[mperry88]

Well this will be my first year to do a food plot by myself and im wanting some advice from some other experienced hunters.
I live in alabama and im wondering what all should i plant? Clover, Soybean, wheat, etc...?
During the off season im wanting to put a tri pod feeder out with a trail cam to see what kind of deer i have around. Got any tips or advice about what kind of camera i should get and what kind of feed i should put out?
I see alot of stuff, Feed, salt licks, etc. claiming to help out bucks get bigger racks, does any of this stuff actually work? if it does can anyone lead me in the right direction with this as well.
Thanks for anything you can help with.

 

[East Texas Droptine]

I live in Texas, but what works best for my food plots are oats...but then again I've only tried rye grass and oats.

Fot the trail cams I think I would go with a Stealth Cam. Many people like Moultrie but from my experience they haven't worked very well for me. (battery eatters/slow trigger speed), but they do take good pictures... If go to this link it is an article on trail cams I put together... http://www.deerhuntersclub.com/articles/trail-cameras/

I don't think that every deer in every area are all going to like the same thing...If they have enough salt in their diet they aren't going to use a salt block/lick much...or any other mineral if they already have enough in their diet...I'm not sure if they sell Record Rack in Alabama or not but I really like the Record Rack SPORTSMAN variety b/c it has the high protein pellets and corn mixed together...and the deer in my area seem to respond well to it...

 

[Southern Man]

ETD does take good pictures. Although you tend to not pay attention to picture quality when you're looking at the bucks she has down there...grins. Just kidding ETD. I use the Cuddeback Capture. They're expensive but take excellant pics. As far as food plots, I'd recommend a Clover / Chicory mix. This will provide food year round and fairly high in protein. If you prepare your plots right from the the start they will last several years with little maintenance. In feeders, I read an article the other day saying use raw soybeans. Soybeans are extremely high in protein. The trick is getting them to eat it. The article suggested mixing the soybeans with corn (50/50). The corn will draw them to the feed. Just my 2 cents worth........

 

[East Texas Droptine]

ETD does take good pictures. Although you tend to not pay attention to picture quality when you're looking at the bucks she has down there...grins. Just kidding ETD. I use the Cuddeback Capture. They're expensive but take excellant pics. As far as food plots, I'd recommend a Clover / Chicory mix. This will provide food year round and fairly high in protein. If you prepare your plots right from the the start they will last several years with little maintenance. In feeders, I read an article the other day saying use raw soybeans. Soybeans are extremely high in protein. The trick is getting them to eat it. The article suggested mixing the soybeans with corn (50/50). The corn will draw them to the feed. Just my 2 cents worth........

I just got a 50# bag from our local feed store of ROASTED soybeans...and mixed it with corn...once they got taste for the beans they eat it like they do the corn...it only took them about 2 days...then I did a side-by-side comparrison with the soybeans and corn and the next day they both were completly gone...so I think soybeans would be great to mix in with the corn

 

[mperry88]

Thanks for the help ETD and Southern Man , ill be sure to keep all this in mind... Specially about the high protein feed, as for the salt lick i guess ill just get one and see how they respond to it before i waste money on buying a few of them.
Thanks for the article on the trailcams, ive been looking into a few of them, just trying to narrow them down now.
Havent heard of Record buck but i will definatly look into it after looking at some of the pics youve posted of your bucks...

 

[deputy dog]

mineral licks

i highly recommend the bag-r-buck mineral bag. u can get em at sportsman's guide. deer like em and they last forever. just be sure to hand em high enough so the deer can't stand on their hind legs and rip the bag open. although while hunting i watched squirrels climb down and chew at the bag so who knows! just my 2 cents!

 

[Hunting Man]

There's been good advice given on food plots on this site, but I'll give some additional thoughts. First thing is to get the soil tested for the ph. Something around 6.8-7.2 would be considered good. If the soil is to low then lime will need to be put down and it takes quite a bit of time for lime to breakdown and work. If you have the soil tested they will tell you the neutrients that are lacking and what fertlizer number to use. Clover doesnt need high nitrogen fertlizer. Weed control is a big issue and proper use is absolutely necessary. I also agree that chickory added to clover is excellant as both are high protien foods. Brassicas are very good as deer won't touch them till the first frost and the sugar content rises in the leaves but the deer don't get early benifits from brassicas. Haveing two or three food plots works well by having two differing maturing crops. Soil bed makes or breaks good food plots. You need a well compacted soil bed for small seed like clover/chickory so the seeds don't fall too deep. Food plots can be expensive and a ton of wasted money has been lost due to inexperience so please read all you can before you spend, I didn't and now am slowly learning the correct way.

 

[Southern Man]

Hunting Man, I have heard of a product called "Gain" that is a spray on ph adjustment. Supposedly it will adjust the ph for a year maybe until you can get the full benefits of the lime that you have applied. I've never used it. I'd also like to try some brassicas. Easy to grow?

 

[Hunting Man]

Sm, Brassicas are very easy to grow and look like sugar beets. They get about 3' high. I tried to blend in clover and chickory but it was stunted under the brassicas. Once the leaves are eaten the deer will paw at the bases till spring when they rot out.

 

[ronn]

hm is right. clover and alfalfa make their own Nitrogen adding more only feeds the weeds. strip plots are a good way to get that year around food source for the critters. Isn't brassicas basically a turnip? Thats one of the things in the mix I used. Pot ash will do the job sweeting the soil, quicker than lime, but it takes tons more.

 

[Hunting Man]

Thanks for the tips I'll have to look for that Gain product.

 

[ronn]

oh and the qdma is loads of help. check into that

 

[Hunting Man]

whitetail institute has loads of plot advise, this is where I get most of my info.

 

[South Alabama's Finest]

I live in Pike County, Alabama. We usually just plant rye, oats, rape, clover, corn, grain sorghum. I wouldnt advise planting the corn and grainsorghum unles you have a pretty big field because they will eat it all up before season. The rye, oats, rape, and clover does extremely well around here. We usually plant in august.