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Late season question!

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Iowagiants90

New Member
i know its only march but some questions were coming to me as i think about what i will be leaving next season for my late season food source! now to all you late season addicts what do u think i should plant? and how many acres do u think i will need! Another question i have is how far will you pull deer granted u are the only food source around! anything else u may add would be nice! love to hear your stories! AND BRING ON A SNOWY COLD LATE MUZZY SEASON! PRAYING!
 
If you're looking for a late muzzleloader food source and only plan to plant one thing, I'd go with RR soybeans. An acre or 2 would be great if it's available. Good luck :way:

NWBuck
 
Beans are by far the best but depending on your deer density you may not get a chance to hunt over the beans if the deer wipe them out. You'd be wise to plant a variety for some insurance. Maybe plant half of your available space in beans and the other half in rye, radishes, and turnips.
 
I agree with soy beans if you only want to plant one crop. When the weather turns cold and snow hits the ground the deer just pound the beans. But they will also eat the beans during the summer so if possible I would plant two or three food sources in the one plot. On a couple of my farms i plants clover/chicory, brassicas, and soy beans all in the same plot (usually in strips). This way the deer eat the clover in spring and summer, brassicas fall-early winter, and then soy beans when the weather get harsh. You have less of each food source this way but the consumption of the plot takes place at different times allowing one plot to last all year. It also makes patterning deer a lot easier because they travel to one plot all year rather than switching plots every time the season changes. My idea is to change there pattern only a couple yards 20-40yds) rather than couple hundred yards if that makes sense.
 
SEIowaDeerslayer said:
Beans are by far the best but depending on your deer density you may not get a chance to hunt over the beans if the deer wipe them out. You'd be wise to plant a variety for some insurance. Maybe plant half of your available space in beans and the other half in rye, radishes, and turnips.
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We tried beans in 3 smaller (1/3-1/2 acre) food plots around the farm last year. Deer ate them to the ground before they had a chance! Followed up with a couple different food plot mixes toward fall, but was too dry to get that to grow.

How big of food plots do you need to have enough food that they don't wipe it out early?
 
StickersNKickers said:
We tried beans in 3 smaller (1/3-1/2 acre) food plots around the farm last year. Deer ate them to the ground before they had a chance! Followed up with a couple different food plot mixes toward fall, but was too dry to get that to grow.

How big of food plots do you need to have enough food that they don't wipe it out early?
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That depends on how many deer you have in the area and how abundant soy beans are in your area. If you have light deer pressure and beans close to you 1/2 acre - one acre would probably be fine but if your the only one with beans and have quite a few deer your gunna need probably 2+ acres to keep them for late season. This is why I plant three food sources in one plot. While the beans and brassicas are growing the clover is in it's prime so they pretty much leave the brassicas and beans alone and eat the clover. And vise versa as the season goes on. You plant less of each of the clover, brassicas, and beans then if you were to plant one plot of each but they mature at different times which allows others to grow while one source is being eaten.
 
I plant 2 acres of soy beans as a harvest plot for my wife to hunt SG & late muzzy over. I broadcast some rye when the leaves drop. I'm surrounded by many acres of row crops so the deer graze my beans only sparingly while they are green. I have some other plots too but the surrounding crop ground is the main reason the deer don't bother my beans too much while growing. After all the surrounding crops are harvested & the weather turns really nasty, the deer HAMMER the beans. They may only last 3 or 4 weeks and be gone by Christmas if it gets nasty early. If it's mild as in 2011-2012, they graze the rye but don't hit the beans hard at all and they may last all year.
 
Corn is king!!! I'd take corn any day over any other late season food source. Problem is.....more expensive to grow and harder to keep it around until late season.
 
I've consistently hunted over standing corn, standing beans, and brassicas plots the last 3 years.

To be honest, I don't know if I like one more than another. A lot depends on the area it is planted, and obviously how well they come in.

IMO- if everything was perfect, and grew just as you expected, I feel like I would rather be over a standing bean field rather than corn or brassicas.

Tough call though! I'd just make sure that whatever you decide to do, to do it right!
 
Turnips and beans. Corn is nice, but a waste of money as its usually gone so fast.

If you have the room a good mix of both. The turnips are a must, in case they hammer the beans they should still be around. Its worked for me for the last few years. And I'll be doing it again.
 
vman said:
If you have the room a good mix of both. The turnips are a must, in case they hammer the beans they should still be around. Its worked for me for the last few years. And I'll be doing it again.
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That's precisely what happened to us this year. 4 acres of standing beans that were decimated by the 1st of August- disced half under, fertilized, planted a brassica mix.....they came up great and were an awesome attractant in December/Jan.
 
I'm all for the beans and greens. On our farm the deer walk right past the standing corn to get to the standing beans. If you have beans and turnips they will have plenty of tonnage in the turnips if they hammer out the beans.
 
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