How small is too small?

thinking about planting a food plot around my feeder next year. the part of the lease i hunt is thick woods, except the opening my feeder is in, it is around 50 yds by 125 yds.

am i wasting my time planting this small of an area?

I planted a 30 yard x 30 yard plot a few years ago, deer loved it.

50 yds x 125 yds is 1.25 acres....that's plenty big for a food plot. Even a 1/3 acre plot is enough to bring in some deer....that's bigger than your typical subdivision lot.

I have planted a couple of plots in that size range in the past. With varying levels of success in growing, I've done peas, turnips, oats and grain rye. On my place, the peas probably did the best, until the pasture they were in flooded, but before it flooded, the deer went crazy on the plot. On a place we were on in Oklahoma the rancher planted food plot strips along the outside of wooded areas and they were maybe only 20' wide by maybe 100 yards long. Deer aplenty on them!

I've had a lot of success on plots that size. Austrian winter peas and oats. I broadcast seed and plant 100lbs oats, 50lbs peas per acre, along
with 150lbs, 13-13-13 fertilizer. I don't bow hunt, so I plant closest weekend to October, 1. That way you don't have to worry about the heat
and Army worms. It takes 7-9 days after rain for the seeds to start breaking through the ground. The deer will walk past your feeder
many times just to eat in the food plot.
Here is east texas food plot planted as I explained above. Notice the peas use the oats to climb on. This photo was taken around the middle of
march. The plot will look like it dies out in late January, but comes back on strong when it starts to warm up a little.

Mr. T, that plot looks awesome! Any idea on the protein content of the peas?

crude protein levels approaching 25% or higher
Here is the National Deer Association link that talks about Austrian winter peas.
https://www.deerassociation.com/food-plot-species-profile-austrian-winter-peas/

Not a lot of experience with food plots as we depend greatly on the rain... which usually doesn't play nice with us. If you have a decent number of deer you will think the plot never grows, they will keep it grazed off to a nub.

That is so true in west texas, but east and north east texas do not have the number of deer. A two acre plot will do in my experience in east texas,
will be more than you need.

Thank you, Sir. I'm gonna try those next year with my oats.

I don't mean to be a killjoy...I agree that food plot picture that Mr. T post looks good, but unless it is behind a high fence or electric fence to have a food plot that tall means there are either no deer or they don't like it. I have never been able to get a food plot to grow that tall.

that's a fine size food plot. My little place in eastern Burnet county I plant 3-4 that are not likely anywhere near that size. one is about 15 yards by 45 yards, one is 30 yards by 60 yards and 10 yards by 50 yards. I have a couple of other spots that I rotate from year to year that are much smaller. My game cameras show deer, turkey and pigs in all of these shortly after they come up.

I tend to agree with Russ in not being able to get anything to grow that tall, but last spring on our east Texas place near Fairfield, our peas grew like crazy and were 2+ feet tall before the deer started really hammering them.

I actually plant a plot exactly that size in a deeply wooded area not too far behind my house and at about 75 yds. inside the woods from a pasture edge. It is perfect for stopping and holding deer that travel through the area. I plant Oats and Peas most years. The only trouble I have is keeping the Hogs from wrecking it. I often have to 'repair/over seed' it a few times, but it works great, especially late season (post rut).

Only issue I have is they eat it down to the ground pretty quickly but they do use it and it's worth the work for me. I have several small ones about that size.

I think you may find this well worth the money. It's by Dr James Kroll, aka Dr Deer

https://www.drdeer.com/catalog/Products/Books/Food-Plots-and-Supplemental-Feeding/10

Do you guys that plant them have problems with hogs making a mess of them?

Nice one

hit or miss for me... one year they rooted up one of the bigger ones about a week after the seeds started coming up, looked like you roto tilled the entire plot, none of the others were touched that year. so far this year, none have been touched except around a feeder that is at the end of one.

Couple,of weeks back I pulled one of my cell cams that quit working I had at one of my plots. It looked like the whole place ad been disc up

I have a ton of hogs with rooting all over the property, and surprisingly enough they don't dig up the food plots except around the perimeter. We normally only do oats and turnips. They do like to feed in them though.

Doc, I tried turnips about 20 years ago, mixed in with wheat. Armadillos got every of them. Very few armadillos left but I figured the hogs would get them. I'm butt deep in hogs and they have rooted up what passes for a front yard of my poor white trash trailer house. I killed a nice buck opening day so my deer season has ended. Now, it's pig time.

I'll go back to food plots next year. Thanks.