July 7, 2008 The West plot at the Hoskins farm which was planted 7 weeks ago is lush and thick with perennial and clover. Surprisingly I didn't see much in the way of turnips or chicory which is the opposite of what I have in my shady plot out back here at home. Maybe they will come on later when it cools off a little. It was 95* with 80% humidity when I hiked back thru shoulder high corn to get some pictures. There were deer tracks thru it but they seem to be leaving it alone. That's the good thing about having it at the edge of 100 acres of corn.
Brent, Pro Staff
Fairfield, IA
June 2008 Here's a Purple Top Turnip that I pulled out of the Shady plot out back today. It's about 10 weeks old.
Brent, Pro Staff
Fairfield, IA
June 2008 Went out to check out the Sweet Spot plots at the Hoskins Farm today hoping they hadn't spent too much time under water. I was pleasantly surprised at the stand which is 10-12 inches high and looking great. The Perennial really came in thick. The turnips and chicory are a little bit clumped up for some reason but at least they're there. This plot is in a creek bottom area next to a 40 acre corn field. The deer have been hammering the corn but leaving the Sweet Spot plot alone to get established.
Brent, Pro Staff
Fairfield, IA
May 2008 I planted a couple of Sweet Spot plots in SE Iowa 2 weeks ago and it is coming in great thanks to the 3 inches of rain we've received.
Brent, Pro Staff
Fairfield, IA
April 2008 All I can say about Sweet Spot since I planted it in September of 2007 is WOW! I have been planting food plots since back when planting food plots wasn't cool. Starting in 1986, I have planted nearly every thing under the sun to help improve the wildlife on the areas I hunted. I can remember the early years of planting ryegrass and some purple top turnips I slipped out of my mother's seed drawer, through experimenting with various annual and perennial clovers, on up to the "Monster Buck Mixes" of the modern wildlife seed companies. Though all were appreciated by the local deer herd, I have never seen a seed mix draw deer like the Sweet Spot did this past Fall. All I can attribute it to is the High Sugar perennial ryegrasses in the mix. With my experience in food plot planting, I was very hesitant to plant anything that had a ryegrass in it. When my friend, Kent Kammermeyer, suggested I try the Sweet Spot, I put it in a plot as far as practically possible from my personal plot which I have in a perennial / annual mix. Little did I know what I was about to witness. On our farm we apply very little hunting pressure, which allows deer to behave somewhat "normal", assuming there is such a thing. It is not unusual to see several deer--often up to 10 or 15 feeding in any given plot in the evenings. Rarely, however, have we ever seen deer in the plots in the mornings, and then only passing through. Not the case with Sweet Spot. Not only would deer come to the plot well before dark in the evenings, often feeding for several hours, but also in the mornings, often staying and feeding on to mid-morning. Never have I seen a mixture of ryegrass and clovers in which the ryegrasses actually stayed shorter than the perennial clovers due to grazing pressure. I can't wait to see how the mix will does during our hot, dry summer, if it survives, I'll have to say this is THE most complete food plot mix I have ever seen. Guess what will be in my personal plot this Fall? SWEET SPOT!!
Tommy Hunter, Pro Staff
Dacula, GA
May 2008 Here's a picture I just took of my Sweet Spot shade trial out in my backyard. It was frost seeded the last week in March so it had about 6 weeks to get established before the heavy shade set in. I just raked the leaves off of it and threw the seed down. No tilling or drilling. It is now only getting about 2 hours of sunlight a day. The chicory and turnips are really coming on strong now and the white clover is underneath waiting for the summer dry spell to assert itself. The High Sugar Perennial is looking really healthy. At this time of the year the deer are in the woods eating bushes and other forbs so they have pretty much left this alone to get established. They'll be glad they did come fall.
Brent, Pro Staff
Fairfield, IA
January 2008 Here's all the proof anyone should need that deer like Sweet Spot. They are keeping that ryegrass mowed pretty well. I have plenty of photos that also demonstrate that they're either used to the camera or like the Sweet Spot so well that you just can't hardly run 'em outta the plot. In fact, 61 pictures in 8 days from this camera, all of deer in this plot.”
Gene B
Gainsville, GA
February 2008 Here is a Sweet Spot plot picture I took yesterday. The deer are still hammering this plot.
Tommy Hunter, Pro Staff
Dacula, GA