Good seed/combo for food plots?

[Hozzie]

I am going to till up some areas around my property to put in food plots.  Anyone have any recommendations on what to plant.  I figured I will do some clover, but I have heard alfalfa is good as well.  I will probably do 2 or 3 so I can mix it up as well.  

Anyone had really good luck with anything they would recommend?

Edited April 30, 2021 by Hozzie

[Quavodus]

Alfalfa is awesome. Deer absolutely love the stuff. I don't know about whether turkeys like it or not. Clover would be good to mix in with it. I don't think you could go wrong with them.

[Alleycat72]

I have 1.5 acres of alfalfa. It's been in the ground for 4 years and I'll probably replant it next year. It's fantastic, but needs have a lot of lime added. The deer use it most of the year. They stop around the rut. I just planted 3 acres of field corn. I've had deer try and run me off from the corn field. Small portions can be bush hoged throughout the season if you want to attract deer more heavily. They use this from just before bow season till January. I'm trying a 1/2 acre of cowpeas this year next to the pumpkin patch. Soybeans went bad for me. You need an electric fence to keep the deer out until the plant is big enough that it can tolerate browsing. 

[Hozzie]

Thanks.  That’s kind of what I had in mind.  I will probably do alfalfa and clover to start.  

[Shorty]

Cowpeas with Lablab and something like sunflower/sorghum/sun hemp to grow on as it vines.  The lablab is drought tolerant in case the summer gets dry.

[gregintenn]

A cheap way to feed deer is to go to the grocery store and buy a big bag of pinto beans and sew them.

[Chris]

I'm trying alfalfa and clover again this year. Learned an important lesson from last year tho... I have to spray the grasses or they will choke everything else out. I lost a two acre food plot that way last year. Trying to be all organic and green. Learned my lesson on that one.

[Alleycat72]

41 minutes ago, Chris said:

I'm trying alfalfa and clover again this year. Learned an important lesson from last year tho... I have to spray the grasses or they will choke everything else out. I lost a two acre food plot that way last year. Trying to be all organic and green. Learned my lesson on that one.

I spray my corn and alfalfa twice a year. 

[Alleycat72]

This is alfalfa. 

[Alleycat72]

Don't forget some dicalcium phosphate, trace minerals, and salt.