How to Make a Whitetail Deer Food Plot

A food plot can be the difference between harvesting a deer and going home empty-handed.

Hunters use food plots to attract and concentrate whitetail deer during hunting season. Food plots have other benefits as well. They provide supplemental nutrition when the mast crop fails or during hard winters. The plots also attract and provide habitat for smaller animals and birds like rabbits and pheasants if there is suitable cover around the edges of the plot.

Instructions

1. Select a spot for your food plot. An area that is already open with fertile soil saves time and money later.

2. Test the soil three months before you plan to plant. Do-it-yourself kits are available or your state's agriculture department can point you toward someone who can do a test.

3. Add lime and fertilizer to the soil based on the results of your test. The two will add nutrients to the soil and create optimal growing conditions.

4. Plow and disk the food plot. Removing stumps, brush and large rocks at this point will save time later and improve crop protection.

5. Plant your seeds. A local biologist can help you decide what to plant or you can opt for a seed mix marketed as whitetail formula.

6. Install a 4-foot high fence around the food plot. The deer and fawns will be able to get in, but livestock won't.

References

• Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries: Plantings to Attract Deer
• Purdue University Forestry and Natural Resources; "Food Plots for White-Tailed Deer"; MacGowan and Osbornes; April 2004