team was prepping and placing a dual perimeter electric fence. This is about your only option for growing small soybean food plots, or keeping a section of beans for the late season. For bow hunters the two peak times we enjoy being out is early in September and October and then again once gun season closes in December and January. Soybeans in both time frames are absolute killer places for bow hunting.
How To Protect Food Plots From Deer | Food Plot Fence by GrowingDeer.tv
(Video) – This week I share two different techniques to protect your food plots until hunting season. One of them can be shocking, with an dual perimeter electric fence around a small soybean food plot.
As September and October roll around you can either choose to let the fence down or wait even later until November when pods start becoming extremely attractive. Having a ½ acre- 1 acre of standing soybeans with many pods becomes a late season magnet for bow hunting.
Food Plot Idea 3: Tree plots for deer
With all the hype around food plots many property managers and deer hunters can forget about soft mast. With focus around bow hunting, specific tree plots can strategically be planted with species that ripen during hunting season. This adds a diversity of attraction with several different food sources that your neighbor simply does not have. Planting a assortment of fruit trees whether they are apple, pear, or persimmon or another variety and planting for ripening in early or late season can really increase your bow hunting opportunities.
Tips for Bow Hunting and Habitat Management: Growing Deer TV Spring Field Day 2016
(Video)- The www,GrowingDeer.tv team shares hunting tips and techniques at their Spring Field Days event: strategies for food plots, tree plots, bow hunting setups and habitat management practices. Plus the latest insider information on ammunition, broadheads, filming accessories and game calls.
The other opportunity with tree plots is putting a food plot in the same area. Not disking or tilling to insure you don’t damage the tree roots, but planting a species such as clover (white clover, Ladino) in and around the trees by drilling or broadcasting. This can create more food for the given acreage. Fall food plot species such as oats and brassicas can also be broadcasted or drilled in around the plot depending on what time of year you plan on bow hunting.
If any of these food plot ideas peak your interest for bow hunting this season do more research and get to work. Diversity is always better for deer, creating several food plots, tree plots, or going with something new and fresh like a food plot fence, mixes it up and creates opportunity!