I'm in Virginia. I have 100 acres (so far) and I'm trying to alter the place to be a good wildlife habitat. Last year I went through the Virginia Master Naturalist program.
This land is garbage to some extent. They planted corn,then corn, then corn, then corn, then logged off the woods. It has a lot of pioneer species like cedar and tulip poplar which I have been killing to allow the old growth hickory and oak to get a foothold.
Last year I put in about 30 persimmon trees. This year about 30 white oak. And I'll continue this process.
But honestly, I don't know what to do to supply the animals with food in late fall and winter. I don't know what they eat after the acorns are gone and the greens are dried up.

Ideas?

I plant a mix of Brassica and Rape in late Summer. It's quite remarkable stuff...it is very bitter when green, so the Deer leave it alone as it grows. After the first few hard frosts, its chemistry changes, and it becomes sweet and attractive. This will carry you into November in the mid-Atlantic.

From what I see all year around here in CT that the deer like to eat grass!

I see farms that grow hay and even when there is snow on the ground which you may not get much the deer scrape down for the green hay/grass.

I would plant hay in the field and have it cut and sell it and have them leave the grass high in the winter.

A row or more of corn also.

http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/w...e/deer/plantings.asp

Check out the pdf file in that link. And remember this is all very area specific. What works elsewhere may not work for you.

Also read this - http://www.wildlifeseeds.com/f...lots/deer/index.html

The part where they discuss what to plant is particularly useful.

Btw, on the oaks (I'm doing a similar project myself) the deer prefer the white oak family of trees, but if you want during your lifetime to see any results of this, go with nuttalls and sawtooth. I'm mixing them with loblollies (great for bedding and there're some mushrooms in there deer like) and persimmons in one area. In other areas I'm going with fruit and nut trees, such as pecans, hickory, paw-paw, apple, peach and more. And berry bushes, as many as possible, blueberry, blackberry, raspberry and strawberry.

Oh, one other bit of advice. For the fields, avoid soybeans, sunflower (unless doing a dove field also) and corn. Deer LOVE these, but will make short work of them due to the large seeds. Think small in terms of seeds along with leafy green. That's just a few suggestions. Good luck...

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Originally posted by Savage_99:
From what I see all year around here in CT that the deer like to eat grass!

I see farms that grow hay and even when there is snow on the ground which you may not get much the deer scrape down for the green hay/grass.

I would plant hay in the field and have it cut and sell it and have them leave the grass high in the winter.

A row or more of corn also.

When we lived in CT the deer ate everything that wasn't poisonous...

In WI I had luck with the brassicas for a winter food. Lots of tonnage per acre and the deer utilized it well into winter as I'd find shed antlers in the plots every spring. The deer here loose their antlers in Jan/Feb time frame. Also I had great luck with straight forage chicory in a few plots. That was more of a fall food, but the deer ate the hell out of it as it stayed green later in the year and wouldn't brown off with later fall dry spells like a lot of the grasses.

I wonder if the brassica is similar to the wild burdock that grows here. As a primitive skills enthusiast I know the burdock for the root I eat in the summer and fall. The leaves are huge, and I've been told from other people that after the first frost the sugars come out in the leaves and make them sweet instead of bitter, very similar.
I'll look into the brassica.
We're just getting into summer now, so the timing is really good if I need to plant it in late summer.

Frank..We own 40 acres of pretty scrappy timber land in the Ozarks in N central Arkansas and we have spent the last 4 years working on it to improve the deer habitat.. I learned early on that the deer will eat a lot of stuff that we consider to be weeds...

I do plant food plots, and never really made a difference with them until I put in some perennial plots with chicory. The deer really like that stuff and it lasts for years after planting.. In the fall, I mow my chicory plots, and lightly disk them and over plant with a mix of winter wheat, bob oats, rye grain, winter pea, rape and turnips... Also have some areas that I have planted a variety of clovers on.... Right now my plots are waist high in growth and the deer are feeding and bedding in all of my plots..

Another thing to consider is just fertilizing native plants...I have areas that I just disk and fertilize and the native plants come back and do very well, and the deer use those areas just like the food plots..strip disking like that is good for quail and turkey too...

My firelanes are planted in orchard grass and clover...as the wildlife biologist recommended when they did my stewardship plan... BTW..if you don't have a stewardship plan you should get one...contact your local state forestry representative..usually your county forester and they will come out and do a comprehensive plan for free. Generally, the forester, wildlife biologist, and local district conservationist can all give you input to address forestry, wildlife and soil conservation objectives....

Good luck with your project...

Z

^Chicory. I knew I recognized that name.
It's similar to dandilion in construction and flavor. A bit bitter. In this country we used the roots to make coffee if real coffee was not available, or the two were mixed together. You can go online right now and buy chicory coffee and tea. The roots are dried, roasted, and ground.
I never planted it on purpose but I have harvested it locally. For whatever reason it grows best right beside asphalt roads, a bad place to havest it, too many chemicals.

Don't forget some Chufa grass if you have turkeys in the area. It allows them to scratch for the little kernel on the root. They love it.

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Don't forget some Chufa grass if you have turkeys in the area. It allows them to scratch for the little kernel on the root. They love it.

Chufa is like cocaine for turkeys...and there's a clear cut area I'm reserving for that. I see turkey a lot there now with not much more than clover and wild grasses and some left over milo going on.

But I'm told chufa doesn't do quite the same for deer.

Nice! Perfect. Thank you. It will definitely go on the list. I was wondering how turkeys survived in the winter.

Clover seems to attract turkeys and Deer.Big plus is if you cut and fertilize it you can sometimes get 4 years out of a planting.I like to plant a few smaller plots of Cow peas and Soy beans right about now to feed them during the summer and fall.

Austrian winter peas and the chufa with a wheat/oat mix.

There is another plant that plant in MS that looks a lot like hemp but the deer just love it.

If you have a ag office close ask them what type of forage they recommend.

Couldn't hurt.

I'm definitely going to get some of the Rapid Mast Nuttall seedlings. Mature fast, drop acorns very late in the year.
With the Rapid Mast plugs I can safely plant for another 6 weeks or so.

http://www.nativnurseries.com/...ercus-nuttallii.aspx

The chicory you dig up and roast the roots (purple flower, grows in the gravel along roadsides) is not the same plant as forage chicory, at least it doesn't look the same. Forage chicory does look like dandelion leaves and has a deep taproot that does very well in arid soils. It has a high protien value and the plots I planted of it would get absolutely hammered by the deer after the regular grasses and soybeans browned off in the fall. One fall I thought my plot of chicory was just dried weeds and grass so I mowed it off. Three weeks later it was solid green chicory and the deer ate the hell out of it. I bought straight chicory seed from alseed.com (Albert Lea Seed House). It's a little spendy, but it goes a long way. Definitely plant some chicory and see how the deer like it.

^Different kinds of chicory?? I didn't know that. Thank you for the info.

You'll also hear chicory/clover mentioned together so frequently it's tempting for the novice to think chicory is some type of clover, which of course it isn't. The two are just used a lot together and deer plot seed sellers sell them as a mix.

There's also some confusion about rye. You'll hear it recommended a lot. But there are two kinds, rye grain and rye grass. The grain is normally what you want, but there are uses for the grass too in marginal areas. I in fact took a deer feeding in rye grass and have seen turkeys using it too.

If I were you, I'd hit the internet under "deer food plots" and "what to plant for deer" and key in your home state.

In my own case it really came down to who's doing the work and the cost. You see, I can't do the actual work myself and have to hire someone locally for that who has the tractor and other equipment. So, I got three bids from knowledgeable guys who do this for deer clubs and will go with one of them. But I also got their recommendations on what's done locally and what they are comfortable with and equally important what kinds of plants and seeds they can easily obtain and at reasonable cost. So in my case the problem largely solves itself.

No matter what you plant, understand that getting your ground in the best possible shape is critical for your plots. Contact your Ag Extension Agency for soil test bags and forms. Follow the instructions and get good samples.

You may need lime and will need fertilizer of some sort.

Get your ground in good shape or your just throwing money away.

Cow peas are the gold standard for summer/fall plots, but subject to overgrazing in small plots. If you have 15-20 acres, plant it. It's incredible stuff. It will fix nitrogen in the soil if inoculated (must inoculate cow peas!) this puts you in much better shape for a fall planting of wheat, rye, barley or whatever you choose.

Clovers can be difficult to establish, but are great if you can do it right. You can't neglect them, you must still fertilize and mow them per recommendations.

I like arrow leaf clover. It seems to be easier to establish and grows like a weed in my country (we don't get too much rain).

Look at the QDMA website and buy the food plot book by Kent Kammermire (sp?) it is an incredible wealth of information. It is really all you need to pick a plot and get it established.

The deer around my place seem to prefer purple hull peas, okra, and sunflower plants!
They always ignore all the "special" deer forage advertised.

I'm in Va too. Have been scratching out food plots on marginal ground for years. IMO winter wheat is the best all around for hunting and food plots. Plant in early fall stays green all winter in nw Va.

Today I put in 15 nutall oaks.
Now I'm working on a tiller for my tractor.

Clover or winter wheat would be my choice.

10-4 on the clover, oats and winter wheat (together). Plant both in September. The deer will graze the wheat all winter long. When the oats get tall spring and summer, it shades the clover. Deer and turkey love it. I strongly suggest the "Resolute Clover". It's not available at CFC, but is at Southern States.

There are other things to work through on this too. For instance, my food plots to be were clear cut of woods a year ago and which have only now been finally dozered and leveled of stumps, logs and underbrush for planting. What I'm hearing is, don't do anything til this fall because the ground has to dry out after having been cleared. But, that's not really what I wanted. I wanted to get a summer food plot in and not leave it in dirt only all summer.

And that raises another consideration. Which is what to plant in the meantime between now and the fall, to prevent soil erosion on slopes, newly cut roads, small isolated deer plots to be, or on trails.

This is all not real simple...

op - call your local county agent. he should know. if you can find a farmers co-op in your area, they will also know. good luck.

I have had good luck with plots that are a chicory & clover mix.

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What can I plant for deer?

I find that planting every coyote and wolf that you see does wonders for the local deer population!

Hi Frank. PM and email sent.