If you have a situation where your smaller “hunting plots” are being eaten to the ground too fast, try protecting them with a product like P2 Plot Protector. This can help save the forage for when you want to “ring the dinner bell” and hunt the site.

The hunting season covers a long period of time during which temperatures are changing, plants are changing, a whitetail’s needs are changing…. Get the idea? To do well at consistently attracting whitetail to a food plot, you need to provide the variety necessary to cover their needs regardless of the conditions. Variety is a key! Otherwise, you have to be specific about "exactly when," or, "under what conditions," you want the attraction to occur - and choose plants that are the most palatable during that timeframe.

It would depend upon your conditions as to whether this "variety tactic" is right for you. If you have adequate acreage in food plots, or if you are in an agricultural area, then "variety" is probably the way to go. You have to use your judgment; sometimes a ½ acre is enough to plant a couple different blends if you have multiple plots in the area or if you are in an area with a lot of agriculture. But if it’s the only plot in the immediate area then you are almost always better off planting just one blend and hunting the spot during the peak of that blend’s attraction. With small plots, or in a "big woods" setting, you may have to be very specific with your goals and "when exactly" you want the attraction to occur.

The location, size and layout are where harvest plots typically differ from nutrition plots. They tend to be smaller and typically closer to the bedding areas. My chances for a shot at a mature buck during legal shooting light dramatically increases the closer I move to the bedding area and the more comfortable the buck feels about accessing the plot. Obviously you must not move in too close to the bedding site or the gig is up.

The security of the smaller plots typically makes bucks feel comfortable about hanging out in the area during daylight hours. This is why products like Hot Spot have been so successful. You can take this stuff and, with a rake or leaf blower and a bag of 10-10-10, plant a 20 yard by 20 yard square right next to your treestand. Hot Spot only requires four hours of direct sunlight per day. While feeding in these small spots, bucks are only two hops away from cover and even mature bucks will many times feel safe about exposing themselves under daylight conditions.

My goal with a harvest plot is to draw them in so I can kill them or to use it as a magnet so I can intercept them on the way to the plot. If the plot is large enough, I try and "leave the table set" for them all through the season. If you plant only one thing in a specific plot you are limiting the time you are going to be able to use it for attraction. I suggest dividing a hunting plot into two to six sections, depending upon how large the plot is.

Obviously, you must have adequate acreage to do this "variety tactic" justice. For instance, if you have only a ¼ acre, you are probably better off planting just one blend. Otherwise, when a specific cultivar becomes palatable there’s not going to be enough to keep them coming back. They’ll wipe you out too soon.

If the property has enough acreage devoted to food plots…that is; "if the food plots aren’t always eaten to the ground," I have a recipe that seems to do well for consistent attraction. I will usually plant Clover Plus (red and white perennial New Zealand clovers and chicory) in one section and a blend having a high concentration of brassicas in another (Maximum, Full Draw or maybe Premium Perennial). In one section, I’ll use a blend of Round-Up Ready corn and soybeans called BioMaxx, and in one section I’ll usually plant a blend with a high concentration of cereal grains (Outfitter’s Blend or Trophy Oats). With this variety of plants I’ve given them something to keep them coming to the spot from the opening of bow season until long into the winter - or until the food runs out.

When designing hunting plots many details have to be considered. Some hunters use their harvest plots to actually set up for the kill. There’s no question if you do things right you can knock over Pope & Young bucks right in the middle of your food plot. On the other hand, some hunters use the food plot as their "magnet" and may harvest their buck 200-300 yards off of the plot, but the plot is the focal point and the reason the buck is traveling to the area.

"Pressure" is possibly the biggest factor as to whether the buck will be vulnerable during legal shooting hours. If you hunt the same treestand - on the same plot - three days a week during the hunting season, DO NOT expect to harvest a mature buck on the plot. However, if you hunt the site only when the conditions are in your favor and you put very little pressure on the area, or, maybe you have a couple well placed sanctuaries on your property, then there’s no question, you most certainly can set up right on the plot’s edge and have encounters with mature bucks.

There are many questions to answer when considering plot layout and design. Are you in the "big woods" and need to rent a dozer to get the job done? Or, can you take advantage of some of Mother Nature’s natural openings, like swamp edges, meadows or old agricultural fields. If you have to design the plot from scratch in a big woods scenario, I would suggest actually picking out your treestand trees before you even start the dozer. Consider the prevailing winds during the time of the season you would like to hunt and choose ambush locations that give you the best advantage.

There are also many ways in which you can dictate deer movement around your plots. Use those dozer pilings or fall trees to funnel or guide the animals in a certain direction to your favor. Guide them into shooting situations and away from downwind of your location.

Every property and plot is different. If you have small harvest plots, plant something that will give you the best chance possible specifically for the timeframe you want to hunt the location. If you have larger harvest plots, or there’s ample food in the area, planting a variety can be the key to consistent attraction. Use the combination of cover, the lay of the land, plot design, dozer pilings and chainsaw cuttings to put as many odds as possible in your favor.