Food Plot Help in TEXAS
 

Howdy, I live in Texas, North of Huntsville. I have a 40 acres of land that have a huge deer pop. because of the proximity to a residential area and no hunting pressure. I am going to plant some 2 small 1/3 - 1/2 food plots. I have been planting oats and rye, I had no luck with biologic, so I thought I would try some Clover.

One of the areas is really sandy but hold moister reall good. the ph is 6.5

The other area, is kinda clayey and usually is very wet and holds water and drains poorly. I just mowed and disked it, and the weeds were about 4ft hight. I want to plant 2 or 3 different things to see what works but I want some tips on what to do in my neck of the woods.

RE: Food Plot Help in TEXAS
 

I hunt in Brownwood and Coleman, central Texas. We ve tried several food plots both spring and fall. The clovers cant take (atleast from what we ve experienced) the Texas heat. The best plots have been Tecomate lablab in the spring and just regular ol oats in the fall. We ve tried year after year, seed after seed, name it and we ve tried it and nothing has produced like an oat patch can produce. for what its worth, hope that helps a bit.

RE: Food Plot Help in TEXAS
 

Whitetail institute has a new perennial for dryer climates called Extreme.

http://www.whitetailinstitute.com/products/extreme/

RE: Food Plot Help in TEXAS
 

My hunting spot is 17 miles west of Grapeland, TX. This will be my third season with Imperial's clover. My soil is clay, usually very wet, holds water and dries brick hard with inch wide cracks by august. The clover grows about two feet tall then browns by mid July. I don't mess with it until mid September then I cut it with a Garden tractor at its highest blade setting. By hunting season, with rain, its green and growing. I usually overseed the plot with seed oats in mid September to take the pressure off the newly seeded clover, and of course fertilize. Next spring, Lord willing, I'm going to spray a grass herbacide. If you like the Idea of tilling etc. every year go with seed oats, If not Imperial Clover is the answer on your clay plot IMO. :eek:

RE: Food Plot Help in TEXAS
 

Sounds like you are in my backyard. I have a ranch around Centerville where I hunt. I am an agronomist and I think I can help you. So far I think you are doing right. Your pH is almost ideal, Normally in East Texas the soil is acidic due to the abundance of trees mostly pines. I have tried the tecomate and lablab mixes with little results. I rely heavily on wheat. Wheat needs to vernalize, this mean it need to have been subject to freezing temperatures to flower. The way wheat works is you normally plant it in the fall it grows, cold weather turns it dormant when it vernalizes when it warms back up in the spring it starts growing again. this is why you see wheat grown in Kansas and Nebraska and not much farther south than central Texas. It needs a cool climate. This is a great situation, because once it freezes there isnt much green stuff to eat except for your winter grasses. ei Wheat and Rye. Then it picks back up in the spring when protein for antler growth is needed. So to me wheat is a key for deer. Second I rely on oats. Oats are high in protein and have a great attraction for deer. The only problem is oats freeze. So you would plant them in the fall, get some use out of them with the deer, and if you wanted to you would plant them again in the spring. Personally I dont like to use rye grass. Rye is everywhere around here. So I try to plant succulent grasses that arent very common that deer really love. Wheat and Oats. Lately for the past several years I have been planting soybeans in a pear orchard that we have. It has been great for antler growth in our deer. It has definitely put mass on our deer, you know the kind of deer in this part of the country. So any improvments are definitely beneficial. I also use crimson clover. I started it about five years ago. I put it out in the fall it came in the spring, and the cattle and deer love it. Once it dries out and goes to seed in the late spring I shred it and spread the seed around. Since it is an annual you will have to make sure it goes to seed and gets reseeded. I have turned what seed I had in a small grocery bag about 2# to about 15 acres worth now. About every other year I have innoculated with bradyrhizobium to help with the N fixation. Like I said Im an agronomist and I can go on for days about this stuff. If you have any questions or I need to explain anything better for you just drop me an email.
TAB

RE: Food Plot Help in TEXAS
 

Hey texasaggiebowhunter: You said you started some clover about 5 years ago..."Once it dries out and goes to seed in the late spring I shred it and spred the seed around. Since it is an annual...About every other year I have innoculated with bradyrhizobium to help with N fixation". Questions: How do you gather the seed? Is it possible to just mix the innoculant with water and spray it on the mowed clover? (after its brown and gone to seed I mow in September)

RE: Food Plot Help in TEXAS
 

I gathered it on the side of the road. Really I did. I wanted crimson clover and I couldnt find any to buy. Now you can buy it and its really really expensive. So I took a paper grocery sack saw some growing on the side of the road and filled it up. I cut the heads off of the clover just after maturity before the seed were so fragile that they would fall out of the seed head.
To begin innoculation you mix the inoculant with the seed. In later times its best to put the inoculum into the soil, however its difficult to do without plowing up the plants. So I mix up a batch adn spray it over the top. I have heard of some that was a powder that you can spread. You dont have to innoculate that frequently but I like to since this is my type of thing. I like to see how many nodules I can get a plant to load up with. Youll probably mow the clover about this time of year. Right now is when its hot and the plants are drying out. Your pretty much putting the seed out right now, and it will lay over til fall.