What seed for a small kill plot with high traffic?

Hey guys,

I have a 1/4 acre plot behind my cabin that my grandparents sit over for the WI deer season that I’m having a tough time determining what to plant. The plot is not very big at all and even when I go with something that isn’t palatable until after the a hard frost, most of the forage is long gone come mid November.

I would like to find something thats easy to plant using minimal equipment, but will grow in a well drained soil as well. My PH is pretty good and the plot recieves ample sunlight. I just cant find that perfect crop that will grow well in these conditions, yet produce enough forage to keep the deer coming in later in the season.

Any reccomendations?

ShotPlot by Evolved Harvest (Brassica & Turnips)…Grew great for me last year in my kill plot. I plan on planted a larger plot with this again this year.

My favorite has been Bio Logic Maximum. This year I am going to try Frigid Forage Big-N-Beasty Brassicas

Bottem line is your not going to find a happy median with the limited amount of space and maxium amount of deer a route to look into would be some kindof plot saver or galliger fencing to keep the plot plush until the 3 days before you want the old folks to make their kill!! good luck and shot plot as mentioned would be an awsome seed selection for this plot!

Thanks for the insight guys.

As much as I didn’t want to go this route, I think i’m gonna have to fence in the area as reccommended.

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Thanks for the insight guys.

As much as I didn’t want to go this route, I think i’m gonna have to fence in the area as reccommended.

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here is a link from another site that seems to work well
http://www.outreachoutdoors.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=3444

If you do decide to fence it, A good stand of soybeans would be a great choice! Cheap and easy to maintain But the best thing about them is that the deer love them come mid November

Before going to all the work of fencing, how about just trying soybeans (no fence — and regular beans, not forage beans…) and see what happens?

Worst case, the deer browse the beans down while growing, and you learned your lesson for next year. (But you might have a killer bowstand, possibly)

Best case, they browse the tops a bit, but otherwise let the bean plants develop normally. The beans turn brown in August/Sept, and the deer (as they usually do) leave them alone until other green food sources are getting low – November ish. They would hopefully start hitting the brown beans again right at the right time….

Worth a shot, and you’d only lose a year trying it. On the positive side, if it worked, you just saved a bunch of time, effort and money that you would have spent on fencing the plot.

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Before going to all the work of fencing, how about just trying soybeans (no fence — and regular beans, not forage beans…) and see what happens?

Worst case, the deer browse the beans down while growing, and you learned your lesson for next year. (But you might have a killer bowstand, possibly)

Best case, they browse the tops a bit, but otherwise let the bean plants develop normally. The beans turn brown in August/Sept, and the deer (as they usually do) leave them alone until other green food sources are getting low – November ish. They would hopefully start hitting the brown beans again right at the right time….

Worth a shot, and you’d only lose a year trying it. On the positive side, if it worked, you just saved a bunch of time, effort and money that you would have spent on fencing the plot.

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I’m not real optimistic that there will be anything left by mid November But Like you said not much to lose. If they browse them real bad I would just broadcast Shot plot Brassicas or Biologic maximum right into the soybeans in late july and you should have a good stand of brassicas in about 6 weeks

Have you thought of possibly using one of the deterrent sprays? I know our local hardware store carries it. Just a liquid you mix with water and spray over the plants. Deer don’t like the taste of it and they wont touch the stuff. It eventually it wears off over time. You would only have to spray a few times on a late planted brassica plot. And being you are talking small size you could easily do it with a hand pump sprayer, and alot less work then fencing. Few times ive used the stuff it has worked. Just an idea….?

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Have you thought of possibly using one of the deterrent sprays? I know our local hardware store carries it. Just a liquid you mix with water and spray over the plants. Deer don’t like the taste of it and they wont touch the stuff. It eventually it wears off over time. You would only have to spray a few times on a late planted brassica plot. And being you are talking small size you could easily do it with a hand pump sprayer, and alot less work then fencing. Few times ive used the stuff it has worked. Just an idea….?

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That would definitely be worth a try