HOW MANY OF YOU PLANT FOOD PLOTS?

IF YOU DO PLANT FOOD PLOTS WHAT BRAND DO YOU PLANT?
I PLANT PENNINGTON RACKMASTER OR BUCKMASTER FOOD PLOTS DUE TO THE QUALITY OF THE SEED AND RESEARCH BEHIND IT. IT SEEMS LIKE A LOT OF OTHER FOOD PLOTS ARE LOADED UP WITH THE CHEAPEST COMMODITY AT THE TIME. PENNINGTON IS ALWAYS PUT TOGATHER TO MAKE EACH AND EVERY INGREDIANT GROW AT THE RIGHT TIME. GIVE ME YOUR THOUGHTS!

I plants turnips and oats

I plant winter wheat.

10pointdoe is on the right track..but I would just add some madrid or hubam clover to you mix and you have food plot that will last till June then. I used that same mix in the Hill Country for 6 years and it worked great.

I dont get it how hard is it to plant your own seed mix. I picked one up at wall mart today that was 90%rye and 8%wheat 2%various seed. But it had a huge pic of a buck on the front of it.

LOL.

I plant everything but Pennington. I hear it's terrible.

We plant what they have at the seed store. Usually mixes for either Spring or Fall. I can't see paying for a name when a seed is a seed.

Post up some pics of your plots, would love to see them.

Turner Seed will custom mix anything you need a lot cheaper than the store bag seed. I'll be using a Wheat, Oats, Barley mix this year. This works for my deer, turkey and dove...Plus their 5 miles from the ranch...

We plant oats in the fall, and a mix in the spring. This spring I put in about 3 acres of purple hull peas, and the rest we used a spring mix from the local feed store.

we buy 50# bags of whatever and mix our own.

we usually plant oats, and mix in bags of whatever else we find. Sometimes turnips, this year we will add winter wheat to see how it works.

But, Seedman, give us a little credit. You don't think we know you are a company shill? Sort of insulting to put up an add acting like you are an ordinary Joe. Just tell us you are the Pennington guy and encourage us to try your stuff. Another company guy on here gave some free product to a couple of members in exchange for their honest opinions and the promise to post up results. Cost the company little or nothing and got some goodwill from the hunters.

I'll volunteer to do that on our ranch in Coryell county if you want to. We typically plant 20 or so acres scattered around the ranch. We plow to prepare then drill the seed. I'll be happy to plant your stuff in some areas and post comparisons to the house blend misture we normally use...

I plant oats, awp and clover in fall. in spring plant black oil sunflower, and iron/clays....

30 ac. of Oats, turnips, rye grass, our deer keep it well mowed!

Guys I appreciate all of your comments on what seed/mixes you use to plant your food plots.
I am a sales rep for Pennington Seed and I just wanted to see what your past experiences with food plots were and what your favorite mixes for Food Plots were as well.
Im no stranger to Hunting or what wildlife choose to eat. Ive been hunting over wheat and oat fields my entire life on our family ranch in North West Parker County. We all know that Deer will come to a green field in the dead of Winter. However, it is up to us to provide the nutrients needed to wildlife to grow the impresive racks or produce the healthy Dove.

I will tell you that I deal with a variety of companies and their wildlife mixes and see pictures of plots as well as talk to consumers on a daily basis to hear and see what works best from them.

I ask you to pick up a bag of Pennington Wildlife mix at your local dealer and plant it side by side your current mix you use now and see what works best for you. I can tell you that we may not be the cheapest but we are a lot cheaper than others on the market. We sell quality and not price!

If I can help you guys out in any way let me know. If you need us to come out and look at your hunting place, we have two Agronomist on Staff and will do it free of charge to you. If you need to know were you can purchase product let me know. If you have questions on our products or another companies product let me know. We are here to make your hunting experience along with our product an enjoyable experience. Shoot me an email or give me a call at 817-597-7195

I will post pictures of some plots for you to view here soon!

So, is THF going to become the "Go to" place for salesmen now?

it's fine if they wanna put stuff out there as long as they make sure it ain't junk and it does actually work good not some new product that's never been used and they just say it works.

OK seedman I have planted all the seed mixes mentioned above over the years with various degrees of sucess. The last 2.5 years though I have gone to White Tail Institute and bought their Extreme for a 1/4 acre seed. It has lasted all year long. The reason I choose that product is because they claimed a ph range from 5.4-around 8.0, 15" of rainfal, protien levels in excess of 25% and it is genicly engineered for deer. I have, and still do hear from all the critics telling me I am wasting money. I however have provided year round food for my deer and the first year I saw a decrease in spikes. It is a whole lot cheeper that pelletized protien and I don't have to worry about filling it up.
I say that I trust Ray Scott because I have never met him, but the proof is in the puddin. His compaany supports many aspects of the hunting community, what does pennington do and what do they offer to compare. I know Pennington has been around for years but I think they are just trying to jump on the band wagon that was started by WTI.

seed is seed...read the lables

Like I said, Ive heard it all before I'm not going to argue because it does no good. I however am a beliver in the mixes that I use. I have also planted Lablab Rio Verde wich was genicly engineered here in Texas by A & M. I bought it through Turner seed company and the others are right they are good folks to work with. I build feeders and your comment that seed is seed is like saying feeders are feeders, it all depends on what you are trying to acomplish or what problem you are trying to correct. My goal is to provide year round nutrition and raise the standard bar so I respectfully disagree, in the future if I find that I was wrong at least I tried.

I have used some penninngton seed blends last year on a lease place to take clients. Every place I planted plots, the land owner wants to sue me now. THE DEVIL CLAWS ARE SO THICK IT LOOKS LIKE I BROAD CASTED THEM. Needless to say I lost that little lease and I am having to pay to spray every plot planted. Dont get me wrong, I am on the land owners side about needing to fix this problem. He has never had devil claws on the ranch. I am just put out with seed companies that have blends or mixes, we never know what its in it. This year we are going back to our old ways of wheat and turnips.

how about you send us some free 1/2 acre bags and we will let you know how well it grows. if its so great you wont have anything to lose

walker 22 I doubt your bag of seed had devils claw. When you plow over land your putting seed in the ground for the following year. Then you probably planted a cool season crop and thats what came up. The following year the seed you plowed in the dirt came up in the spring is my guess.

Imperial whitetail clover.
We have tried turnips, rye, oats, and the list goes on, but never with the results of the clover. I saw more deer the first yr I planted the clover than the previous 5 yrs combined.

where you hunt at

All of these undercover salemen are getting annoying.

Guys you can plant whatever suites you the best! I can tell you that Pennington is one of the largest seed companies in the Nation and has been in bussiness for over 50 years. They have got to be doing something right.

A guy mentioned white clover and the success he has had with it. We offer a clover call Durana White Clover that was developed by Dr. Joe Bowden from the University of Georgia. This is a Perinal Clover that has been growing for 8 years straight now. It provides 150 pounds of nitrogen to the soil as well as providing a protein content of 30-38%. There is not another white clover on the market like this one and I can promise you that. Durana Clover has 97 stolins per sq ft and the clover closest to it only provides 56 stolins per sq ft. Stolin density is related directly to plant persistancy! Many of our mixes has this clover in it or you can by the clover by itself. You only plant 5lbs to the acre no deeper than 1/4 in. This is a plot you can plant one time and will provide hunting for many years to come.

Okietex, the owner had is little buddy from the ascs office out it was apparent that only where we planted those bags of seed did we have any growth. This was a one season plowing that blew all up. All blends have a % of weeds, true it vary, but purity is hard to achieve in blends. The ascs agent had seen this before, with canadian thistles an a few others.

damn that sucks I bet they are insured file a claim It dosnt cost anything and it might get paid might not. My food plots get thicker with bitter weed every year and its just from disking the seed in the ground. And bitter weed dosnt die easy

This is a picture of my personal best taken in Parker County on our family Ranch! (Low Fence)

Durana Clover Food Plot! 6 years old! 30% Protein!

I have not had that great of luck with Pennington seed in Haskell or Coke county. I could not get the mix to come up. After waiting on it to come up I broad casted wheat over the area and with just a little rain it was up in no time.

Unless someone gives me more to try I will not buy again, but will save my money for wheat.

Im in freestone county, lots of hardwoods with a good amount of sand in the soil and we grow the IW clover no problem. I can't speak for anyone or anywhere else but I know its been magic for us.

Having planted food plots for over 30 years, I always mix my own blends. There is no need in paying for bags with fancy pictures on the front of giant bucks. But there is one exception that I can't say enough about. The Durana clover is the real deal. I have planted so many clover varieties, that I have lost count. When Durana was introduced, I gave it a try. Ever since my first experience with Durana, all of my perennial plots have been planted in Durana (except a few alfalfa fields). If you are in an area suitable for clover, I would highly recommend it.

Chlorophyll, sounds more like borophyl to me

None of that crap works when it doesn't rain and when the deers hooves beat that frail ends into the ground.

TexasPI - Im glad that you have had great success with the Durana Clover. Where is your place located?

I hunt an area just west of parker in Palo Pinto near Santo. I am interested in the Durana Clover. I have planted clover there in the past, it was Imperial Whitetail Clover and the first season had little response so I seeded wheat over the top. The wheat came up good for that season but the clover got washed out in a huge rain. The next season I found my clover scattered down the road ditches over about 300 yds where the seeds floated out in the heavy rain. Some of it is still producing but nothing like the fields in your pic.
What kind of soil prep would be required to make this work?

Jcoutdoors - I have got dealers all around your location carrying the product. Just to mention a few: Teskeys Feed Barn, Walden Farm & Ranch, Russel Feed, and H&R Feed in Ranger!

Durana Clover is a true perinal therefore it has got to build its root system before it starts producing a plant. You may notice a little bit this winter however you are realy going to notice it come the spring and next fall.

You need a firm seed bed with no more than a heel print depth. You dont want the seed any deeper than a 1/4 of an inch or it wont come up. The best way to plant it is:
-mow or graze the existing area close to the ground
-broadcast the seed 5lbs per acre
-lightly drag over it with a chain link fence to sift the seed down to the soil so that good seed/soil contact is made for it to germinate
-We tell a lot of farmers to leave their cattle on the pasture and let them walk the seed down in to the ground for them.

Let me know how I can help!

Thanks Seed Man, I spent a lot of time on the last plot discing. Your way sounds much easier. Is it OK to plant wheat or oats over it this fall just to have some green until next spring.

What kind of fertilizer and how often?

These Durana pictures were taken in late December (2006) after being pounded all season by the deer. Even though there was not much rainfall in the weeks prior to the pics, the Durana held up pretty well. If you compare inside and outside of the exclusion cage, you can see how much pressure the clover got. These plots are still doing well and have not needed replanting.

Seed Man,

I have property in East TX (Hopkins County) and in the panhandle. The Durana in East TX is hard to beat......just wish I could get it to grow in the panhandle. Just not enough rainfall in the panhandle for perennials other than alfalfa.

That's impressive!

SO Durano is for spring/summer plots? Will it grow in E Texas?

Fall, Alyce clover is a good spring/summer clover, have some growing right now in ETX.

Actually, in East Texas the Durana grows around 10 to 11 months of the year. It really explodes in the spring and early to mid summer. Depending on rainfall, I have seen it produce all 12 months of the year. Typically though, it will go dormant about this time of year (due to heat and lack of rainfall) for August and early September. Just as soon as it starts getting rain in September, it will come out of dormancy and start its fall growth.

Guess I should have clarified, you'd want to plant it in the fall right?

thanks for the replies. I have always started my food plots around labor day. Is this to late for this type of clover? thanks

Depends on where in TX you are planting. In NE Texas, I have found it better to wait until September 15-25 to plant. Yes, that will give less time for growth before the start of season, but will give a little better odds for establishment. More times than I care to remember, I planted Labor day....got enough rain to germinate.....then several weeks of hot dry weather settled in and killed off all of the young plants. By waiting just a couple of weeks later, the temperatures aren't as bad and the young plants can withstand the periods between rainfall better. Don't expect miracles with the Durana the fall that you plant it. It will put on some growth, but much of the growth will be below surface level (establishing a root system). You will really see it's potential in the spring and from its second fall season on.

thanks for the info TexasPL I am in Trinity County. I will wait to plant until then to see what happens. Last year planted on Labor Day weekend, but had good rain during the fall. Not your typical fall weather.

Verry Impresive photo's! Durana Clover is a true powerhouse and deer cant resist it. The optimum time to plant Durana Clover in Texas is between Mid September and February. I would suggest getting it planted in Mid September to Octoboer if I had to choose.

You need to plant 5lbs to the Acre for food plots. The number one key to having a succesfull crop is to NOT get it to deep. You do NOT want it any deeper than 1/4" in the ground!

Happy Planting and Happy Hunting my friends!

Let me know how I can help!