09/27/2026
Too often we think our food plots were a failure, when in fact they may have been doing their job too well… attracting deer. I neglect to do it just as many others, but I think it’s a must on every plot you plant. Adding a seclusion cage can give you a lot of insight. Are the deer using the plot? Did what I plant not grow well because of weather conditions, or poor soil, or did the deer eat it to the ground before it ever stood a chance of producing? In this plot I had a tree fall down into it sometime after planting. It’s a subtle difference but if you look closely you will see the vegitation under the tree is a few inches taller than what’s around it. Telling me that the deer are loving this blend from Green Cover Seed. Often times in woodlots you will see the same story, a few instances stand out to me while walking client properties. Once, in a hemlock swamp filled with jewelweed during the summer months, inside a fallen down top the vegetation was well over 2ft tall. Outside of it was just over ankle high. Another time walking a property that was recently logged heavy, left the entire place filled with black birch regeneration. Only in the tops did I find a few other species of plants, and the ones that stood out most were oak trees that were flourishing because the deer could not reach them to browse on.
