I love coming out with my annual best food plot planting mix, and 2023 is no exception. After nearly 30 years of experimenting with food plot mixes and working with nearly 1500 clients across the country to attain their food plot, soil, wildlife and herd building dreams…here is the best food plot mix strategy I have currently created….
You know it's crazy I've been creating These best food plot mix videos and then Articles for about 10 years now so they Go back a long ways if you just type in 2015 best food plot mix or blend I'm Going all the way up and even Dylan and I were just talking about uh one of the Ones we did I I've done these on a Whiteboard I've done them out in the Field and I like to go through through Some very specific points of what I feel Is the best for you to plant even how Much and why And so I want to answer some some really Good questions for you I'm very pointed And so I think on the Whiteboard is Probably most effective for it to go Through and list these things out but I Think it was 2016 it could have been 2017 Dylan you're thinking 16. yep Um where we did a blast food plot blend Mix and planting and uh I actually Planted in a thunderstorm and the the Clouds in Wisconsin just it was crazy They opened up we had a huge storm come In and I wanted to finish my planting in The rain and as I've done a lot of times Even on an ATV in the up I planted in Some bad storms it's not what I Encourage you to do it's just sometimes That's what it's worked out for me where I want to plant before rain you see all Of a sudden it's starting to explode now We'll get that seed on the ground and so
It's so critical this time of year that You plan you're planting with moisture In the forecast and of course you've Taken care of your weeds you have that Soil you have those conditions to get a Good seed bed and uh and you've amended The soil we use plot start plot Boost After it's growing lime to improve the PH there's a lot of things you can do to Actually get everything prepared but When it comes down to what to plant That's what we're going to talk about And back then it was thunderstorms right Next to the window and talking about That whole mix and we're going to go Through a little bit more stress free Today and a little bit more relaxed and Make sure you're on target for this year Because these strategies these planting Methods and what I do I really start Coming up with these over you know 25 Years ago written about them they're in My books food plot web class which you Can look for in the description the Bottom line is these are tried and true Practices and strategies I developed on My own long ago and I really want them To help you and for you to understand Those and how I I change those up every Single year and it really could change For you I don't like seeing that you Should I can't stand if anyone online Tells you have to plant this they're Probably trying to sell you something or
They just don't have the knowledge to Know otherwise because as we'll discuss And I've discussed before in these Videos whether you're in Big Woods mixed Egg or light AG or heavy AG There really is a big difference for What you need to plant in your area and How much we'll discuss that I want to Talk about number one though And then we'll flip over to a little Diagram I have here but number one What's the goal Of you planting each year You know it seems like sometimes Nowadays people have a goal of improving The soil folks you can work on the soil For 50 years the bottom line is you need To actually create a great place for Deer to be attracted to if you're going To have offer attraction for the entire Season then you have the opportunity to Build a hunt around that I think a lot Of people don't understand what it takes To build a hunt and actually hunt and Improve and have and hunt at a high Level So really what they have left is just Improve the habitat and there's a lot of People out there talking about that But I want to see you guys actually Plant food plots and create and that Goes along with creating habitat Improvements on your land and making Improvements and planting food plots
That actually help you help you build a Great herb because that's why you bought The land in the first place did you buy Land just so you can improve soil no but You can do both you can flip them back And forth flip them around you never Need to sacrifice one for the other you Can go back to my up Michigan days just Rotating buckwheat and Rye mixing Clover And Brass into that and then again a Layer of rye back and forth improve my Soil hundreds of times over with just in A few two or three year period of time I Publish that in quality whitetails in The qdma just look up improving bad Soils or improving poor soils online and You can find that you can find that link You can take a look at that article look At the points per million parts per Million that changed how the pH changed There's a lot you can do to your soil And still offer some food plot strategy In fact food plot strategy and hunting Strategy and building a herd that should Come first And then you improve the soil while You're doing it some people are Improving the soil and they're Forgetting about actually doing anything For the herd or Haunter so they're just Kind of wasting your time I mean buy the Property improve soil a bottom line is You have to have attraction for the Entire season diversity for the entire
Season And volume good volume because if if you Lack volume be a great attraction it's Not going to last for the season if you Don't have diversity you're not going to Have volume the three work together they Work together to reach your Whitetail Goals whether turd building hunting Building you can't have one without the Other can't have a great herd without a Great hunt the bottom line is you need To look at these right here and what That boils down to for me and this has Been for many years this is a food plot Pyramid you have to have the green base This is number one By far you have to have a green base That's the base of every food plot Program I even see people around here That might have 1500 Acres 2 000 Acres 900 Acres 700 Acres where they do they Plant a bunch of corn and beans and call It a day that doesn't give them the Ability to build a herd because beans Are very specific to the early season a Lot of times they get munched down with High deer populations especially on Large parcels If you have small food plots you're Going to get knocked down to nothing so The great thought is while they're going To be there in the early season and then The deer magically leave them alone and They're still standing in December
That's not the way it works 90 percent Of the time most of the time those beans Don't make it to the season I recommend beans planting a portion of The time but I don't recommend planting Beans all the time to all clients in Fact it'd probably be more like 10 15 Depends on their situation corn I might Recommend 20 25 percent of the time We'll have a deer specific corn variety We offer next year that's what our goal Is we're testing it right now But it might be twenty percent of the Time 15 25 depending on the year and Depending on the clients that I'm going To Green Basil all the time 100 of time you Can use a green base to achieve Attraction diversity and volume for the Entire season you cannot with corn you Cannot with beans and you cannot with Both of them together It takes more than that it takes more Thought it takes more strategy that's Why I want to take you guys to the next Level and so I come out with these Videos each year Mixed egg let's just talk about the Amount of food you need mixed egg it's More of a balanced amount what I mean by That is deer have the complement of Other food sources in the area Especially AG Fields Alfalfa Fields Whatever it might be typically most AG
Fields the climate's not that bad the Soils are better so they have better Native habitat and vegetation so six Acres that lasts in an AG Rich area with Mixed Woods that 40 60 50 70 30 blend of Whatever it is of fields and woods and AG Fields whatever that mix is that six Acres of food in that location is going To last an entire season or Five months or four months three months Whatever it might be you put that in a Up north location With one-third as many deer Because you don't have the complement of Other food sources around and the deer Are hitting it five times in a 24-hour Period because they feed five times in a 24-hour period the Rhythm and pattern Feeders then the deer eat it down to the Dirt and there's nothing left and that's Why when we get into Big Woods you need Twice as much food to last the same Amount of time in as in a mixed AG Region and a lot of times the soils Around is good so you're not getting the Volume you might not necessarily be able To plant the diversity and so what I Plant in mix dag I plant a lot of you Know there's decent number of deer They're decent cover I plant a lot of Brassica blends with peas sometimes oats Wheat Rye radish turnip there's a lot of Different green Blends you can put Together to actually create something if
It's on Sandy soils might add batch Buckwheat more Rye into that type of Mixture so really You know I want that green I want brass On one side I want green blend on the Other a lot of times I'll top dress that Green blend with Rye later very very Important in a mixed egg area in Big Woods that Brassica blend that made it In a mixed egg area could be down to the Dirt oh boy soybeans might not even make It till August so I'm looking at layers Of rye wheat oats peas we have a sandy Soil extreme blend a lot of northern Areas with bad soil so you're looking at What kind of again what's the most Amount of Attraction diversity and Volume I can get on my plots to last the Longest amount of time It's not going to be the same planting For everybody so when you get up north I'm focusing more on cereal grains maybe Late summer planted buckwheat the first Frost is going to take it out but it'll Be good before then oats and peas those Are all pretty good for those drier Sandy soil mixes and if you've improved The soil if you have a lot of plots if You're approaching those big Acres then Maybe a brass could blend will work for You if you have better soils I know in The up of Michigan for an eight and a Half acres for 10 years I learned that Brass wouldn't make it till middle of
October early November no matter what I Did because it was poor soil I didn't Get a lot of volume Frost came early and Even though there weren't a lot of deer They ate it down in the dirt because it Was only a game in town So again what I planted down I'd come Down here to Southwest Wisconsin I'd Plant those green blends of cereal Grains on one side and peas oh boy we Tried all kinds of stuff back in the day We tried Sun hemp you know products that People put into mixes now that we know Don't work or won't make it because they Deer eat it down in the dirt a bottom Line is always searching for that best Green blend so I'd plant one thing in The up in Michigan in 2004 I planted Something completely different down here At different timing down in Southwest Wisconsin so you see when we go from one Client to another even five miles down The road because of planting resources Number of deer percentage of AG Woods or Open Fields to Woods Equipment it can Change just five miles down the road From one one to another let alone state To state region to region that's why we Spend about two hours with our clients Every every time Dylan's sitting here Right now I don't know if you go into 80 Clients or 80 Days in the field whatever It is this year but a lot of our time on All those days is devoted to what has
Worked for you with your food plots This is what you should plant what are Your resources how many acres can you Maintain do you have the time to Maintain these we come up with a Prescription for success But a lot of people are different from One there's some constants especially When you look at type habitat for Example when you get into heavy AG Heavy AG you don't need a lot of food Plot because there's so much other food In the area and those AG rich areas mean Really good soils and so we're a lot of Times on small wood Lots then because There's not a lot of cover so we're Using food to direct traffic now if you Have the space great but you're looking At more peas a high attraction Brassica Blends Nebraska blend you might need to Add 25 pounds of beans per acre 50 Pounds of peas per acre to sweeten Nebraska so they like it you always put Brassco alongside Greens like cereal grains peas we add Tillage radish to that sometimes late Planted buckwheat But I want that green blend there to Make it and make it through the entire Season and and that's critical we want To match the attraction of the area too We need a higher traction green In a heavy AG area This makes sense you have a lower
Attraction green and a big Big Woods Arab you don't have competition So you're looking again at volume what Can I get to last for the entire season The most attraction the most diversity And if your attraction is too high in a Big Woods area you're not going to have Enough volume to make it through the Season I hope that makes sense so that Really changes from one to the other We like to split our plots In our holding plots what's a holding Plot I don't like destination plot people use That term but AG fields around here Destination plots those are plots That deer go to after Dark So I don't want to have one of those on My property I don't want to feed deer After dark let the neighbors do that let The neighbors do that in your area in Fact I want to hold them until dark and Then let them go to somewhere else They're coming from my property Going to my food plots holding till dark And then leaving that's the time I want Them to leave I don't want them coming From my neighbor's plots getting to my Plots at dark that means I failed so on Those big holding plots I want to split Them in half meaning If Your pod is like this Then I'm going to split that right down
The middle and I'm going to have a Northish half and a southerly halves Something like that and If I'm in this mixed egg area a lot of Times I'm putting brass on one side Because that gives me a huge amount of Volume Around August 1st early August if you're Down in Tennessee that might be third Week of August West Virginia might be middle of August Louisiana might be September 1st but Bottom line is from north to south up Here in the north we're doing that end Of July August 1st all the way down to September 1st down to the South but I Want that brass on one side if the deer Have trouble eating it which they do in About five ten percent of all areas That volume it's good for them it Provides good moisture I don't think sometimes you have to Teach them to eat it I think you have to Plan it right meaning that if deer do Not or hesitant to hit Nebraska in your Area then add 25 pounds of soybeans per Acre 50 pounds of peas maybe both That'll sweeten that plot but it all Starts too by having an attractive green Base blend on the other side So I've shied away from using oats like I Did in the past because those oats get Large stemmy and they can take over so
Say for example a mix it has peas and Beans in it if you want to put enough Peas and beans out there you have to put Too many oats so the oats choke Everything out and so what we did in the Past is we'd cut it by adding another 50 Pounds of peas per acre adding a little Buckwheat on the top a little bit of Tillage radish so we diminish the amount Of oats in the mix We don't do that anymore now they own a Seed company I just don't add the oats In there to begin with and that's a good Thing if I want to add oats I want to Add that a cold hardy oat more on Labor Day with Rye I want a top dress set I Can add cold hearty peas at that time But bottom line is I'm putting that Green blend a little bit of tillage Radish because it's a Brassica but not a Very high percentage so we put tillage Radish in there Late planted buckwheat Heavy amount of peas maybe some vatch Deer vac so that it's attractive it jump Starts really quick all those can be Thrown down in the ground you need Minimal amount of tillage to get it to Grow And also are not very soil specific they Take off pretty quick so we'll put Something like that that has more candy Crops like the peas like the late Planted buckwheat do you love eating
That right away takes pressure off the Brassica side you develop that volume And you have diversity something a Little bit more slated to early in the Season Something more mid-season and then we Layer that rye about four to five weeks After we plant the green blend so not on The Nebraska side but on the green blend Side add Rye about 150 to 200 pounds per Acre Four to five weeks which around here is Gonna be early September And then I'm killing that out the Following year when it's 18 24 inches Tall because I don't want to grow to Five six feet tall Take over everything that takes years to Break down in your soil and you're Actually you're actually behind by doing That so you want to kill when it's 18 20 Inches tall it's a perfect time to do so Leave yourself some good thatch for Holding some moisture helps compete with Weeds in the spring and then you let it Die and you replant into it a lot of Times you're using a buckwheat rotation We use my ultimate no-till planting Method a lot so before we even get to This point we're putting buckwheat in The ground when it gets around thigh High to waist high at most we're Spreading the brass down one half the Green blend in the other
We're smashing it all down with our Packer Max we're spraying it at the same Time why do you spray it did you know You can mold buckwheat so when you mow Buckwheat it comes back when you crush Buckwheat it's the only thing that'll Lay flat it grows back we don't want it To grow back in that volume because it's Going to out-compete some of the smaller Seeds like Brassica and maybe we're Putting a clover base in there which I'll talk about in a second It'll all compete that it'll shade it Out so even if it's shade teller like Rye or Clover it still can be shaded out By something else Brassica which is a Sun-loving full sun kneading plant will Shade out Rye which is a shade tolerant Plant if it's older and the rise younger The brass School get up it'll establish It'll shade it out and kill it and I've Seen that there's one of those mistakes Learn from my mistakes Um and try not to repeat them the bottom Line is we're splitting those plots we Have that diversity on both sides I'm Adding the Rye about four to five weeks Later maybe we'll add a cold hearty oat Or a cold hardy P at that time but not Until that time because we don't want it To take over we already have peas in the Mix so that's for the holding plots now When we get into which a holding plot to Me is usually anywhere from a half acre
Three quarters and acre on up Hunting plots are more a tenth of an Acre quarter acre on down eighth of an Acre something like that A lot of times I like a clover base for The hunting plots that establishes a Pattern of use all summer long It's not big enough To hold a bunch of does and fawns an Army there waiting and holding on your Property all summer they'll go somewhere Else because it's small and confined But when mature Box come through they Like that Clover they find it in June July August is randomly coming through Your property they remember that for Later in the season and it sets up that Perfect hunting plot where you just want Them to nibble a little and pass through You're trying to work on volume take Care of your weeds take care of your Soils again plot start plot boost Fertilize as needed recommended and uh And then you have great volume on that Going through the season at a mock Scrape nearby with a stand location and That is perfect we also complement that With a water hole on 100 yards on either Side so that we're defining that use They hit the water hole they go to the Hunting plot and then you have different Stands for different times you might Hunt a water hole more morning the Hunting pot more in the afternoon but
Gives you complimentary stand locations Again there's a lot of strategy to this It's not just plant something pretty It's green and you'll win that's not the Way it works so on our clover base for Hunting plots we have a dual threat 365 The Dual threat combines Clover and Brassica we learned long ago meaning two Decades ago they don't put big bulbs in When you're putting Clover in the mix because those are all Holes where Clover is not going to grow The following year you want to take most Of the bulbs out you can have a little Bit five percent ten percent at the most You take that those big bulbs out put That clover in put almost a full base of Clover almost a full base of Brassica And it creates a great Clover crop for The following year you're establishing It planting at the time for the cool Season annual what does that mean it Means if you're putting it in time for Nebraska you're planning around August 1st and you're throwing your full Clover Amount as it is a base that established At a time when weeds are dying moisture Is on the increase you get another shot Of moisture in the spring and that Clover will withstand the worst drought That mother nature can throw at the Following year it won't a lot of times Like this year if you plant in the Spring we've had terrible drought this
Year So fall planted Clover is awesome now if You're planting the green blend let's Say you're planting a pea and oat mix You're you're coming to the season we'll Talk about that a little bit late Pea and oat mix can be great around Labor Day around here Heavy peas light oats you could actually Put a clover base in there you can add Our perennial plot power in that mix With peas and oats The pizza notes die out over the winter Time you're left with pure Clover the Following year when do you plant it you Plan out the timing for the peas and Oats which is early September not early August Again you don't even think about you're Throwing the clover as a base don't even Think about the timing for the Clover You're thinking about the timing of the Cool season annual which is either the Brassica the plant in early August to End of August depending on where you're At early August Late July North all the Way down to Louisiana September 1st Somewhere in that mix is where you plant Or you're planting early September to October depending on where you're at in That mix and just throwing the Clover Down as a base that's what I do in all My hunting plots so even if you tried to Plant Clover the spring just smoke it
All out if you have weed problems and Didn't grow this year you can still Start over and it's actually a better Time to plant that's what I have to do On a few of my pots this year it's Actually a better time to do that right Now Late plantings late comers to the food Plot game you just got your food plots Done That's what I'm looking at Labor Day To sometime in September Labor Day North Even if I had to go all the way into October 1st in the up Michigan I've had A great success with 300 pounds of Winter eye per acre it germinated with Melting snow about a week after the snow On October 1st and it had a great catch Of Rye you want a low Lush stand then Because you're not going to get a lot of Stems Breakers you want it low and Lush That's why you plant 300 pounds per acre If I was planting in that same area I Like layering right go middle of August First week of September last week of September 100 pounds 100 pounds 100 Pounds that's a great way to layer and Thicken the stand but you're not putting All your eggs into one basket as far as Heavy heavy Rye early where the deer Don't like it they feed down through the Older ride to get to the younger ride It's a great approach But bottom line is there's a lot you can
Do late We like the cold hardy oats and peas and Then combine that with 100 pounds of Rye Per acre great great mix something I Came up with many years ago that's what We did when we came down to Wisconsin in 03 040506 is combine those put them Together oats peas rye and then we'd Follow up with Rye later if we needed to Around October 1st to thicken the stand But that was a great late food source Late planting that we would still have Something green and oh by the way that Rye or wheat is available in the spring So you get a lot of life in that spring Before spring Greenup before Alfalfa Wakes up before Clover that rye will be Green and standing straight and tall and Available for brows two to four weeks Before anything else and that's the most Often missed time in the Whitetail wood So not only is that rye building your Soil And smothering weeds going into the Following year on that half year plot That you plant it maybe your Nebraska Field maybe you've covered up the Nebraska portion October 1st with 300 Pounds of Rye per acre the bottom line Is it's smothering weeds the next year It's offering food source all the way Out throughout the season Obviously if nothing else lasted that's
Your best bet then because it's still Green it's still there you never want to Have a dirt field going into the spring And then you have that for a smother Crop of weeds and building the soil for The following year so there's a lot you Can do late And of course Rye is the ultimate food Plot Salvage if all else fails you have All these plans right here and I'll tell You these plans are fairly foolproof You know ultimate no-till Where you look that up but when you're Putting buckwheat during the summer time If you have drought you're going to have A failure if the deer eats down in the Dirt it's pretty hard to Spread seed into it flatten it with our Packer Max spray onto it And get it to have that thatch layer Above the seed and get good germination Always Rye So as late as October 1st in the north And even end of October in the South you Can go up to 300 pounds per acre let's Say you're in Central Indiana It's mid-september I would use more like 200 pounds per acre just Salvage plot And if it's mid-october I'd use 300 Pounds and kind of slide that in between Somewhere and again I always take care Of it the following year So bottom line those are some of the you Know Blended in some of the things we're
Doing this year especially with whs Wildlife plans a lot of you don't aren't Aware that we started a seed company a Year ago and uh now kid in a candy store Type thing I've Practiced and I've experimented I've Written about created videos written Books web classes about food plots Spoken person for many many years 20 Years you know as far as just even being Out in the public eye with teaching People how to plant food plots we Started the food plot company a year ago It's been a huge success we've shipped Seed to almost 50 States now and we have A full-time individual two full-time Individuals working for the seed company Um and I try to answer all the questions Through the people that work in the seed Industry General West And uh it's really something we live Every day And I have for decades and now we put it Into our own seed company and I hope you Can appreciate it and the work and the Experience and the decades that have Gone into what we bring you today Because I get to pick my seeds I get to Do exactly what I want with the seed Company I don't have anyone you know Because in the past I tell someone this They do this now it's all on me I love putting those mixes together a Kitchen table with our seat wholesaler
Coming up with the names and Descriptions so I hope you can Appreciate that the link is in the Description For the 2023 best food plot mix what is It well Depends on if you're in mixed egg Big Woods heavy AG what your resources and Equipment are bottom line is remember This food plot pyramid it's so critical I came up with this years ago it's Really really critical but it all boils Down to attraction diversity and volume For the entire season with no gaps That'll start with this green blend we Actually have corn out here that we use But we have the space to do so we don't Use corn in Wisconsin Just 50 minutes away Same type of deer Different size property different amount Of food plots so we don't use corn over There that's something we might sell It's because I sell it doesn't mean you Should use it doesn't mean we even use It depends on the property and I hope You can see what works for one property Doesn't work for another and vice versa Even if your neighbors And I hope you can have that flexibility And recognize that need for diversity Volume and attraction going into your Food plot season in 2023 and we can't Wait to bring you some of the changes
And things we'll do for next year that We're experimenting with this year in 2024 and Beyond you can again look at All these food plot mixes and kind of Understand that strategy for each year Going back many years and I hope you Hope it keeps you on track to having Great food plots most of all great hunt Safe hunt and a great herd this fall hey Folks I really appreciate you watching And I want to invite you to check out Our main website whitetailhabitat Solutions.com I'm going to miss all these but we have Seed to offer hats articles web classes Books consultations and even a new Podcast I think we have 17 podcasts out There right now for you to listen to so We have a lot to offer most of all if You don't want to buy anything I'm going To keep offering free videos free Articles we have over 600 articles on The site and most of all thank you very Much for watching reading listening Being a part of white habitat Solutions If you want to check this stuff out Awesome links are in the description