food plots for whitetails

[jackh]

anybody have any experience with food plots for whitetails? especially if your in texas? any tips on what youve done, what works for you, products used would be greatly appreciated

[angsniper]

I use chicory and clover. I've had better luck with the cheaper brands actually. I tried Extreme for 2 years in a row and it wouldn't grow even though the pH was in range. Power plant grew really good but its an annual and I try to stay with perennials. I have also mixed turnips and corn into the plot.

[jackh]

ive been reccomended to stay with protein in spring/summer and plant oats in fall in my part of the country. anybody else have experience with plotting?

[nemohunter]

i do plots too but my climate is way different than yours down Texas way. ours is primarily clover or alfalfa up here with a crop grain suplimented in with the plot on a yearly basis. usually corn.

[RugerIte]

Ever try the Field of Grass? :a21:

[73driver]

Deer absolutely seem to love soybeans. Might give that a try.

[gyrhed]

I have tried for 15 years to plant fall and spring food plots. Our part of texas has been so dry that we only manage to get about a 20% success ration and then the hogs come in and tear it all to hell.

I have tried the blends, clover, wheat, austrian winter peas, turnips, just about everything for the fall. First year we planted wheat we got rain the next day and every three or four days all the way to opening day. That feild was loaded deer in it nearly anytime you went to it. three years later and 3 more tries nothing. No water at the right time. Not to say that it didn't grow it just couldn't stay ahead of teh deer and hogs. About february or so it woulf take off and head up and make a nice crop if the hogs left it alone.

Our best luck was with austrian winter peas but you have to plant enough of them to allow them the grow, in a small plot the deer with eat them down just as soon as they break ground.

I have seen deer walk through wheat, turnips, and all of the other blends of browse to ge to the winter pea plot on our south place. The stroy is completely different on the north place. It is only 20 miles north but it is on the red river. Up there the deer eat teh turniops down as soon as they break ground and virtually ignore wheat and winter peas.

What we diecided about wo years ago was that teh cost of fuel, seed, and fertilizer was never recovered when compared to just feeding (not just corn) all year. Never mind the investment in equipment and time it takes to fence a plot off rom the cattle.

haven't planted a plot in three years and last year was out best year in the last 15 weven been hnting up there.

I believe your money and time are better spend (at least in West of I35) just buying feed and keeping the feeders running all year.

Farmers are able to like on or near the propoerty they farm and be there as soon as the feild is dry enough to till or right before a rain. Living two hours away we had to plan and get everybody together for a certian weekend and it has been very dry up here during the fall.

[gyrhed]

send a soil sample to Texas A&M and let them analyze it for you. We did but the cost of the treatment was tremendous. Like more in alkye and fertilizer than it would ever be worth.

Talk to the locals that grow wheat for winter graze. Not the actual wheat farmers. The grazers plant at the right time for deer. the farmers will plant a little later. They will tell you the minimum you need to do to grow wheat.

You can spend an awful lot of money getting the soil reaady and planting and then not get rain until late November or December. Its a real pisser the be finished hunting and your food plots are suddenly ankle deep and loaded with tracks.

With feeding you have complete control.

[jackh]

I have tried for 15 years to plant fall and spring food plots. Our part of texas has been so dry that we only manage to get about a 20% success ration and then the hogs come in and tear it all to hell.

I have tried the blends, clover, wheat, austrian winter peas, turnips, just about everything for the fall. First year we planted wheat we got rain the next day and every three or four days all the way to opening day. That feild was loaded deer in it nearly anytime you went to it. three years later and 3 more tries nothing. No water at the right time. Not to say that it didn't grow it just couldn't stay ahead of teh deer and hogs. About february or so it woulf take off and head up and make a nice crop if the hogs left it alone.

Our best luck was with austrian winter peas but you have to plant enough of them to allow them the grow, in a small plot the deer with eat them down just as soon as they break ground.

I have seen deer walk through wheat, turnips, and all of the other blends of browse to ge to the winter pea plot on our south place. The stroy is completely different on the north place. It is only 20 miles north but it is on the red river. Up there the deer eat teh turniops down as soon as they break ground and virtually ignore wheat and winter peas.

What we diecided about wo years ago was that teh cost of fuel, seed, and fertilizer was never recovered when compared to just feeding (not just corn) all year. Never mind the investment in equipment and time it takes to fence a plot off rom the cattle.

haven't planted a plot in three years and last year was out best year in the last 15 weven been hnting up there.

I believe your money and time are better spend (at least in West of I35) just buying feed and keeping the feeders running all year.

Farmers are able to like on or near the propoerty they farm and be there as soon as the feild is dry enough to till or right before a rain. Living two hours away we had to plan and get everybody together for a certian weekend and it has been very dry up here during the fall.

where is your place?


send a soil sample to Texas A&M and let them analyze it for you. We did but the cost of the treatment was tremendous. Like more in alkye and fertilizer than it would ever be worth.

Talk to the locals that grow wheat for winter graze. Not the actual wheat farmers. The grazers plant at the right time for deer. the farmers will plant a little later. They will tell you the minimum you need to do to grow wheat.

You can spend an awful lot of money getting the soil reaady and planting and then not get rain until late November or December. Its a real pisser the be finished hunting and your food plots are suddenly ankle deep and loaded with tracks.

With feeding you have complete control.

ya it costs $15 at a&m and $7.50 plus shipping from biologic. if you do it through biologic, you check what products of theirs you want to use then they tell you what you need to add to your soil to grow them.

i got a new idea though. our place is a working ranch, so hunting has to come second. were already getting a no till drill and were gonna graze down this 20 acre pasture next to thick cover that i know holds lots of deer, then drill with a mix of wheat, rye and oats in fall. graze lightly here and there to benefit livestock (and save on feed) and then a couple wks before hunting season shut the gates and only allow deer in. field is big enough to be hunted from several different spots depending on what the winds like and where the deer are entering/exiting the field etc. when weather warms up, what we drilled dies out and native grasses come back and ill have a protein feeder out year around. possibly redrill the field in spring with some kind of haygrazer that the cows and deer would both like. any flaw in this plan?

[Red Monkey]

On our club in Alabama we usually plant 'Big Buck Blend' from the local co-op. This year we tried one field with Ray Scotts 'Imperial Whitetail clover' which, IF you believe the info hype, is THE perfered food plot for deer. All of our plots are VERY lush and green due to all of the rain we have had this year with the clover 'looking' the best. However 'looks' don't attract deer. We put trail cameras on one 'BBB co-op field' and on the high dollar Imperial Whitetail field. We have twice the number of deer visiting the cheap 'big buck blend co-op' plot. Lots of turkeys on the clover but very few deer. It will be interesting to see if this trend continues after the first frost.
I'll be on a BBB co-op field Sat. morning when gun season opens!!

[maggiepi]

Double post ....Mods Please delete.

[maggiepi]

We usually just keep the cows off of small 20 acre or so plots and let them go native without grazing. Cattle hooves really pack the soil, so you might need to loosen the soil slightly if it has been grazed heavily.

I have had very good luck with sewing in Pasture Mix from the local feed store. The Pasture Mix has worked well but is also subject to vandalism from hogs and works best when used in areas over 20 acres, smaller plots will usually just get eaten to the ground during the winter months but will usually rebound and head out in the spring creating a good draw for the spring turkeys.

Oh, I almost forgot, on the native grass plots I usually give them a light spray of liquid fertilizer about twice a year during the wetter months...That is, when we are not having one of our frequent droughts here in Texas.

Shoot, I've got frogs around here 4 years old and hadn't ever seen rain until this fall! :a36:

MS

[jackh]

maggiepi-where in texas are you talking about? whats in the pasture mix?

[maggiepi]

maggiepi-where in texas are you talking about? whats in the pasture mix?

The Pasture mix varies a little per local. It's' usually a blend of drought resistant wheat, rye, and a few different verities of oats.

... North West Central and Central Texas.

[jackh]

what towns are you talking about?

not to sound creepy but ill be doing this in goldthwaite near lampasas if you know where that is. just trying to see if your methods might be suitable for my part of the country.

[maggiepi]

Pasture mix should work fine in your area. It's to late to put out pasture mix this year. It needs to be planted in September or at least by early October. It has to be replanted each year.
Your local feed store should have it.



MS

[jackh]

ya i wasn't planning on planting anything this late this is for future seasons

[bosulli]

I have been planting food plots for 15yrs on my land in MS. You have to take a long term approach. Dont fall for the marketing hype of these companies that sell their magical seed potions at the hunting stores. Unless you have the equipment, some farming and biology knowlege, you will be better off with protein and corn feeders all year. But if you are long term, think clover. I use Dyranna (or something like that). Its expensive, but it lasts. You will not be able to plant enough peas and beans to make a crop. The deer will eat it before the bean or pea has a chance to develop. If it was easy everybody would be deer hunting and have a 160 on the wall. If you have best year round food and cover in a 5 mile radius you will have the best deer in a 5 mile radius. A few small food plots that last a couple weeks will not do it.