As sometimes happens, Sunday's Outdoors page just wasn't big enough to hold all the information I had - especially on food plots.
In Mississippi, and probably in other states, rye grass is king when it comes to planting.
"Rye grass is just hard to get away from for a food plot," Nancy McCardle of the Copiah County Co-op said. "It will come up in the back of your truck.
"We've spilled some on the flatbed and it came up. We sell tons and tons."
Even so, Bronson Strickland, Extension Wildlife Specialist with Mississippi State University, said it isn't the best choice.
"We don't ever recommend rye grass anymore," Strickland said. "It has really fallen out of favor with biologists and deer managers."
One reason Strickland cites is because it does not provide the same amount of nutrients as other crops like wheat, oats and other forage. Another reason is that it is a prolific re-seeder. Strickland said he has seen it come up in a plot where it had not been planted in the previous three years. In that particular case, it ruined a plot planted in clover.
The biggest reason is that deer don't prefer it.
"When you put rye grass side-by-side with oats or forage wheat, they'll go to the oats or wheat every time," Strickland said. "They taste better to the deer and it's better for them and they know it."
Strickland said he is often told by hunters that they plant rye grass and it attracts deer every year. Strickland said that is likely because it's the only green choice the deer have at that time.
In a nutshell, rye grass will attract deer, but there are other offerings that work better and may be cheaper.
According to a price list at the Copiah County Co-op, the least expensive rye grass is Gulf rye grass at $25 per 50-pound bag. The application rate is 50 pounds to the acre, so it's $25 per acre.
Ladino white clover is listed at $5.25 per pound with 3 pounds recommended for a total of $15.75 per acre.
Wheat is listed at $11.95 per 50-pound bag with roughly 50 pounds recommended per acre.
Turnip seed runs $3.50 per pound and it takes 4 pounds, or $14 per acre. McCardle noted that turnips are not quite as cold-tolerant as rye grass and will die when temperatures drop to around 20 degrees.
For hunters with bigger budgets, the sky is pretty much the limit as to how much can be spent on name-brand specialty seeds and seed mixes.
Jeffrey Wood of Stringer said his favorite mixes are Pennington's Rackmaster Deluxe Fall Mix and Mississippi Complete Mix.
Just as important as a quality seed is a quality seed bed, according to Wood.
"Discing and planting the same day is a mistake," Wood said. "All those plants you disc under will rot.
"I think it creates a fungus and it gets on your seed and kills germination."
Wood said he discs, then repeats a week or two later and plants preferably after a third discing.
"You get more tonnage per acre," Wood said. "Your plot is almost like a carpet versus a skimpy plot."
Wood's soil preparation is certainly more work and more trips to your deer camp, but depending on how serious you are about providing quality forage and lots of it, it may be worth the extra effort.