# Any native Ohio plants i can plant in the spring for deer to eat?



## andrewcw (Oct 20, 2013)

Would like to supplement and save a little money on buying so much corn and mill feed. What are some good native ohio plants that deer will like to eat that i can plant on my property?

Thanks!


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## fastwater (Apr 1, 2014)

There are many.

A few grains:
chicory
Rye
Oats
Wheat

A few Brassicas:
Turnips
Sugar beets
Rape
Radishes

Clover and chicory are also great food plot forage.
I like clover...especially ladina clover. 
You can get 4-5yrs out of a stand of clover if your soil is within PH specs., it's fertilized properly, mowed correctly and grasses are kept at a minimum.


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## buckeyebowman (Feb 24, 2012)

I remember one year when our hunting and fishing club planted turnips in several places. First the deer ate the tops off when the weather started to go south, and then they started digging them up out of the ground! Yeah, they like turnips.


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## mach1cj (Apr 11, 2004)

I planted Crimson clover in my garden as a cover crop and the deer are love'n it.


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## fastwater (Apr 1, 2014)

Most of the time they will back off the clover as the weather gets colder.
Then it's good to have a cold weather crop such sugar beets,turnips,rape,radishes etc. planted as well.
After the first frost or so...the starch in the tops of these plants start turning to sugar and deer will really jump on them then.


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## andrewcw (Oct 20, 2013)

fastwater said:


> Most of the time they will back off the clover as the weather gets colder.
> Then it's good to have a cold weather crop such sugar beets,turnips,rape,radishes etc. planted as well.
> After the first frost or so...the starch in the tops of these plants start turning to sugar and deer will really jump on them then.



Thats great advice. I have a good amount of clover around the fields i hunt, maybe thats a small reason why theres such a good population there. Looks like radishes, turnips, and beets are going in the field. I would like a more sustainable food source for the deer so im not spending so much on corn and feed, thanks!


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## fastwater (Apr 1, 2014)

Welcome!
Don't know if you are dumping your corn on the ground or have a feeder such as a Moultrie you can set to come on at certain times but if you're dumping it on the ground...as you know...you'll go broke doing it that way.
I've got a couple 150lb feeders that are set to go off a couple times a day for a total of 8 seconds/day (5 in the morning...3 in afternoon) and I'll fill them about every 2months.
Again...they'll stop on the clover when it gets a bit colder. That's when once they get used to them being there...they'll start hitting the brassica's heavy.


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## Muddy (May 7, 2017)

It would help if you provided more details on the property. You don’t have to rely on pouring corn to kill deer.


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## fastwater (Apr 1, 2014)

Muddy said:


> It would help if you provided more details on the property. You don’t have to rely on pouring corn to kill deer.


Agree!
IMO, If'n your property is surrounded by acres of AG fields planted every year in corn/soybean...you're not gonna compete with them. If that's the case...it's often better to tailer your property for cover/bedding for deer. The thicker...the better. Did this on a small 8acre section several yrs ago that had a bunch of large quaking Aspens growing with very little undergrowth due to the heavy tree canopy. Cut a lot of those trees for firewood...hinge cut and left a bunch as well. The stumps grew shoots for browse...the hinge cut trees that were left provided a bedding area and the extra sun getting in let the undercover really thicken up. Before doing the above...neither Deer nor turkey utilized that property much other than cutting through. With the new undergrowth that provided both browse and bedding...it turned that area into one of the best hunting spots on this property.
Also putting in a few mineral sites maintaining them throughout the year helps. 
Then you can plant your winter forage to hold the deer close when the crop fields are picked clean.


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## Muddy (May 7, 2017)

I couldn’t agree more. I live in farm country. I have concentrated on creating thick cover because cover is the limiting factor around me. I also have added smaller amounts of late fall/winter food sources. I use minerals to get a camera inventory during the summer of all the deer in the area. Then I hunt the funnel areas. I grew up hunting deer by scouting and learning their habits before hunting over corn became popular. I’ve hunted over corn myself, but I refuse to become a slave to it.


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## andrewcw (Oct 20, 2013)

I have two sleeve feeders I put 500 lbs of corn in a year, so maybe $120 a year on feed. The surrounding areas have corn/soybean fields leased by farmers.


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## fastwater (Apr 1, 2014)

Muddy said:


> I couldn’t agree more. I live in farm country. I have concentrated on creating thick cover because cover is the limiting factor around me. I also have added smaller amounts of late fall/winter food sources. I use minerals to get a camera inventory during the summer of all the deer in the area. Then I hunt the funnel areas. *I grew up hunting deer by scouting and learning their habits before hunting over corn became popular.* *I’ve hunted over corn myself, but I refuse to become a slave to it.*


Sounds like you and I grew up hunting in the same ERA.
Can remember when if somebody saw even a pile of deer dung or a track it was the talk of the area....let alone seeing any deer. Those were tough...but fun hunting times for sure. Sure made a fellar get out and scout a lot more learning the natural travel routes, bedding and feeding areas.
Didn't have any tree stands or unnatural ground blinds then either. Fallen trees or a hollowed out multiflora rose bush was the ground blinds back then. 
Not that winds/thermal clines are less important today...but always bow hunting from the ground then...a fellar really had to learn about the wind and thermal clines and had to really pick his best days to hunt certain areas.
Like you, I refuse to let feeders dictate my hunting spots and usually don't hunt over the feeders but hunt travel routes to and from them. Do the same with hunting food plots most of the time.


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## fastwater (Apr 1, 2014)

andrewcw said:


> I have two sleeve feeders I put 500 lbs of corn in a year, so maybe $120 a year on feed. The surrounding areas have corn/soybean fields leased by farmers.


If'n the *****/squirrels can get to the corn...prolly 3/4 of your feed is going to them.
My mindset on the feeders is not to put enough out to fill the deer up...just to put enough down to wet their whistle a bit and keep them coming back. Ideally, I try and set the timers and amount of feed that gets put out of the feeders so that when the resident deer here feed on what's put down...there's not much left on the ground for the ***** to clean up. It's never an exact thing...just something I try and do depending on the amount of deer feeding off the feeder.


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## andrewcw (Oct 20, 2013)

fastwater said:


> If'n the ***/squirrels can get to the corn...prolly 3/4 of your feed is going to them.
> My mindset on the feeders is not to put enough out to fill the deer up...just to put enough down to wet their whistle a bit and keep them coming back. Ideally, I try and set the timers and amount of feed that gets put out of the feeders so that when the resident deer here feed on what's put down...there's not much left on the ground for the *** to clean up. It's never an exact thing...just something I try and do depending on the amount of deer feeding off the feeder.


Id love a timed feeder. But ill have to save up. Usually putting 2-3 deer in the freezer helps offset the cost of new equipment in exchange for money saved on meat


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## fastwater (Apr 1, 2014)

andrewcw said:


> Id love a timed feeder. But ill have to save up. Usually putting 2-3 deer in the freezer helps offset the cost of new equipment in exchange for money saved on meat


Don't know what you're paying for corn but with not feeding the ***** 24/7 you'll save in that area as well.
Hope you're getting your corn at a feed mill. It's usually cheaper that way.


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## Moo Juice (Jan 20, 2021)

Get your corn from a farmer. It's cheaper yet.


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## Moo Juice (Jan 20, 2021)




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## andrewcw (Oct 20, 2013)

Moo Juice said:


> Get your corn from a farmer. It's cheaper yet.


I get it from the mill in Granville


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## Muddy (May 7, 2017)

If you own it, and it’s mostly row crops around you, then give them cover and late season food sources. What does your ground consist of now?


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## andrewcw (Oct 20, 2013)

i was just out in the field today and there is a ton of clover, and i scouted a few south facing plots with lots of foot traffic, thats where the turnips, radishes, and beets will go.


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