by Eric Hall

September 28th inches closer and anticipation is high for the Ohio 2018 archery season opener.  The food plot was planted in early July and is booming now.  I know July was a bit early for a fall plot, but it was when I could get it in the ground.

Egyptian wheat plot screen 60 days from planting

I am most excited about the extreme growth of the Egyptian Wheat I planted for a food plot screen.  This stuff is pushing 6 feet tall with 30 good days of growing left to do.  I anticipate it reaching between 6 and a half to 8 feet in total height.   This plant has been easy to grow as long as the ground has nitrogen.

The Forage Rape is growing well, too.  The plot is covered in forage rape.  I am excited to see when the deer begin to hit the brassica.  Typically, they wait until after the first good hard frost to begin to consume brassica.  The sugars get pulled from the root system to the leaves.  I will keep track of this as we go along.

The winter peas never got a good start.  I couldn’t get them deep enough into the soil and thus had a poor germination rate.  I talked to another hunter who experienced the same thing.  The peas need to be 1 inch in the ground and I planted just prior to a rain.  The smaller brassica seeds were driven into the ground by the rain while the peas were uncovered.   The few peas that are up in the plot are being nipped off by the deer.  The deer like them, I just need to do a better job in planting them next season.  Lesson learned.

Food Plot Forage 60 days from planting

The weeds did seem to take over a big part of the plot.  I sprayed with roundup prior to planting and had the vegetation killed off.  I think a good tilling next spring should help with the overall weed problem.  For now, the season is looming, and I am stuck with weeds in the plot.   Good thing deer eat weeds too!

I have had a lot of fun documenting the progress of the food plot.  It is growing well and I am excited to see how it attracts the deer in the fall, especially after the frosts start.  With only about 30 days left until the opener, anticipation, and excitement are running high.  Good luck to everyone this year.