Swamp Food Plot

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Octang
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Swamp Food Plot

Unread postby Octang » Thu Feb 15, 2018 11:50 am

Is it possible to have a good food plot in a bottomland forest that floods every year?

Obviously, deer live there, and they have to eat something, so clearly food of some sort grows down there, but is a man-made plot viable? The area I am thinking about is flooded as soon as snow melts till sometime into mid-summer. It is typically dry enough to wear hiking boots in the fall, but there are some soggier areas still. It is also a mile from the nearest farm field, and surrounded by a couple thousand acres of bottomland forest. It seems like a good food plot would be a deer magnet around there, but some years it could get flooded out (or at least be soggier than you would want a garden). Thoughts?


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JAK
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Re: Swamp Food Plot

Unread postby JAK » Thu Feb 15, 2018 12:23 pm

On some of the private land I hunt is really wet like you explaine. Some years we can't get r plots in but the years we can they get hit really good. If you can get in early enough it's worth a shot.
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Re: Swamp Food Plot

Unread postby Hawthorne » Thu Feb 15, 2018 12:41 pm

I have one plot just like that. I don’t plant it till august. You will have to spray it in June or July with round up after it is dry.Mine has done well with cereal grains and radishes. They grow great because of the moist soil
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Re: Swamp Food Plot

Unread postby Octang » Thu Feb 15, 2018 1:59 pm

Hawthorne wrote:I have one plot just like that. I don’t plant it till august. You will have to spray it in June or July with round up after it is dry.Mine has done well with cereal grains and radishes. They grow great because of the moist soil


Thanks, that is what I was thinking too. Plant quick growing items in late summer. Have you tried Kale at all? From my past gardening experience I recall that being a great cool weather crop that doesn't need/want much sunlight. It seems like that could flourish in the fall, though I am not sure how well it like wet soil.
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Octang
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Re: Swamp Food Plot

Unread postby Octang » Thu Feb 15, 2018 2:06 pm

JAK wrote:On some of the private land I hunt is really wet like you explaine. Some years we can't get r plots in but the years we can they get hit really good. If you can get in early enough it's worth a shot.


I was wondering if that would be an issue: Some years plots go in, and other years it just may be too wet to be feasible. I guess that isn't the end of the world, you can always pick up where you left off the next year it is dry enough.

I would imagine a food plot in the middle of the big woods would be a huge draw. There is tons of bedding in the area, so it seems like a great way to hold/draw deer to the property. My son is getting close to being old enough to hunt and I really like the idea of food plots to give him some easy opportunities and reliably get meat in the freezer.
Last edited by Octang on Thu Feb 15, 2018 2:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Swamp Food Plot

Unread postby Jonny » Thu Feb 15, 2018 2:09 pm

I would also take the time to do a soil test. Swamps can be very acidic. Might save you a couple future headaches
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Octang
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Re: Swamp Food Plot

Unread postby Octang » Thu Feb 15, 2018 2:12 pm

Jonny wrote:I would also take the time to do a soil test. Swamps can be very acidic. Might save you a couple future headaches


Agreed. I would hate to waste a lot of time, money, and effort flying blind.
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Re: Swamp Food Plot

Unread postby JAK » Thu Feb 15, 2018 3:11 pm

Octang wrote:
Jonny wrote:I would also take the time to do a soil test. Swamps can be very acidic. Might save you a couple future headaches


Agreed. I would hate to waste a lot of time, money, and effort flying blind.

Yea we had to spread allot of lime on are food plots. We can definitely tell the years we can't get them planted . Deer numbers go way down. We usually planted in August. Sometimes as late as first week in september.
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Re: Swamp Food Plot

Unread postby Octang » Thu Feb 15, 2018 3:14 pm

JAK wrote:
Octang wrote:
Jonny wrote:I would also take the time to do a soil test. Swamps can be very acidic. Might save you a couple future headaches


Agreed. I would hate to waste a lot of time, money, and effort flying blind.

Yea we had to spread allot of lime on are food plots. We can definitely tell the years we can't get them planted . Deer numbers go way down. We usually planted in August. Sometimes as late as first week in september.


How big are your food plots? I am curious how much I need without them getting mowed to the ground as soon as they sprout.
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Re: Swamp Food Plot

Unread postby JAK » Thu Feb 15, 2018 3:19 pm

Octang wrote:
JAK wrote:
Octang wrote:
Jonny wrote:I would also take the time to do a soil test. Swamps can be very acidic. Might save you a couple future headaches


Agreed. I would hate to waste a lot of time, money, and effort flying blind.

Yea we had to spread allot of lime on are food plots. We can definitely tell the years we can't get them planted . Deer numbers go way down. We usually planted in August. Sometimes as late as first week in september.


How big are your food plots? I am curious how much I need without them getting mowed to the ground as soon as they sprout.

The one is about 3/4 of a acre and we have 3 other ones that are about a 3rd acre a piece the bigger one last all year plant that in clover since that one only partially floods on wet year. But the other ones are usually winter wheat or rye if we get them in. And the smaller ones get mowed down right away.
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Re: Swamp Food Plot

Unread postby llcooljames » Fri Feb 16, 2018 7:40 am

We haven't had great luck with plots in the marsh. I also think we plant way to early. We are private surrounded by public with a lot of ag around. I think this year we are going to try to plant corn and leave it up. If we plant anything else it will be late in the year.


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