Ani-Logics Outdoors

The number one question I get asked here at Ani-Logics is this:  What is the best thing to plant in my food plot?  The answer is just like your grandpa’s underpants:  DEPENDS!  Is the plot in full sun or in the shade?  Is this a large recruitment plot or a small kill plot?  Does this area have wet soil, or does it dry quickly and is mostly sandy soil?  Is the pH good enough to plant sensitive species like clover?  Are you looking to attract deer right away in the early season or would you rather bring them in for the later parts of the hunting season?  These are all fair questions to ask, but after many years of helping people find the answer, here is a simple and effective recipe to equally divide your plots this next growing season to MAXIMIZE DIVERSITY:

25% of acres, spring planted, perennial
Choose between: Clover plus Alfalfa, Holy Clover, Pro Clover, or Clover plus Chicory

25% of acres, spring planted, annual
Choose between:  Pro Bean Blend, Fixin’ Clover, Summer Crush, or Pro Sugar Beets

25% of acres, fall planted, perennial
Choose between:  Clover plus Alfalfa, Holy Clover, Pro Clover, or Clover plus Chicory

25% of acres, fall planted, annual
Choose between:  The Perfect 10, Amazin’ Grains, Pro Brassica Blend, Fixin’ Clover, or Caveman Blend

This will work nearly everywhere because no matter what you plant, something will like where it was planted.  You have basically carpet bombed your food plots with enough diversity that the seeds will show you who likes it best in that location.

What you do from there is up to you, but I would put utilization cages in each plot and figure out what deer are eating the most.

Here in Minnesota, my test plot winners looked like this:

Spring planted perennial = Clover plus Alfalfa

Spring planted annual = Pro Bean Blend
(picture taken Oct 3 in Minnesota, still very green and attractive)

Fall planted perennial = Pro Clover

Fall planted annual = The Perfect 10

If I were hunting early season, I would sit over whatever plot had a shooter on it, which is most likely the Pro Clover or Clover plus Alfalfa.  Any of these 4 blends will be attractive this time of year, and the Pro Bean Blend will be a good early-season option because many of the beans stay green, late into the growing season.  If it were the middle part of the season, I would sit over The Perfect 10 if it was cold and over the Pro Clover or Clover plus Alfalfa if it were warm.  If it were the late season, I would hunt over the standing Pro Bean Blend or The Perfect 10.  Ani-Logics Outdoors owner’s son, Nick, shot his biggest buck in late season using our plot of The Perfect 10.

You might find your deer herd prefers another combination of plots, so give something of ours a try and your deer will help you decide what to plant more of next year. 

Diversity is key for making sure your plot is used more than anyone else in the neighborhood.  With this strategy, you basically have diversity times 4 because each of the parts has a mixture.  Even the Pro Bean Blend which is all soybeans is a blend of 5 different maturities, so they will be at slightly different stages throughout the growing season.    

As always, if you have any questions about food plots or anything deer nutrition-related, feel free to reach out to us on our Contact Us page here on the website or through our social media outlets.

Happy plot planning everyone!