When to plant winter oats for deer will depend on the region of the country that the crop is planted within. And feeding deer during winter more often than not leads to death. Although corn and beans can supply a portion of the Fall and Winter needs of the local deer herd, they require significant resources of land, money and equipment. Oats are great for nurse crops with perennial clovers, mixed with brassicas or other cereal grains, or planted alone. Like oats, it is preferred in its early growth stages. Late winter can be hard on the deer herd, so providing them quality food sources throughout the year is key to managing. Various deer food plot seed blends are great for late season plots that will last through the gun deer season. Just watched a herd of deer in one of the fields feed on it for almost two hours before being spooked off by a flock of wandering turkeys. The bottom line is to get oats in early (it gets hot in Iowa, and oats are a cool season crop). Buck forage oats is Bob oats but with a fancy name and deer on the bag. Oats have both carbohydrates and fiber in a balanced ratio, which means they’re healthy for the deer population. When to plant clover for deer? I would really like to fence them in for a month to get the peas up to where they might be able to handle the grazing pressure. Oats may be the most favored cereal grain of all as far as taste (attraction), with wheat a close second. It is also known to be as the growing season for deer. To start off on the right foot, test the soil with a commercial pH probe or a pH test strip in the area where you plan to plant your oat seeds. I only had about 3/4 of an acre with a mix of peas, oats, rye, and red clover. But the benefit of buck forage oats lies mostly on its ability to stay during the winter. The plant is very good at extracting minerals from the soil that are in turn used by deer. Oats – this is a very simple and budget friendly supplemental food you can offer to deer in your backyard. As with many plants, oats flourish in soil that has a pH that falls within this range. I did a trial last year with Buck forage oats, bob oats, everleaf oats, forage plus oats, falcon oats and triticale in 2 test plot locations in Wisconsin and Minnesota. Once the oat plant matures past the forage stage and begins developing a stem, it is rarely consumed by deer. Oats will sprout quickly and there is a lot of growth in 3- to 4- weeks. A hardier plant like chicory will perform better under dry, hot conditions and provide food for deer when clover can’t. David Weisberger at Iowa State says that planting time is important for a number of reasons: Heat stress at anthesis results in a greater potential yield loss than heat stress at tillering, jointing or grain filing 1. Trical triticale has sucrose levels that surpass wheat, oats, and other triticale varieties and is the sweetest forage cereal grain you can plant! Choose a location with a pH between 6 and 7. ... Reggie, I like to plant oats or wheat (small grain crops) as soon as there is ample soil moisture for forage production, after August 15 in your neighborhood. Wheat, oats, and rye go great with brassicas and clovers, but there is one mixture or rather “food plot system” that I really love. Soybeans are also fairly easy to establish and are as drought tolerant as grain sorghum. It takes 100-120 days for this plant to reach maturity. Annual Deer Magnet (all sites) 100# oats (approximately 3 bushels) Annual Brassica Plot (medium to high quality sites) 8-10# rape (*all mixes are expressed in per acre rates) At the very least, then, the weeds would be prevented from forming seed heads and spreading through seed. Whether you grow oats as a cover crop to maintain a planting area or you raise them to feed livestock, oats remain one of the most common agriculture crops. Winter oats planted in the southern states often survive the mild winter months and continue feeding the deer into the spring. I plant a combo of oats and winter wheat. WMS Tritic Oat and Black Oat are two types of deer food plot seed that grow quickly in most soil types and continue to produce through the winter months. Because of this, many hunters and land managers plant a blend of wheat and clover. I want the oats to serve as a nurse crop and food attractant for deer this fall. • Wheat and Oats Another good option is to plant a mixture of wheat and oats, each at 30 Plant a cover crop of oats in the autumn or plant oats to grow over the summer growing season in early spring. Our plant clover blend is versatile and will thrive in a wide range of conditions. Common Oats. During winter, deer predominantly survive on woody vegetation such as stems, twigs, and buds. In my experience, deer will feed on this plant after the season, so it can make for a few easy shed hunts in the spring. Then, once a seed head is produced deer will consume the seed. “Forage Species for Deer” (PDF) provides a list of some proven forage species for deer, the seeding rates (in pounds per acre), the dates during which you should plant, and suggested maintenance and comments regarding plantings. However, if you are struggling to offer enough food during the Fall or are experiencing excessive doe population numbers, make sure to limit the amount of available Summer food sources. The right fall food plot can attract deer from opening day through the late season. Still, oats, rye, wheat, the deer love it all. I like to have the clover in some plots year around because it greens up fast int he Spring and the deer hit it … • Wheat The easiest and most reliable winter food plot is wheat planted at about 60 lbs/acre. For best results, wait to plant until excessively hot, droughty summer weather has passed. Also, right beside the oat/wheat fields I plant a combo of … If you need to raise deer numbers, plant a food plot to be available during May, June and July. Look for varieties like Streaker, which is resistant to crown rust. Brassicas can include many varieties of rape, kale, turnips, true brassicas and radishes. I wanted to share my knowledge with this simple farming technique that can make your hunting 10x better in the fall hunting season. In mid-latitude states such as Missouri and Kentucky, wheat becomes very attractive to deer late-October to mid-November. The results might surprise people but the worst product in the trials was everyone's favorite forage oats. Deer also seem to know when food is most palatable and nutritious, which is why this is the time to plant your fall plots; so they’ll be most attractive during hunting season. September 1 - October 1: 3. Some hunters claim that deer in these regions are still genetically programmed to eat chestnuts over everything else, and a lot of hunters have reported a great amount of … These two plant types can be planted separately or mixed together, and occasionally combined with other annuals. When to Plant: Late August to October. They make a good pair when planting to feed whitetails. You just have to plant the right stuff. When it comes to food plot shape, it’s best to plant plots into long rectangular shapes rather than big squares. Chestnuts were a common plant in the American East until they were killed off by a disease known as Chestnut blight. Soybeans make great spring and summer food plots! Greens of oats, rye, brassicas, peas, clover and even late planted soybeans, should account for 50% to 100% of all of your food plot plantings. Winter oats provide deer with a nutritious forage that is high in protein, vitamins and minerals. If the pH doesn’t fall between 6 and 7, try a different location or adjust the pH. Seeding rates are listed based upon single crop plantings. Abundant leafy forage during hunting season will equal more deer on your food plots. Oats are used by deer during the fall/late winter period. The oats don't make it thru the winter but the wheat does and is there late winter/early spring to provide green browse early the next year. Soybeans for Whitetail Deer. As natural wild foods decline with cold weather, deer feed more and more heavily on cereal grain crops such as oats, rye and wheat. Aside from that, you can save up a lot of money when you place it in your food plot. Perennial Upland Mix (medium to high quality sites) 2# white dutch clover 4# ladino clover 5# medium red clover 1-2# rape 25# oats or wheat. Right during the period when Soybeans turn yellow and drop their leaves, I broadcast either 50/50 winter wheat and rye, or a combination of wheat, oats, and rye overtop the beans. Wheat also is a high-carb plant. With that said, even if the deer kept the plots mowed like a golf course, wouldn’t they also eat the weeds down? In other words, this quantity of forage on one acre will feed five deer for three months, three deer for five months, or theoretically, 15 deer for one month. This is crucial for areas that have high deer densities. Planting dates for Whitetail Oats Plus ™ Use the map below as a guideline for when to plant Whitetail Oats in your area. The second factor that will determine if you still have time to plant is the specific type of forage are you planning to use. 25# oats or wheat. Typical fall food plot forages include brassicas (turnips, kale, radishes), oats, rye, winter peas, and winter wheat. Service have field tested the various plant species listed in this guide. For instance, a one acre field of oats Or, be more strategic than that and plant a companion crop like a cereal grain such as winter wheat, cereal rye and oats. Plant it at a rate of three pounds per 1,000 square feet. The ideal time to attract deer during fall! Though oats might die off in bitter cold conditions, the other two typically produce forage right into spring, when perennials such as clover and more natural forage become available. This allows the crop to make more tillers (leaves) and a larger root system. It is also a terrific 2nd plot choice for fall plantings. It germinates extremely fast and can start attracting deer within 14 days after seeding - making it one of the best "backup" species to plant in case your first choice has failed. We recommend planting various combinations of seed in order to achieve maximum benefits for the targeted wildlife species. How to Make a Winter Wheat Food Plot for Deer: This instructable is how to make a basic deer food plot using wheat seed. There is little you can plant that draws bucks during the summer like soybeans. Cereal grains for the deer manager mean wheat, oats, rye and triticale. August 15 - September 15: 2. Summer is the best time to start planting buck forage oats. Some nights there would be over 20 deer on that plot in September. As such, their digestive system is not equipped to handle a high carbohydrate diet. Acid detergent fiber, or ADF (the indigestible portion of the plant), often measures below 20-25 percent, which is superb. Winter wheat, or wheat, is planted anytime … Yes, you can still plant our clover in the Fall, Spring, and July. The deer where I live LOVE oats. These rates can be lowered when planting combinations. 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