Plants Grown to be Eaten
Today’s hunters and wildlife managers demand highly attractive, nutritious, and productive food plots — and that’s exactly what Evolved delivers. With access to the nation’s top wildlife biologists and agronomists, Evolved undergoes rigorous seed selection and mixing to create a wide range of food plot options to meet almost any possible need. Individual seeds are hand-selected based on ease of establishment, production, cold and drought tolerance, palatability, nutrition, and browse resistance. This results in mixtures that attract, hold, and improve wildlife health and hunting opportunities.
Food Plot Benefits
- Provides several tons of high-quality forage per acre, far exceeding native habitat.
- Increases the nutritional carrying capacity, or number of deer, a property can support in a healthy condition.
- Provides key nutrients during periods when native forage is lacking.
- Improve overall herd health, reproductive success, and antler development.
- Attracts, holds, and helps pattern deer and turkeys.
Seed Blend Types
- Annuals: These are fast-growing, high-yielding forages that must be planted every year. Depending on plant variety, they are either planted during the spring (warm season annuals) or fall (cool season annuals).
- Perennials: Perennials take longer to establish but have longer survival rates, often lasting 3 years or more with proper maintenance. These plants have a high protein content and are easy to digest.
- Annual/Perennial Blends: These blends combine the benefits of perennials and annuals in one food plot with some fast-growing, high-producing forages and some slower growing but longer lasting forages that can last for several years.
Plant Varieties
Clovers
Clover is one of the most preferred, nutritious, and widely planted forages for both deer and turkeys. All true clovers are legumes, meaning they can fix (produce) their own nitrogen, which boosts growth of other plants in the food plot. Nitrogen is the key component of protein, so clovers also have some of the highest protein levels, often above 30%. Annual clovers grow quickly and produce high yields of easily digestible forage. Perennial clovers take longer to establish but remain productive year-round and can persist for several years.
Examples: arrowleaf, crimson, ladino, red, white
Brassicas
These true forage varieties are incredibly productive, producing up to 30 tons of nutritious forage per acre. They are also very cold tolerant and well adapted for northern climates and situations where late-season forage production and hunting opportunities are desired.
Examples: rape, kale, turnip, sugar beet, radish
Warm-season Legumes
Warm season annual legumes grow quickly, produce abundant forage, are highly desired and often have protein levels above 30%. They are typically planted in spring or early summer.
Examples: Cowpeas, lablab, soybeans, sunn hemp
Other Legumes
In addition to clovers and warm season annual legumes, other legumes can play important roles in some food plot mixes. This includes cool-season annual legumes like Austrian winter pea and perennial legumes like alfalfa. Both plants are highly preferred and produce abundant, nutritious forage.
Examples: Austrian winter pea, alfalfa, birdsfoot trefoil
Grains and Grasses
Grains and grasses are typically annual crops planted in spring or fall. Cool season grains like wheat, oats, and rye grow quickly, resist browse pressure and are commonly included as a “nurse” crop in mixes containing clover and chicory.
Examples: Corn, sorghum, wheat, oats, rye, triticale, ryegrass
FOOD PLOT PREP AND MAINTENANCE
Location and Size
Selecting the appropriate size and location of a food plot is based on several factors including objectives, available equipment, soil quality, and access. Where possible, select areas with the best soil that are centrally located within a property and have good access for both planting and hunting. The size of a food plot also depends on many factors and can range from small “kill plots” of less than ¼-acre to large “feeding plots” of several acres. In most situations, food plots of ½ to1 acre are recommended, with larger plots necessary where deer densities are high or where highly preferred warm season annuals (e.g., soybeans or cowpeas) are planted. Overall, planting 3-5% of a property in food plots is recommended.
Proper pH
Soil pH is a measurement of how acidic (sour) or alkaline (sweet) a soil is on a scale from 0 (most acidic) to 14 (most alkaline) with 7.0 being considered “neutral.” Most food plot plants perform bestbetween 5.5 and 7.5, with the “magic zone” being between 6.0-7.0. It is important to note that pH is measured on a logarithmic scale, meaning that a pH of 5.5 is 10 times more acidic than a pH of 6.5. This means that even minor adjustments in pH can make a huge difference because soils with low pH’s bind nutrients in the soil, making them unavailable to the plants. For example, a soil with a pH of 5.5 only allows around 50% of the fertilizer to be available to the plant, thereby wasting fertilizer and money. Keep in mind that it generally takes at least one ton (2000 lbs.) of lime per acre to raise pH by one point — and that this process takes 3-6 months for full effect. Lime is cheap, so don’t skimp here. High pH is uncommon but can be corrected by adding sulfur.
Reference packaging and/or specific product pages on this website to identify the correct pH for your mixture. Test soil pH using the Harvest pH meter, or visit your local agriculture extension office to learn how to conduct a soil test.
Soil Prep
Preparing a good seed bed is vital for a successful food plot. The area should be clean and weed-free as possible with soil pH within the recommended range. This will prime the soil for proper growth and eliminate competition for water and nutrients.
There are several considerations when preparing a good seed bed. If the existing vegetation is minimal, repeated disking can be sufficient. With heavy existing vegetation, spraying with glyphosate herbicide 4-6 weeks before planting is recommended, with disking one week prior to planting. Leveling the plot by dragging is recommended and will help pack the soil to reduce air pockets that will hamper germination. This can be done with a cultipacker or a chain link fence with a 4×4 post on each end. This process is designed for typical broadcast seed applications. If using a no-till drill, planting can take place after spraying but without the need for disking or dragging.
VIEW FOOD PLOT PLANTING GUIDE VIDEOS
Planting
The most important factor to consider when planting is soil moisture. Planting should always be done in damp soil or with rain in the immediate forecast. It’s always better to plant a few weeks later than recommended than during a drought.
Unless using a grain drill, broadcast the seed using a tractor, ATV, or hand spreader. Take particular care with small seeds (clovers, turnips, etc.) to ensure soil is packed down and level so seeds don't fall deeper than ¼ inch. Once seeds have been distributed, drag to the recommended depth, but less is better than more, especially with small seeds. In fact, if planting small seeds just before rain, dragging is not recommended.
Fertilization
Whenever possible, apply the recommended amount and blend of fertilizer based on a soil test. In most cases, fertilizer is applied at time of planting. However, adding fertilizer shortly after germination (when plants are approximately 4 inches tall) is recommended. Fertilization should only take place when rain is expected in the forecast.