Turkey and Deer Seed

[Sir-diealot]

My landlords kids let me hunt their land and I would like to help contribute to the land while helping myself and them at the same time. What seed would be benefit both turkey and deer? I know back in the day the NWTF had the Strut and Rut seed that was supposed to do both but I guess they are no longer doing that.

I live in the Finger Lakes Region of New York State, the land is gently rolling and appears to be rich soil. I don't have as much money as I had hoped to have for this, I had hoped to be able to give them $100.00 worth of seed but it looks like I will only be doing half that this year.

Could anybody make any suggestions on something that would benefit both young poults, mother hens and deer later in the year? I can't afford to do a PH test or I would go up there and do one. Thank you for any help given.

Oh they do have the ability to use and tiller and spreader if that helps any.

[Sixes]

I know zero about yankee dirt, but I would do some reading about best practices for your area, but I would think a good perennial clover would work well and once established, you do not need to replant every year like most food plots for game. Only lime, fertilize and mow if needed. Deer and turkey both enjoy a clover plot

[bbcoach]

When doing food plots, a soil test is a MUST.  If you don't the PH and other factors of the soil, your $50 worth of seed and fertilize may be worth $0.  With that being said, some states do soil tests for farmers, homeowners and landowners for free as part of their agricultural programs.  Most states have State colleges that have Agronomy Depts that are funded that provided this service.  In NC, NC State is funded for this purpose and does our soil test at no cost.  Check for these schools in NY.  Seed is available from many sources these days.  A couple of options via internet are Hancock seed out of Florida and Welters seed out of the mid west.  Deer and turkeys benefit from several types of seed, clover and grains (winter wheat, winter rye and spring oats) are just a few.  Seed companies also have blends that are specially formulated for deer and turkeys.  Hope this helps answer some questions.  I'll post more later today but it's time to hit the woods.  PM me or ask any questions you have and I'll try to steer you in the right direction.  I've been food plotting for over 10 years here in NC.

[Rzrbac]

Yes, soil tests can be free university extension offices. The correct PH level is critical when applying fertilizer(s).  I don't know much about the blends other than reading on a few and from I've seen, they aren't cost effective. Clovers would be great as mentioned and winter wheat may also be benecial.

[Rzrbac]

This isn't exactly what you asked about and may not be an option but, in Missouri our Deptmartment of Conservation has a state nursery.  They offer native trees, shrubs and bushes (bare root) at minimal cost. I believe trees come 25 to a bundle. This is pretty inexpensive way to improve wildlife habitat with a longer lasting effect. May not be an option but I thought I would throw that out there as I've planted many pin oaks here in southern MO.

[Sir-diealot]

First off I would like to say thank you to each of you that replied. One of the problems I have here is I have asked them about PH testing and they pretty much think that it is unnecessary or they said they did one once and did the soil prep and had poor results. Please understand I am not trying to tell two stories here, I have talked with many people who's property I have hunted in the past and my meds make it hard to remember which story was from which person, but I remember enough to know that if they did it or not they said they do not want to do it again, I think I even offered to pay for a test 2 years ago to help or to split the difference. Like I said, my meds make things hard to remember sometimes.

I will try to get it done next year but I won't have the money for the PH test this year, just no way I can. I do agree by the way, it is important to get one done.

[FANMAN]

I planted an acre of this one year, got tons of trail cam pics., both deer and turkeys.All I did was spray it to kill the vegetation, had a farmer disc it , let it settle ,sprayed it again.threw down some fertilizer. Then broadcast the seed and pulled a drag over it with a four wheeler.I got a couple of timely rains and it came up great. Just a thought, good luck.

https://www.realworldwildlifeproducts.com/product/real-world-upland-game-blend/

[Sir-diealot]

I planted an acre of this one year, got tons of trail cam pics., both deer and turkeys.All I did was spray it to kill the vegetation, had a farmer disc it , let it settle ,sprayed it again.threw down some fertilizer. Then broadcast the seed and pulled a drag over it with a four wheeler.I got a couple of timely rains and it came up great. Just a thought, good luck.

https://www.realworldwildlifeproducts.com/product/real-world-upland-game-blend/

Thank you, I will look into it for sure.

[shatcher]

Ryegrass is cheap.  Greens up nicely.  Same for wheat.

[bbcoach]

Ryegrass is cheap.  Greens up nicely.  Same for wheat.

DO NOT PLANT Ryegrass.  Ryegrass is an invasive grass that is hard to kill off and doesn't produce quality forage for deer or turkeys.  What shatcher probably means is Winter Rye.  Winter Rye is forage grain, that is planted in the fall, that deer and turkey will eat as fall and winter green protein and will stay green on into spring and develop seed heads for turkeys in the summer.

[Sir-diealot]

Ryegrass is cheap.  Greens up nicely.  Same for wheat.

DO NOT plant Ryegrass.  Ryegrass is an invasive grass seed that is hard to kill off and doesn't produce quality forage for deer or turkeys.  What shatcher probably means is Winter Rye.  Winter Rye is forage, that is planted in the fall, that deer and turkey will eat as fall and winter green protein and will stay green on into spring and develop seed heads for turkeys in the summer.

Thank you for the clarification, there is a lot of Winter Rye planted around here.