Deer Food Plots The Simple Way - #5 What to Plant

[@BigWoods40]

Good info Osceola! Looking forward to you posting more videos!

[@mattmorse]

Awesome! Thank you!

[@stevegermain1222]

Thanks Matt just found you went through your videos and subscribed. like the way you get to the point

[@mattmorse]

Thanks, Steve. Appreciate the positive feedback.

[@kevinleary5244]

What a great group of videos. Just found your channel and genuinely appreciate the easy to understand information. Starting a new property this year with 3 acre size plots. Do i have to mow the clover’s each year or do you just spray as needed when the weeds get bad?

[@mattmorse]

Glad you like the videos, Kevin. You really don't need to mow your clover. The deer will likely keep it mowed for you. Just spray when needed.

[@novchild1968]

Good stuff Matt!

[@mattmorse]

Thanks!

[@swampah5155]

What a simply refreshing channel you have. Easy to understand with smooth end to end explanations with each subject. Well done sir. Would you endorse cutting rye with a blade on a brush cutter to terminate rather that laying (crimping) it over? Thank you for your efforts.

[@mattmorse]

Thank you for the kind words, Swampah. As a matter of fact, my next video will be called "Terminating Rye" and will address that very question, but the short answer is there is nothing wrong with mowing, but sometimes mowing tall grain with a rotary mower can make windrows so the thatch is not evenly spread across the field, thin in some areas and clumped up in others. I think rolling creates a more even thatch layer.

[@troyboulware3518]

Enjoying your videos! Qu: do you ever add oats for fun?

[@mattmorse]

Thanks, Troy! I have used oats in the past and I know deer love them, but I stick with rye and wheat since they're more cold hearty and will provide a cover crop thatch the following year. Oats will not winter over like rye and wheat.

[@_DeFiNiTeLy_Not_BrAd_]

Forage collards and purple top turnips have done ok for me, but i also have 100+ acres next to me of alfalfa, clovers, so maybe they just hit my small plots late season only.

[@baysidecorals4073]

Have you tried using Alfala as a base instead of clover? I'm from Saskatchewan Canada and planted my first 3 acre plot this spring. I used a mix of clover, alfalfa and buckwheat. Was going to use the buckwheat as a cover crop to plant brassica and winter peas later in the year. But the deer ate the buckwheat before it got to any size. The clover and alfalfa seem to be doing well with the browsing pressure. So next year I was thinking of using alfalfa as a base and then add radish and fall rye later in the year as you suggested. Only reason I was thinking alfalfa as a base is because the deer seem to love it in this area.

[@mattmorse]

To be honest, I have never tried to plant alfalfa. I have shied away from it because it's my understanding that it requires very good soil with almost neutral pH, is a little harder to establish, and requires more maintenance with regular mowing. I also like the fact that clover is glyphosate resistant so I can use gly to control weeds without killing the clover. I'm sure there are herbicides that work well with alfalfa. You should give it a try and let me know how it goes. I'm always open to new ideas and experimentation.

[@baysidecorals4073]

@@mattmorse Thank you for the response. The soil where my plot is, is very poor, really hard compact mostly sand. Not sure what the PH is, never checked it. Thats a good point about weed control, I'm pretty sure I can get glyphosate resistant alfalfa varieties and I will look for one of those. I will try alfalfa next spring and let you know how it turns out. Thanks for the info and keep making videos!

[@BS.-.-]

I think alot of people forget that a food that's dead at the time of hunting season isnt really any good. Brassica and winter rye works well In the northeast. The rye is also green under the melting snow in the spring.

[@markkacin1039]

Do you need to reseed the clovers each yr with them being perennials?

[@mattmorse]

Hi Mark. No, you do not need to re-seed perennial clover every year. On the years that I spray the clover for week control, I typically re-seed at about half the usual rate. Otherwise, I just monitor the clover and re-seed as necessary.

[@kfranklin308]

If I do this mix of clover, rye and radish how many pounds per acre of each should I plant? I have tried making food plots in the past with store bought premix seed and it never does well.

[@mattmorse]

Hi Kevin. I use 3 lbs/ac ladino, 5 alsike, 7 med red, 9 radish, and about 150 cereal rye.

[@kfranklin308]

@@mattmorse awesome thank you! What brand seeds do you recommend? Last year I bought wildlife management solutions seed and it didn’t do well. It was probably my fault but I want to increase my odds as much as possible.

[@mattmorse]

@@kfranklin308 I don't buy name brand seeds, Kevin. I just buy generic seed from a local feed mill. Much cheaper and does the job.

[@quinnm.2314]

How do you terminate rye and keep clover? Mow?

[@mattmorse]

Hi Quinn. I crush both the rye and the clover together with a lawn roller. The rye dies, but the clover quickly recovers. I will cover this in my next video which I'll publish next week.

[@brushcrawler8612]

The simplest food plot is to just till the soil and sit back and watch all the deers favorite foods come up naturally out of the subsoil seed bank.

[@mattmorse]

There's nothing simple or cheap about buying, storing, and maintaining a tractor and implements.

[@brushcrawler8612]

@@mattmorse I never mentioned anything about machinery but I'll just assume you don't like people leaving comments in the comment section 😂