Fall Deer Food Plot 2009

[EddieWalker]

I've started my food plot for this years deer season.

This actually started a few years ago with my first planting being last fall. I was going to plant wheat, but just beforehand, I met a local biologist and switched to bob oats because of his recomendation. I never saw a single deer in the food plot. It was also very rare to find a track in there, and when I did, it appeared to just be walking through the oats.

In the Spring, I disked it in and planted cowpeas. I had high hopes for the peas from everything that I read about them. They really impressed me at how quickly they grew. I was also impressed with how they handled dry conditions and our East Texas heat. Two weeks of 100 degree temps didn't faze them at all. No rain for a month and a half also didn't have any effect on them.

Two weeks ago, I sprayed them with a round up type spray that was about half the price. I'm not very pleased with the spray and how it worked on the grass, but it did kill the peas rather quickly.

Today, I got caught up in doing other things, but was able to get the disk on my tractor and then was able to disk up the food plot. I had also sprayed one of my roads that is visable from my deer blind and the oposite direction of my house. We've seen deer, hogs and foxes on that road, so planting it seems like a good idea.

This will give me over an acre of food plot in two locations. I'm still debating what to plant, but my main planting in the big food plot will be wheat. In the road, I'm going to go with clover. Then I'll broadcast rye grass seed in the bermuda grass that surrounds the big food plot. For fun, I'm also thinking about doing a strip or square in chicary, alfalfa and turnips.

During the week, I'm hoping to get some time to run up to the feed store and buy my fertilizer, lime and seed. If I don't make it this week, then I'm still good if I go next week. I don't want to put it off any longer then that. I really want it in and growing by the opener in November. One full month of growth should be ideal.

On a side note, it appears that I'm going to have a very poor acorn crop this year. It might be that we didn't get any rain in August and the first half of September. In Tyler, the homes that water the lawns and their trees, have massive acorns. They are so thick that I'm having issues with them falling on me. At my place, where it's up to Mother Nature to water my trees, the acorns are tiny, very sparce and in some areas, non existant. I'm not sure what this will mean, but I'm guessing that a lack of acorns should mean that my corn feeder, protein feeder and food plots should become allot more attractive to the deer. No acorns, eat Eddie's food!!!

Who's started their food plots? What's your plan? What's worked for you?

Eddie

 

[CurlyDave]

From what the deer eat out here in Oregon, you should plant ornamental shrubs & flowers.

Raise them in big pots in a fenced area and the day before the season opens use your tractor to move the pots out near your blind.

 

[deere755]

After watching them destroy 10 acres of my soybeans this spring my vote is for soybeans LOL.

 

[archerm3]

All that planting/buying/disking/buying, makes you wonder if it isn't cheaper by the pound to just raise cattle and buy a deer head from the taxidermist once a year.

I live surrounded by corn/soybeans, and the deer are in my yard every night eating weeds, mulberries, and apple tree leaves.

I think if it was me I would try just planting any type of perennnial then just keep it mowed close to the ground. Deer eat anything when it's a shoot just starting to grow. I went through all that food plot business back when I was in a hunting club and never thought it was a good ROI, and that was with the cost spread amongst ten guys. We were better off just putting out minerals and corn.

 

[bp fick]

LOL, agree with the others. Just plant things you REALLY want to be there, shrubs, your wife's garden and any other plants YOU want.

The deer will be there in droves to mow it down!

We call our entire property the deer plot.

 

[EddieWalker]

I'm jealous of all you guys with deer problems. For a variety of reasons, there are very few deer here. While our heard is healthy and the numbers are good, there are something like one deer per 20 acres. The trees are so thick that there's just not allot for them to eat, so they don't reproduce like other areas. We're lucky to see a deer and when it happens, it's something to talk about!!!

I've owned my land since 2003, and have never shot a deer on it. I've hunted every deer season, and seen a grand total of five bucks in that time. I could have shot every one of them, but they were all young deers with small racks. I enjoy venison, but prefer pork. I have quite a few hogs here and shoot them fairly often. It's not much of a challeng to hunt hogs while living here, and they don't excite me either.

I doubt that I'll shoot a deer this year. It's not even part of the plan. I'd love for Steph to get one, but she says she'll only shoot one if it's mature and not a baby. She still gets excited to shoot a hog, which is something that I really enjoy. Her excitement over it is what I enjoy the most. Eventually I'm hoping the kids will also give it a try.

The food plot is to lure in the deer and just a big part of what makes living out here fun for me. Working the land, turning jungle into pasture or removing a hill to create a pasture is what I enjoy. Disking up the dirt and getting it to grow stuff is challenging. It's a money pit, but it's money well spent for the pleasure it gives me.

If you saw my deer blind, it would all make sense. LOL

Eddie

 

[dave1949]

Eddie

Wish you good hunting, but I think a more natural approach would yield the same results at less expense and chemical use. There are agricultural areas of the country where most water wells are contaminated beyond safe use by 50 years of chemical application.

Deer are attracted to corn, but mostly when it is young and tender.

The Fish and Game folks around here discourage corn feeding, they say deer don't really have the digestive system to get good nutrition from it. My own observation is they will pass up mature corn if their preferred browse is available.

Maybe a larger plot managed to grow what the deer feed on naturally in your area would produce good results. What do you see them eat, or what types of plants are nibbled off at the tips? Encourage that plant growth and you will have deer. Around here, they really like ash seedlings and any apple that hits the ground.

Dave.

 

[jinman]

In the Spring, I disked it in and planted cowpeas. I had high hopes for the peas from everything that I read about them. They really impressed me at how quickly they grew. I was also impressed with how they handled dry conditions and our East Texas heat. Two weeks of 100 degree temps didn't faze them at all. No rain for a month and a half also didn't have any effect on them.

Cowpeas? You mean you planted blackeye peas for the deer? Didn't you pick and eat any of those peas for yourself? You'd have to shoot me to keep me out of the pea patch.

 

[Uncle Doug]

This is what I found when looking for food plot information on the net.

http://www.wildlifemanagement.info/files/deer_28.pdf

Although it address deer in Louisana I figure the ones in East Texas are not that much different.

I planted plain whole oats about 2-3 weeks ago in about 4-5000 sqft plot and it is coming up nicely. Then I started taking to TBN member Two Guns about an RTV and deer plots. When I went over to LA to pick up the RTV he had picked up a bag of the Buck Buster deer plot mix they use. I planted it a few days later in two smaller plots and is just starting to come up. We have gotten just enough rain to keep it going good. I need to get a few pics.

Our property backs up to the Trinity Wildlife Refuge. While we have killed hogs for 20 years we have never gotten a shot at one of the few deer we have seen. I know they are in there I just have to convince them to come to my side of the fence.

 

[Western]

Personally I would have just plowed the peas, chemical free, into the ground, some may still grow in the wheat but no matter. I have planted Lab Lab and it seems the deer liked them best when I thought the peas were done. found out that the sugars and nutrients were strongest near the end of their life span.

The opposite seems to occur with wheat and oats. deer like them less as they mature, that is why they recommend shredding tall oats to encourage new growth. I always mix wheat with my oats. Wheat handles colder weather better, which usually isn't a problem for me here , but on occasion we freeze good.

I almost used "Bob" oats this year but have always had super luck with "Nora" oats, plus they are one of the oldest, widely used strains in the US.

I have planted areas of just wheat, just oats and had a deer feeder between the two patches, the deer will almost always through the wheat past the corn and hang out in the oats.

I have planted food plots most every year for 25 years. I plant to draw in the deer and to provide a small amount of nutrition, but I don't really push the nutrition part, I try to manage my land to provide the nutrition by clearing small ares every year to provide several different levels of growth.

Now that I am only on 15+ acres it is harder. when we had 380 acres it was somewhat easier to manage deer. I feel you need at least 400+ acres to even come close to "managing" a deer herd or at least see results. otherwise you bringing in deer for your neighbor that is at his property 3 times a year and all his buddies have a great time hunting the deer en route to your well planned out food plots.

 

[meaford]

I have a Jima 204 with Oil pressure trouble .Need cross reference no. for a oil pressure sending unit that bolts on lower left side of engine.Can anyone help me.Ken in Meaford Canada. ken.galliford@rogers.com or I sign in as Meaford,

 

[Lineman North Florida]

Tecomate makes some good blends, I have had good luck with the Monster mix, it was probably the most used food plot that I have ever grown but a bit pricey, over the past few years I have had good luck with Pennington Seeds Rackmaster which has rye, oats ,wheat,winter peas,and some small variety of clover, I just bought a 50lb bag this morning for 20.00 , I will mix it with 200lbs of fertilizer and disc it in lightly and then I will take my hand spreader and put out about 2lbs of Chickory any brand will do, and roll it in with my roller, as hot as it is here I try to wait till the first week in October to put it in provided I have some moisture. These are just some of my experiences with food plots over the last 20 years, the last one mentioned with the Pennington seed,Chickory and fertilizer will run you about $100.00 for between 1/2 and 3/4 acre foodplot.

 

[woodchuckc]

You would probably be better off to go with a grain type of rye instead of rye grass since deer are browsers, not grazers. Grasses are way down on a deer's list of preferable food sources - when you see deer out in an open field seemingly eating grass, they are actually eating the "weeds" (they may get some grass too, but that is not what they are after). They will eat grasses to keep from starving to death, but they do not digest them very well. Also, perrenial and even annual ryegrasses are pretty invasive and can be hard to get rid of once they get growing and go to seed. In general, any of the cereal grains are better in food plots than grasses.

 

[EddieWalker]

Here's a link with some good information on food plots from the Texas Ag Extension.

http://forages.tamu.edu/PDF/scs2000-24.pdf

The peas that I planted didn't really put out much for pea pods. From what I undestand, they are mostly just to help out the soil as a cover crop. While I didn't see any deer in there, I did see quite a few tracks and we had more deer at the corn feeder then we have before. I know it's wishful thinking, but I'm hoping that the peas helped bring them around. Next year, I'm thinking about soybeans. Maybe half and half to see which they prefer, or maybe another type of pea.

I'm all of the fence on Rye grass and Rye grain. I was reading some posts on a few hunting sites that were talking about food plots. Some guys say that all they put out is rye grass. Others said that the deer never touch the rye grass. One guy said that at one lease they loved the rye grass, but at his new lease, they avoid it.

I also read that rye grain is better to plant and that the deer really like it. I never heard of rye grain until I started searching for food plots. I'll probably give it a try if they sell it at the feed store when I go there.

Rye grass seed sells for $19 for a 50 pound sack. I bought a sack for my front yard and will broadcast it any day now. What's left will end up around my food plot where I currently have bermuda grass growing. I figure it's cheap enough and I already have it from the lawn, that I might as well give it a try and see what happens.

I'm off to Alissa's volleyball game in a few minutes, so it's impossible for me to get the fertilizer and seed today. I'm hoping to get it tomorrow. The forecast is for rain on Thursday. That doesn't really mean anything, anymore, but then again, they do get it right sometimes.

Thanks for the advice and imput.

Eddie

 

[Kfbeal]

I have lived on our property my entire life, 30+ years and only started seeing deer 4-5 years ago. I believe this came to be because neighboring farmers planted soybeans for several years. They would plant corn, harvest it, then plant soybeans on top of it. I think those soybeans brought them in.

I normally planted a mixture of beans, oats, and misc. I purchased from our local Coop. I had 1/2 an acre planted and they malled it before it really got a good stand. We have cows on the pasture, but I planted it on one end of our hay patch outside of cows reach so I know it wasn't the cows. We've been getting some decent rains, some today, and wish I would have planted some already.

We are open flat land prairie with little woods around here but some pretty heavy brush in areas.

 

[radioman]

you want deer ? just come up to new york state. you will pretty much find deer left and right. I even hit one with my truck! I doubt it that the government will be a issue if you wanted to import deer from NYS to texas!

 

[EddieWalker]

Personally I would have just plowed the peas, chemical free, into the ground, some may still grow in the wheat but no matter.

I was going to do that, but I wanted to kill the grass and weeds that were growing in there too. I was afraid that if I just disked it all in, then the grass and weeds would come right back stronger then before.

Eddie

 

[Western]

Unless it's stickers or hitch hiking type weeds I think you would be fine Eddie. I don't think it hurts anything, just usually a waste of money and time (for a food plot). As mentioned before by a poster, and knowing you have hunted all over the place, (seen your mounts) Deer like weeds, some more than others. If it was a hay field I see that different, (controlling weeds).

The great thing about peas or any legume, is the nitrogen they put in the ground. I have planted them blended with vetch,oats and arrow leaf clover, and it is dynamic. I got that idea from a East Texas deer biologist, it was their best combination during their deer plot test for North/East Texas. had a longer growing period and variety.

The problem I have had with "store" bought food plot seed is,
1. Seed size is important, small seed gets planted shallow while larger seed goes deep. I plant the larger seeds first, then top dress the small stuff, if they come blended you will be lucky to get said results.

2.Most all of the seed I see at Cabelas or where ever, are not really good growers in my climate, combined with my soil type planting zones ect. I try to buy something grown for seed within my Zone or as close as possible.

3. I try to, but don't always buy "certified" seed for better germination and less weeds. I planted a $50 bag of a commercial deer plot mix 2 years ago and have been fighting careless weeds ever since.

And I always buy inoculated seed or get the powder,( generally for legumes).

Eddie, If you do take another "wall hanger" where ya going to put it? Your running out of room brother..

 

[backdoor]

I have already planted my fall food plot. 2 acres of rye grain, Abruzzi strain. I've tried the special mixes from the TV shows and never got any of them to grow. I've planted oats and the deer wouldn't touch them, but the turkeys cleaned all the seeds off when they ripened. Soybeans are no good-the deer eat them to the ground before they get 4 inches tall. Buckwheat and sunflowers do okay through the summer, but suffer a good bit of damage. Rye grows very fast in the fall, but we have enough deer here to keep the 2 acre patch eaten down to a couple inches in height, at the most. I planted on the 6th of September and the rye is about 6 inches tall now, but it's not quite thick enough on the land yet to draw the crowds of deer that will be here once it tillers out and covers the land. I only saw 12 deer in the field just before dark. In another month the rye will be thick as my yard grass, and the deer will be thick there too. We cannot put out feed for deer after September 1, cannot hunt near where a feeder or salt lick has been. We have so many deer here that our county has an Earn-a-buck limit. First deer you kill can be a buck, but the second has to be antlerless, third can be a buck, forth antlerless. I don't really know what the limit is, I think it's 2 a day, 6 on a license, then you can buy bonus tags, either 1 or 2 a day for the entire season. But we have no hogs here.

 

[Alan L.]

I have some cowpeas in my johnson grass. Actually I planted the cowpeas at the end of June to improve the soil as a cover crop and to fix nitrogen. I tilled the top 3 or 4 inches and broadcast 250 pounds of seed over about 4 acres, then dragged it (I seriously need to come up with a good way to do this). I mixed the black powder in the seed before planting it.

The cowpeas grew pretty good after they finally decided to sprout, but they are competing with johnson and other types of grasses and weeds.

If you do a search for cowpeas you would think deer can't resist it, but I have yet to see a single deer in it.

I plan to let the frost get it, then brush hog and till it in, unless its better to till it in green.

I'd like to go back with something for the winter, but haven't decided yet. The feed store mentioned Laredo soybeans for the winter, but the seeds are expensive.

I have tried bermuda on this part of the property with little luck, and wanted to sprig a hybrid coastal, but the soil quality is not up to par due to dozer work that was done to clear the land 9 years ago. I lost some topsoil during that process.