I now have established 7 food plots.  1 large plot in clover, which should grow for about 5 years.  The other 6 are mixes of annual plants, mostly throw and grow commercially bagged seeds.

My question is, what do I do next?  I guess my spring plantings will start to die off in the fall.  When do I plant fall plantings?  can I just over seed?   Should I kill off the spring stuff and till the ground?  

I would like to have a year round grow cycle for keeping my deer around.

Thanks

Tom

I can get a machine into my food plot areas, but its much easier and less work to just take a rake and hoe back there and clean it up, scratch the soil and reseed.

Growing Deer TV


This is a good show, episode 393 talks about maximizing food output on your plots.

Alice, Kopu II, Durana (or comparable) white clover 10% of plot
-sow at 6#'s per acre with the rye combination in the fall or in the spring with oats and berseem clover.

Brassicas in 45% of plot  
Plant in mid to late July in most Midwest states, or 60-90 days before your first killing frost, Use 200#'s of 46-0-0 urea and 400#'s of 6-28-28 per acre.
Follow the dead brassicas with oats and berseem/crimson clover in mid spring at 60#'s oats and 12-15#'s berseem clover and/or crimson and/or 50#'s of chickling vetch)
-Purple Top Turnips 3#
-Dwarf Essex Rape 2#
-GroundHog Forage radish 5#

Cereal Grain combo in 45% of plot
We use 50# each rye, oats and peas along with radish and clover seed all planted in half of each feeding area
Plant in late August to early September. If following well fertilized brassicas use 100 - 200#'s of urea, if starting a new plot add 400#'s of 6-28-28 but for best results soil test and add only what is necessary.
-Winter rye 50-80#'s per acre (56#'s = a bushel)
-Spring oats 50-120#'s per acre (32#'s = a bushel)
-Frostmaster Winter Peas or 4010/6040 Forage peas 20-80#'s per acre
-Red Clover 8-12#'s per acre or white clover at 6#'s per acre
-Groundhog Forage Radish 5#'s per acre

Rotate the brassicas and rye combo each year

You can choose to Throw & Mow (Google it), Throw and Roll, No-Till Drill, Drill & kill, Drill & Mow, etc.  Whatever method works for you based on the tools you have to work with.