Pumpkins in a food plot?

[corydd7]

Anyone say yes or no to pumpkins added to a Oats plot? I have seeds that I will never use already and know deer enjoy pumpkins. Is there any downside? 

[2BuckBizCT]

@crappyice and his buddy tried this. 

[mowin]

Buddies of mine hunt a large pumpkin patch.  It's actually a field a septic comp spreads shit. They plant pumpkins on the areas they are not spreading on.  It seams the less mast crop, deer tend to hit better, and late season, the colder the better. 

[corydd7]

So Crappy, good idea?

[Jeremy K]

You'll have one evening window of them blitzkrieging the pumpkin patch. 

[2BuckBizCT]

IIRC @crappyice and his friend fenced them in until the season starts

[mowin]

14 minutes ago, corydd7 said:

So Crappy, good idea?

I don't hunt it. But they take several nice deer off of it every year. They are required to plant something on the rotation schedule.  I think the pumpkin patch is around 40 acres. 

[Robhuntandfish]

I would say it's prob one of the last things I would pick to plant for a deer plot.  You'll get far more tonnage out of an area of oats or brassicas or clovers etc.  Also pumpkins take a while to grow and would have needed to start them earlier in the growing season.  Plus the pumpkin vines spread out and may take over a lot of the oats growing there.  

That being said if the area your looking at isn't being used at all and not planting anything else then more forage and choices is always better.   But for the acreage they take up to grow vs the yield it's not a first choice.  And deer will eat them. Esp late season when there are less options and they are needing to build back up before winter.  

Edited July 13, 2023 by Robhuntandfish

[G-man]

I did  pumpkins this year deer will hit them but mine  im hoping for a bear..   all depends on whats available 

 Deer will step on them and eat them. For tons per acre  bad  idea  for an ice cream treat for  game  if you have space go ahead

[corydd7]

Ok you all were very helpful.  Think what I will do is leave the oat plot alone and overseed a small area I have late August, that just grows grass. No downside and hopefully they feed on the vines.

[Belo]

I think I'd throw them in for giggles. Maybe the kids could pick a few. I have seen deer devour my old Halloween carvings, but I haven't seen them eat the pumpkins I used to plant unfenced outside my garden. Maybe it's something about being open and exposed?

[2BuckBizCT]

@crappyice !

[LET EM GROW]

You can add them to a blend, but a field of pumpkins is waste in terms of feeding deer imo. They would probably do good with a soybean, corn sunflower milo plot of some sort.. Something you'll start in spring and let go into winter..  

[Buckmaster7600]

If you have the seed throw them in within bow range of a stand/ blind the day before you have a couple days to hunt drive over the pumpkins with your truck. Every deer in the area will be in them for a couple days.

[crappyice]

Sorry...been busy. We plant a field on Columbia county and have had terrible luck getting pumpkins to grow ever since out first year of great success. My buddy does not spray his property with any weed killer (his pronouns remain he/him, he votes Republican, and like hunting and fishing-go figure!) so weeds and water have been the biggest issue since opening the field. Every year we add a new measure to hopefully have a successful pumpkin patch. Last year he added the plastic rower but we had not rain. This year we added irrigation under the mounded plastic and 8' deer fencing. Looked great two weeks ago. The issue is them eating all the plants before they even flower.

That's some type of rye to try and keep the weeds down where there no plastic and to fertilize the soil when turning the field.