What to Plant and How to Decide

WHITETAIL INSTITUTE STAFF

One of the most common questions I receive from our customers is, “Which of the Whitetail Institute products should I plant and how do I decide?”

This question is asked in many ways such as, “Which product is the best?”

“Which one do the deer like best?”

“If you were to use only one, which one would it be?”

These are all very good questions and ones that I would ask if I were the customer. As the Whitetail Institute stays on the cutting edge of deer nutrition research and continues to add innovative products to the product line, it is easy to see how someone may wonder which of these products to use. After all, serious deer hunters and managers want to utilize the best products available to improve their deer herd. 

First, you may want to know why the Whitetail Institute develops new products in the first place. After all, Imperial Whitetail Clover is the best planting for deer, period. It is the only clover variety genetically designed for the specific characteristics needed for whitetails. Imperial Clover provides up to 35 percent protein, lasts up to five years with a single planting, is heat and disease resistant, cold tolerant and unequaled in attraction power. With a resume like that, why would you need anything else?

Indeed, Imperial Whitetail Clover is the best food plot product available – the superstar among perennial forages – for whitetail food plots. But say for instance you are planting a food plot in an area where clover is difficult to establish. Maybe you are planting in a highland-type soil that it is very light or even somewhat sandy. In this case, Alfa-Rack and / or Alfa-Rack Plus would be a better option, or if you have a lower soil pH or receive limited rainfall, Extreme would be a good choice. Maybe you don’t have equipment and cannot create the seedbed needed for Imperial Clover. Here is where No-Plow comes into play.

You are probably beginning to see where I am going with this. The research staff at the Whitetail Institute does not develop a new product with the idea in mind that it will be an overall better nutritional product than other Whitetail Institute products. Instead, our research staff develops products that are the best possible food plot plantings for specific soil types, climates, herd populations and management goals. It is not necessarily that one product is better than another, it is simply that each one performs better under different planting conditions and/or with various purposes (such as annuals versus perennials).

To decide which product to use, we have come up with a few simple questions to ask yourself which will direct you to the best product to fit your needs and wants.

Do you want to plant a perennial or annual?

If you wish to plant a perennial, your choices begin with Imperial Whitetail Clover, Alfa-Rack and / or Alfa-Rack Plus or Extreme. If you want an annual, your choices would be No-Plow, PowerPlant or Secret Spot.

Do you have equipment or can you get equipment where you wish to plant your food plot?

If you have and can use equipment, you can plant any Whitetail Institute food plot products. If you do not have or cannot use equipment, Imperial No-Plow or Secret Spot is what you would use.

What is your soil type?

Your soil type can be broken down into to main categories; well-drained soils or heavy soils that hold moisture. If you have a well-drained soil, you can plant all Whitetail Institute products except for Imperial Whitetail Clover. If you have a heavy soil that holds moisture, you can plant Imperial Whitetail Clover, No-Plow, Secret Spot or PowerPlant.

What are your planting conditions?

Planting conditions evolve around soil pH and rainfall amounts. For example, if you have a soil pH of 6.5 or greater and rainfall amounts exceeding 32 inches, you can plant all of the Imperial food plot products. With a 6.0 pH or higher and adequate rainfall you can plant PowerPlant, Extreme, No-Plow and Secret Spot. If your pH is 5.4 or higher you can plant Extreme, No-Plow and Secret Spot. If you have a situation with rainfall totals of 16 inches or higher, you would plant Extreme.

What is the size and type of area you will be planting and how much sunlight does it receive?

This question is primarily for deciding between No-Plow and Secret Spot. By the time you have answered question 4, you will be able to choose which product to use unless you are trying to decide between No-Plow and Secret Spot. All other Imperial products require from 4 to 6 or more hours of sunlight per day. No-Plow however, only requires 3-4 hours of sunlight and the minimum amount of sunlight for Secret Spot is only 2 to 4 hours. Also, size of the food plot will determine whether to use Secret Spot or No-Plow. If you have 4 or more hours of sunlight and the area is over 4500 square feet, then you should use No-Plow. If you have only 2 to 4 hours of sunlight and 4500 square feet or less to plant, then Secret Spot is the best choice. For example, Secret Spot works well in small clearings in the woods.

Let take a look at two examples and use the questions we have discussed to find the right product.

Example 1

I want to plant a perennial food plot in an area with well-drained, light soil. I have access to equipment and my soil test results show a pH of 5.8. 

Perennial plantings are Imperial Clover, Alfa-Rack and / or Alfa-Rack Plus and Extreme.

We have equipment so all three perennials are applicable at this point.

We have a well-drained soil, which leaves Alfa-Rack and / or Alfa-Rack Plus or Extreme.

Are soil pH is 5.8 so the choice in this case would be Extreme.

Example 2

I am going to plant an annual, and I do not have tillage equipment. The area I want to plant gets about 4 hours of sunlight and is an old logging road and is about half acre in size.

Annuals are Imperial PowerPlant, No-Plow and Secret Spot.

I do not have equipment so I will use either No-Plow or Secret Spot.

The area I have to plant receives 4 hours of sunlight and is about half acre in size, so in this case I will use No-Plow.

Using the questions above and the selection chart you can easily pinpoint the products that will perform best in your specific conditions. All Whitetail Institute products work extremely well. You just need to match the product with the conditions it was designed for.

Food Plot Goals

Another consideration in deciding which product to use is to determine the goal of the food plot. Annuals are often used to supply specific needs and to add diversity.

For example, let us assume your entire property contains a neutral (6.5 – 7.0 pH), well-drained soil, and you have several Alfa-Rack and / or Alfa-Rack Plus plots. PowerPlant can be used in ground that is suitable for Alfa-Rack and / or Alfa-Rack Plus, but if you already have existing Alfa-Rack and / or Alfa-Rack Plus plots, you may wish to use PowerPlant rather than plant more Alfa-Rack and / or Alfa-Rack Plus to add diversity and supply larger amounts of high-quality forage during the spring and summer months. Since No-Plow can also be planted on ground suitable for Alfa-Rack and / or Alfa-Rack Plus, you may also want to plant No-Plow in the fall to provide more high-quality forage during the stressful winter months. As you can see, there are many options.

Annuals can also be used to rotate perennial crops. For example, if you have had a field of Imperial Clover for several years and want to replant the area with Imperial Clover, it is often a good practice to rotate the area into an annual such as No-Plow or PowerPlant for a year to let the ground “rest.” Then the following year, reseed the plot with Imperial Clover.

As a rule, we recommend that 60-75 percent of the available acreage be in perennials and 25-40 percent in annuals.