Deer hunting season may be many months away but right now is perhaps the most important time of year for making those dreams of trophies come true.

So, you've been diligently filling your protein feeder since early winter and you've had your mineral licks going for several months too, what's next?  Well, we know that deer have increased protein and supplementary mineral needs during the antler growth cycle from February through August so be sure to continue the mineral licks.  But, what are some options for providing that protein component?  You could continue with the Antler King Trophy Deer/Elk Pellet program or switch to Antler King Hi-Protein Big Buck Blocks or you can plant your protein source and sit back and enjoy it for years to come knowing your deer's protein needs are met for the next several years in spring, summer and fall. 

There is no more economical nor enjoyable method of providing high quality protein feed for your deer than with a clover food plot.  You can establish a plot of perennial clover and with a minimum of maintenance expect around five years of growth before you have to plow it under and re-start it.  Antler King Trophy Clover Blend produces at a rate of 10 tons of 30% protein feed per acre per year for up to 5 or 6 years.  Now that's economical!

Food plots can be started in the spring after the danger of frost has passed.  The dates will vary by growing region but you can plant your food plots the same time you plant your garden or watch for when the local farmers are doing their spring planting. Your local county extension agent can be a great resource for planting tips too.  The first step to a successful food plot is knowing what your growing conditions are. All plants have an optimum set of conditions for growing and food plot plants are no exception.  If you want lush, healthy, delectable protein then you'll need to know what the soil conditions are in your prospective plot. That means a soil pH test.

Antler King is now offering a simple, fast, and economical way for you to determine your soil pH.  The Antler King Soil pH Test Kit comes complete with instructions, data and test materials for two soil samples.  The beauty of this product is that it tells you what your target pH is for a variety of food plot plants (many flowers and vegetable pH goals are also listed), it tells you what your current pH is, and most importantly has calculated the amounts of lime you may need to add to reach your goal pH.  Perhaps the best part is that for about the same cost per sample as mailing it in to a test lab or dropping off at a farm co-op, you get accurate results in just minutes!

Along with lime, you may wish to fertilize with potash for clover plots.  Potash will benefit clover growth without encouraging weed and grass competition.  You don't want to use a nitrogen fertilize because it will encourage plant competition and limit your clover growth.  Besides, clover is a legume and fixes its own nitrogen from the air utilizing nodules on the root system just like alfalfa.  Once you have made proper adjustments to your soil to provide ideal conditions for growth you can prepare your site.    

Trophy Clover Blend will grow with an absolute minimum of site preparation but as with any growing plant, you'll get more out of your plot if you put more effort into getting it started.  In a nutshell, you must first start with bare ground.  This can be a log landing or logging trail or a clearing in the woods or maybe a small piece of tillable ground adjoining your hunting acreage.  Begin by exposing the soil by raking, dragging or disking.  You want to loosen the soil so the seeds have a foothold.  Next you need to apply the seeds.  A grain drill is the way a farmer would plant new seeding but you don't need to do that.  Any type of broadcast seeder works just fine.  I use a backpack model that has a little gear-driven spinner.  It slings the seeds out about 10 feet on either side of me as I walk through the plot.  For small plots you can just hand seed.  Try to adhere to the recommended seeding rates on the container.  Overseeding will be a disappointment since the crowded plants will deplete the soil nut
rients and growth will be stunted.  Trophy Clover Blend should be seeded at about 7-8 pounds/acre.

Next you need to cover the seeds but only with about ½ inch of soil.  It will work best if you just drag the plot with a drag set shallow, a section of chain link fence, some chains or even an old set of metal bed springs.  The key is to prevent wind and water from removing the seed.

You'll be excited to see growth in just a few days.  Within ten days you'll see very lush young plants growing and so will the deer.  The young plants are most palatable and nutritious for deer.  For this reason, you may wish to mow your plot once or twice a summer to stimulate re-growth.  Again, the new plants are most attractive to deer.  I let my neighbor cut the plots at the same time he is cutting hay on the adjoining acres.  He's happy to get some free hi-protein clover and I'm happy to have my plots revitalized.  If you have an especially large deer population you'll find that they keep it "mowed" and mechanical mowing will be unnecessary.

The five seed varieties in Trophy Clover Blend are all northern climate hardy.  The specific varieties of clover were selected for their particular nutritional characteristics as well as deer preference.  The special variety of rapeseed serves to extend the attractiveness of the plot well past the time the frost has forced the clover into dormancy.  Rape will stay green and will really draw deer like a magnet through hunting seasons and into the winter.  Rape is technically an annual though you can expect something like 15-20% natural re-seeding annually.  To keep your rape more prevalent you can frost-seed straight rapeseed in the spring.  As the frost comes out of the ground it opens little fissures in the soil and that is all rape needs to get a foothold.

It may seem like a daunting task to establish a high quality food plot but actually it is easier than it sounds.  I've started some plots with just a garden rake.  I scratched out a bare patch and hand-sowed some seed, raked it again lightly, and voila, a food plot is born!  I admit that my larger plots were more work but, man, the results are worth it.  I love watching the deer (and turkeys) in the food plots and the best part is I know I've provided many years' worth of a critical nutrient for healthier, larger-antlered deer.

Craig R. Johnson
Antler King Trophy Products, Inc.

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