Whitetail Deer Food Plot Success

There are a few variables that will determine whether or not crops will grow well or if whitetail deer will visit your property. Food plot management should include picking a variety of seed types, using natural pest control methods, and cultivating the land.

Fruit, Vegetable, And Grain Seeds

Outline where you would like to grow each crop type. Whitetail deer favor a variety of fruits, vegetables, and grains. Most berry types grow on bushes. Each bush will provide a relatively large area for deer to graze and will also double as a camouflaging material that deer can hide behind or rest near or under.

Choose vegetable and grain varieties that can be used to fill in a plot on your property. Plan on transplanting fruit bushes or planting berry seeds near the edge of a forest or a line of trees and shrubs that outlines your property.

Select a half dozen or more grain and vegetable seed varieties to plant in the plot. If you were to stick to one crop type, there would be the possibility that the plants wouldn't survive due to unfavorable soil or weather conditions.

If you add a diverse group of crop types, your food plot will be more likely to succeed. Upon planting seeds and observing them sprout, take note of which crop types grow quickly and remain healthy. These are the plant varieties that you can use during subsequent growing cycles.

Pesticides And Soil

Successful food plot management is dependent upon the preliminary steps that you take to prepare an area for deer to graze. Pesticides should not be administered to any of the crops that you grow due to the danger that these products could pose to the health of the deer that will be visiting your property.

To deter pests from consuming seedlings or mature crops, apply a layer of crushed egg shells under each targeted plant. Egg shells are often used as a natural pest remedy. The sharp edges of each shell fragment will compromise the exterior of slugs, worms, beetles, and other crawling insects that could do harm to the plants.

Some herb varieties are also noted for their pest control properties. Shop for herb plants that will repel pests at a local nursery and plant them directly in the food plot. Till the soil well prior to creating furrows in it. Add a natural fertilizer or topsoil product that contains the nutrients that the soil needs to support healthy crop growth.