Poor Man Plots and Food Plots in the Woods

Food plots are such a widely discussed topic some people become overwhelmed by the ideas and the requirements. Yes, much can be done to create the best food available for your deer. However, you should not be disappointed when access to wide open fields with the perfect pH is hard to come by. To achieve your whitetail goals you must think outside the box and work with what you have! Food plots in the woods and poor man plots can have equal if not more impact on the success of your season if you play your cards correctly. Planting food in the woods takes a fair amount of sweat equity but the results can be dynamic! Making an effort to plant food in small secluded hideaways can give you control over tree stand locations never before possible. However, to create the perfect trap for your target deer it is important to understand what you are getting into.

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Creating the Trap | Food Plots in the Woods

Poor man food plots can be understood by the obvious name…equipment is either hard to come by or access is not possible into the plot. This creates the initial work. Clearing trees and brush with a chainsaw, using fire or sweat equity to expose the soil, and then finally planting. It is hard work. Take the time to consider this and the factors below. Just know that by the end of all this hard work, poor man food plots and food plots in the woods, in the right locations, are most definitely worth it!

Timing: To successfully create a kill plot for deer in the woods looking at the calendar is everything. The idea behind a poor man plot is to create a killing plot…not a feeding plot. This is often the hardest thing to understand when it comes to poor man plots and food plots in the woods. You will be putting a significant amount of work in. The earlier you get started on this the better as you want the deer to be relatively comfortable with the area by deer season. There is also the timing issue in the planting sense. Depending on the species you go with, you will need to plant your food plot months ahead of time to ensure a lush green and attractive plot by September and October. Timing is crucial, but the species is also crucial.

Species: food plots in the woods and poor man plots will not often go over an acre in size. This limits what species can be planted. The other issue here is the shade. Food plots in the woods will often get very limited sunlight. These two factors in combination leave you with not a lot of options. The clear choice for many is white clover. With the ability to sprawl, grow great in shade, and take a beating from browsing deer, clover makes the ideal species for food plots in the woods. Of course, cereal grains like winter wheat and rye can take the attraction beyond the limited timeframe of clover but be cautious as this will limit your herbicide use. Weed management and control will be crucial for you poor man plot as weeds, shrubs, and saplings will come sprawling out of the dirt once the sun hits the forest floor.

Poor Soils: Many hunters regulated to hunting poor soils can use food plots in the woods to concentrate what is often a meager deer herd on their property. If you have to hunt in an area with poor soil conditions and high elevations don’t get too disappointed. This is where research is handy. First, it is imperative to do soil samples in the exact places you want to put food down. Comparing soil samples to recommended pH levels on the bags of seed you wish to plant is a great way to start. After receiving the results of the soil tests back consider the amount of lime needed to bring about a balance to the particular area. Lime is a base which helps bring balance to unbalanced soils. If your chosen area has had the nutrients washed away on a steep grade or is higher in elevation, then you will want to find the right amount of lime per acre needed to balance the pH to help optimize seed growth. Second, choosing the right seed for the pH is critical. Typically seed manufacturers will have the information on each seed and what pH the plant will grow in best. Taking into consideration what your goals are for a given location you will want to plant accordingly. Some plants are more resilient in bad soils and can thrive. Clover, for example, can grow in most soils and is a nitrogen fixing legume which can help level out the pH and build organic matter for future plots.

Picking Your Mouse Trap: Since this is all about boosting your shot percentage look for smaller open areas with good cover surrounding to make the deer feel more comfortable. Hinge cut areas feeding into your food plot to create a natural safe funnel for cover. Edge feathering is also a good option as long as you are not taking a significant amount of space away from your plot. This will provide opportunities to hang new tree stands. Since this is a new source of food, deer may be slightly wary when feeding but more relaxed with good cover to slip in and out of constantly. Look for spots an eighth or a quarter of an acre while taking the prevailing winds into account especially when hunting mountainous terrain and the changing thermals dictate when stands can and cannot be hunted.

Making It Happen

When you locate the spot you’re going to plant food make sure to spray the area to kill weeds. Weeds in the woods must be killed quickly in order to give the food plot seed the proper place to grow. If you can mow or take a weed cutter with you and cut down the forage as close as you can to the ground. Within a week you should be back spraying the entire mowed area. Weed and brush killer is available at most home and garden stores. Spray everything in your planting area as it is worth the effort and will make your plot far more productive in the long run. Using a backpack type sprayer is more than sufficient as your areas ought to be fairly small. Within a couple weeks of spraying your chosen are will look different and you’ll be ready to take the next steps in cultivating the ground. Pack a good rake or leaf blower to rid the covered area of leaves if your spots are heavily wooded. Do not turn the soils over until you are ready to plant. This is in order to keep weeds from taking a hold of your inner woods spot too early even if you have sprayed. Break up the soils either with a tiller or a hand rake like you would in the family garden and use the appropriate amount of seed for the size of the area you are cultivating.

Planting food plots in the woods provides a new opportunity for your deer season and new locations to hang your tree stands. In a matter of a few months, you can transform your property from being a barren wasteland to a honey-hole. Proper planning and execution, advice from others, and genuine care for your food plots will be the difference maker come fall. Planting food plots in the woods is all about making your own luck. By taking matters into your own hands you become more invested in the pursuit and those venison steaks taste a bit better during the holidays.

Hunting Clover Plots | Tree Stand Strategies

Spring is in the air and chasing white-tailed deer is likely the last thing on your mind, however, the spring months offer those who have a passion for deer hunting an opportunity to fine-tune the placement and positions of their deer stands. Deer hunting is a sport that requires a “trial and error” approach in order to be successful. Just about the time you think you have checked all the boxes, and you have your tree stand placed perfectly, and you have done your due diligence to address all of the variables, something unforeseen arises and it is back to the drawing board. Though it may seem frustrating, the constant grind that comes with punching a tag only helps to make success even sweeter and often teaches us a thing or two that we can apply to future hunts.

Tree stand placement is often a product of two things, the type of area you are hunting (funnel, bedding area, food source, etc.) and the available cover that you have to place a tree stand. These are certainly the “big bucket” concepts that most white-tailed deer hunters tend to adhere to, however, not taking the time to truly analyze the circumstances can often lead to mistakes being made. Often, tree stand placement along with other aspects of your overall hunting strategy can be fine-tuned if you are willing to take the time to dive a little deeper into the “when” and “where”.

Tree Stand Placement Tips

Spring is food plot season, and as such, clover food plots are usually the first thing on hunter’s minds. For good reason! Clover plots, if placed and hunted correctly can serve as perfected kill plots. Take this tree stand placement and clover plot tips into consideration.

Not Every Set Is Created Equal

Would ever you wear football pads to a baseball game? Hopefully, the answer is no! The point is that both football and baseball are competitive sports that are very similar. They both involve a team, they both occur on a field, and they both utilize a ball. Though they are similar, they couldn’t be any more different. The same can be said for each of your tree stand sets. Though you are hunting white-tailed deer from each location and set, each location and set are different in its own way. If you make the mistake of treating each of your tree stands as if they are exactly like the other, then chances are you are missing opportunities to fine tune your tree stand placement and add to add a few more tally marks to your harvest totals at the end of the year.

The Devil is in the Details

Sometimes, identifying the differences between tree stand sets can be tough. For example, if you have tree stands placed in a wooded draw on one side of the property, and a tree stand placed in a wooded draw on the other side of the property, you might argue that there is nothing that separates the two from each other, and in some cases you would likely be correct. That said, the devil is often in the details so before you make your assumptions that all tree stands sets placed in similar cover types are the same, here are a few thoughts to keep in mind.

Timing

The old saying “timing is everything” is certainly true when it comes to how you place and when you hunt your tree stand. Certain sets may see very little activity during the early part of the season, but turn on during the rut or late season. Likewise, you may have certain areas of your property that deer do not specifically use all the time, however, will pass through during certain periods of the year. It is scenarios such as these that separate the wooded draw on the east side of the farm from the wooded draw on the west.

Cover

Placing a tree stand is one thing, and hunting from it is certainly another. Understanding the timing in regards to when certain tree stands sets will likely have the most activity and when food plots are attractive can help you understand what your needs will be in terms of concealment. For example, if you are hunting a travel lane food plot such as a funnel or wooded draw staging area, that is exposed between crop or CRP, then the overhead cover is likely at a premium. Additionally, of you have an area like this that you tend to spend more time in after leaf drop, then you may want to keep the saw in the pack and resist the urge to cut too many branches out of the way. It is important to have a shooting lane, however, concealment is equally so.

On the other hand, if you find yourself hunting an early season set when the trees are still in full canopy, then you can likely get away with far more trimming and even a little more movement while in the stand than you could later in the year. Though many white-tailed deer hunters will say that they consider these points while placing their tree stands, it is important to spend some time to really consider them. If you slow down and spend some time truly evaluate your surroundings and understand the “big picture”, you just be surprised at how your original location will slide to the back seat and something new will jump out in front.

Placement over Clover Plots

Deer hunting over a green browse plot such as a clover plot is truly a special thing. There is just something about seeing a white-tailed deer cast against the lush, green vegetation of a clover plot that can get the blood pumping in the chest of any deer hunter. Clover plots provide an excellent opportunity to not only see a lot of deer during the early part of the deer season but to also catch a big mature buck prior to the rut. Green browse such as clovers provide white-tailed deer with an unbelievable source of nutrition, and with little effort on the part of the hunter, can produce an immense amount of biomass, most clovers reaching from 2,000- 3,000 lbs per acre, to help feed a large number of deer on any given farm.

Hunting over a food source such as a clover plot may seem fairly straightforward, however, when it comes to tree stand placement over these areas it can be a little trickier than you might it might appear.

Is it Early Season Hunting?

Hunting over a clover plot is typically early to mid-season activity. These areas can still produce white-tailed deer activity at all times of the year, however, once the season turns colder deer will begin to seek out forages that are more suitable for the conditions. It is important to keep in mind the conditions that you will be faced with when hunting during the early season as you begin to identify potential tree stand locations. As was mentioned previously, the foliage during the early to middle part of the season tends to be fuller. This is both a positive and a negative. It is a positive in that you should have plenty of covers to help you stay hidden and concealed, however, keep your shooting lanes clear and open can sometimes be very problematic and require attention many times throughout the offseason. The spring months are an excellent time to get out and begin considering tree stand locations and evaluating your shooting lanes.

Entry and Exit

One of the positive aspects of hunting a food plot that consists of forages like clover is that while mornings and evenings are likely the most active feeding times, white-tailed deer can and will literally utilize these areas at almost any point during the day. This unpredictability can also be a negative, as it can put extra emphasis on your entry and exit strategy. It is always important to have a way in and a way out of your stand that will keep you quiet and concealed. With a food plot such as a clover plot, this certainly the case, and then some. White-tailed deer will not only utilize these areas at any given point during the day but often will bed close by if suitable cover exists. It can be very challenging to make your way into these areas without bumping deer if you have neglected to do your legwork up front. Additionally, if and when you find yourself enjoying an evening hunt over a clover plot, be prepared to stay until last light. White-tailed deer, especially if they are unpressured, will tend to spend the majority of the evening in these plots, which can make it exceptionally difficult to exit without being seen. This helps to further emphasize the importance of an entry and exit strategy when hunting over your clover plot.

Scent Control

When placing a tree stand, a good rule of thumb is to not be any higher than you absolutely need to be. The height of tree stand is often a result of the location, the time of year it will be hunting and the concealment that is available. During the early season months, temperatures will often still be on the warm side. These humid conditions can greatly increase even the slightest odor, and can quickly cause you to be pinpointed. Early season food plots such as clover plots are areas where you may consider increasing the height of your set if that is an option. Increasing the height of your tree stand will help you with your scent control efforts, in addition to increasing your visibility. Just remember that there is no second chance for safety first, so always use a harness no matter if you are hunting from 10’ or 25’, a fall from a tree stand is serious so treat it as such.

Edge Effect

When it comes to deer hunting over clover plots, there is no question about where the deer prefer to be, and that is often the center of the plot. This is often the result of a couple of factors, the first being what is known as the “edge effect”. The edge effect is a term that applies the edges of a food plot or crop field being less productive than they middle or center of the plot. This is typically caused by either a fertility issue or as a result of the nearby trees either shading out the clover or simply outcompeting the clover for nutrients. The key factor here is that this, ensuring that you have your tree stand set within shooting distance of the major entry and/or exit point of the plot is important. Often, white-tailed deer will head straight for the most productive area of the clover plot, and if you are not ready to strike quickly, you may have to result to simply watching deer rather than shooting one.

If you take a few these tips into consideration it will likely help you to not only recognize factors variables related to tree stand placement that perhaps you had not in the past, but they will certainly help you to be more successful in the white-tailed deer woods this fall.

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Food Plots in the Woods? Are They Worth it?