October 2006 Food Plot Update

Deer Season Journal

Ghost Deer Update

The October Journal is going to be an abbreviated issue since our activity in our plots is over for the year, but deer activity has stayed steady through the month so we still have some things to report.

October has also been an above average rainfall and below average temperature month. If our temperatures would have been closer to normal I think our fall plantings would have performed even better than they did.

Oldhouse Food Plot

The Tecomate Ultra Forage and Biologic Maximum we planted in this food plot have grown well but I think I would have liked to have planted them earlier. These two seed blends planted in the spring grew to about two feet in height in other plots. The fall plantings made it close to a foot and then the deer started to clean them out. I may have gotten more good food for the deer if I would have gotten them planted a little earlier.

As far as the plot attracting deer, there is little doubt. The digital game cameras in this plot have always taken a lot of pictures. Even when the plants were still growing the mineral lick provided enough attraction to keep deer visiting.

The deer have hit the plot especially hard the last two weeks of October. I’m just disappointed that I didn’t have more time to hunt these two weeks. This time frame coincided perfectly with the opening weeks of bow season.

The deer haven’t seemed to eat much of the young clover that we planted with the brassica mixes. It’s just a small patch that I figure they’ll move into and clean up soon.

I’d had some hesitations about disking up the old clover and planting the brassicas but so far all has turned out well.

We’re hoping that this plot can continue to draw deer throughout the season and into the winter. I noticed quite a few small turnips in the plot when I walked through it this weekend so I figure they be back for these at some point. We’ll keep a close eye on it.

The cornpatch plot has begun to draw a few deer once again. Ryan and I saw deer bedded in the plot in the middle of the day in mid-October. We also saw them eating in the plot as well. They had left this plot alone for a while and have now come back to it once some of the other plants have died off and the apples are gone.

I wish I would have had my camera ready when the does were bedded in this clover patch. You could only see their ears sticking up.

Old Garden Food Plot

The old garden plot has seen a resurgence of activity as well. There isn’t a lot of clover here but we’ve seen them eating in this plot on several occasions.

We’re still trying to figure out what to plant here this spring. Some I know call me cheap so it may depend on what’s on sale.

The Evolved Harvest Shot Plot that we planted in this plot also made it to about a foot in height but the deer started to eat it in early October. It has been a good draw ever since.

Ryan shot his first deer with a bow next to this plot on October 14th. She had come in and eaten in the plot for about a half hour before wondering into the woods and in front of Ryan.

Similar to the oldhouse plot we’re hoping this plot will continue to draw in deer throughout the season and into the winter.

Unfortunately there isn’t much to report from the whippoorwill food plot. I don’t think deer are feeding here much but it is a hub for deer activity due to its location and the mineral lick close by that we established this year.

Hayfield Food Plot

As you probably know by now the hayfield plot is actually three food plots.

The Powerplant is pretty much gone although there is still some activity there and the Maximum has been cleaned out except for a few stems and some turnips.

The LabLab Plus now consists of brown sorghum that never made it to seed.

From our planting here I’ve learned that I’ll plant the Powerplant again in the spring, the Maximum in the fall and the LabLab Plus in the spring instead of the fall.

I’ll likely continue to keep a game camera in one of these plots to keep an eye on the activity. So far deer still visit these plots with some regularity.

Right Of Way Food Plot

The Tecomate Ultra Forage was wiped out back in late August/early September. There are still some turnips left so the deer should clean these up some time. I’ll likely miss this event on camera since my timing leaves a lot to be desired. Maybe I’ll be in a treestand nearby when this happens.

The jury is still out on how much our food plot strategies have helped our deer herd. I didn’t like it that the brassicas that we planted in the spring didn’t provide any forage for the antler growing months but they did provide a much-needed source of food in late summer when the dry weather had taken its toll on other forages.

I’m also not sure about the antler sizes of our deer. I need to go back and look at the pictures form the last couple of years to see if it looks like we are making a positive impact. At first I didn’t think that antler sizes had increased much but I’m starting to think that we may have done some good.

We have again this year started a journal of our deer season exploits. You can read them in the 2006 Deer Season Journal.

There aren’t any big buck stories yet but there is one doe down and it wasn’t me that pulled the string back. It looks like I may have passed the mantle of doe management down a generation.

I still haven’t figured out if the large eight point that we are seeing is the famed double white throat patch. The pictures have only confirmed that this deer has a very feint extra white throat patch.

The only way I’ll be able to tell is if someone is able to shoot him. At this point I could age him. If it is him, I would think that he would be at least 5 ½ years old.

I want to see this buck face to face, but you know how that goes.

Take a look at him on the whitetail deer pictures page and see what you think. He’s been a regular each week lately.