# Food plot seed for spring turkey's



## LTH (Nov 14, 2017)

This spring will only be my 3rd year owning our property. It is (was) heavily wooded and low however, we completed a select cut this past fall. I have some food plots and other open areas now that I'd like to plant something in this spring to attract and hold some birds. There's a large population of birds about 2.5 miles down the road and we will see one or two moving through in the spring. So, they are in the area. I currently have one plot with brassicas that will be dirt by spring, one that is clover and the large area where the logs were cut, piled and loaded (about three acres) into WW and Rye. I'm open to just about anything.


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## Liver and Onions (Nov 24, 2000)

I can't think of anything that could be planted this spring and be a food source for turkeys before the end of May.
Turkeys like to search for food in green areas so your clover & WW/rye will be attraction. Had you included clover with the brassicas last summer it would have been another location. A thought for this coming summer.
Many roosting trees on your property or near by ? Water ? 
Kills as many *****/yotes as possible to help with nesting success.

L & O


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## Liver and Onions (Nov 24, 2000)

If you want or need more green space this spring you can plant oats where the brassicas was as soon as you can disk that plot. It will germinate in cool soil and grow rather quickly. Not a source of food itself, but turkeys will scratch around in it. Clover will be a better draw.

L & O


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## Mole Hill (Jul 15, 2020)

Try planting sorghum turkeys love eating the seed you plant.


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## noshow (Sep 24, 2010)

Plant sunflowers. You cant help if they come est the seed. But in all seriousness it will take time to build yourself a little flock. I would be sure to plant clovers. Turkeys eat clover. I would also plant grain sorghum and buckwheat. It wont attract them in the spring but once the seed dries they will be there in the fall and the following spring after the seeds. Like someone else suggested to make sure you manage your predators. Trapping makes it easy to control and get rid of coins, opposums, skunks. Coyotes and Bobcats do some damage but most damage is done when nesting and those critters wipe out a whole nest. Just my two cents. It's worked well for us. Think about the future for your property and not just the now.


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## Yankee#1 (Jun 3, 2015)

LTH said:


> I have some food plots and other open areas now that I'd like to plant something in this spring to attract and hold some birds. There's a large population of birds about 2.5 miles down the road and we will see one or two moving through in the spring.
> 
> I'm open to just about anything.


If you're seeing birds 2.5 miles away, you're probably going to need more than food. Perhaps just my opinion, but food sources by themselves don't typically hold birds. They may be attracted here and there, but their diet changes so rapidly (especially in ag land) that this week's food source may be useless next week.

My experiences from multiple states suggests roost trees and nesting sites are the areas that routinely hold birds. If you don't have hilly terrain with mature open trees (oaks, walnuts, elms, etc.) then your best bet - to 'hold' birds - will be to turn some of those open areas into nesting habitat. Secondary and tertiary nest sites will be hit by younger hens nesting later in the season, and those areas tend to attract those frisky late season gobblers...


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## Yankee#1 (Jun 3, 2015)

In the big picture, in my opinion, I think you first need to determine if you have the resources to manage your habitat into an area that can actually 'hold' birds, or if your best option is to simply try a few things to 'attract' more birds during season. 

L&O mentioned it - but do you have any water source nearby? A spring, small creeklet, pond - anything that serves as a year-round source will help. 

I personally rank spring hunting areas in this order (highest to lowest) - roost sites, nesting sites, strut zones, water and food. The best areas have all of those, but considering home ranges for most birds encompass 500-1000 acres, most private properties (at least in SW near me) typically don't exclusively have all of those. I'm also in SW, with woods filled with nut mast and where fields are constantly getting tilled and planted around me from March to mid-May (later if we have flooding, etc.), so food and water always get ranked last on my list. 

Freshly tilled fields can (in some cases) attract as many birds as freshly planted and/or green fields - birds can pick for bugs and the toms can also strut for the hens. This is often overlooked, but come mid- to late-May, many green fields are too high and too wet for toms to strut comfortably in the morning. In my area, most birds move from green fields to barren fields and freshly-tilled earth to strut. Thus, simply plowing some earth in May could attract birds during late spring.


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