The food-plot craze is well entrenched among Georgia deer hunters. The idea of improving the nutrition available to your land's wildlife, while also dramatically improving your chances of putting venison on the ground, has driven more and more hunters to take the food-plot plunge.

Farmers we are not, but you wouldn't know that by the way we eye the weather radar.

In the April issue we talked about warm-season food plots, and our initial plantings in Putnam and Morgan counties were met with one of the driest springs in middle Georgia history. As a result, we replanted some of our plots in June, and those pea patches flourished under repeated June and July showers (see the photos on page 46). The deer on our hunting areas have had a belly full of peas this summer, but now it's time to dig those plots up again.

Cool-season plots are by far the most popular among hunters for the simple reason that in addition to providing added nutrition, deer are attracted to the plots during the hunting season. A look at last season's Truck-Buck coverage proves how effective hunting over cool-season food plots can be for getting a shot at a mature buck.

There are many options when it comes to what types of seed to plant in the fall. Since providing high-quality food over the winter is a priority for us, we eliminated foods that die out when the frosts of November hit. We want to plant fields that would stay green all winter and carry us through until next spring, when we will go back and start over with our peas and other warm-season plots... Read Full Article

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