jeg3455

I have a small piece of property I purchased about a year ago 25 miles east of Abilene. I purchased it late so I did not want to start any improvements on it yet, now that the deer season has ended I am trying to put a plan together.
I did manage to experiment with a sample food plot (20 X 20). I was not sure what would grow since I had to plant it so late. I just picked up some different seeds from walmart-turnips, raddishes, and rye grass. I did manage to use some sample packs of Imperial Extreme and No Plow. The results were not that great. The seeds I used from walmart grew great, however the imperial did not. The extreme did not even come up and the No Plow came up slightly but only in small patches. From what I can tell the deer (among other things I am sure) chowed down the rows of raddishes and turnips. The rye grass did nothing but make the ground look pretty and that is about all the results I had. I have three different areas that equal about 5 acres that I would like to work on this year but I am afraid I might have the same results. I have checked the ph and it is fine I think that if I plant at the right time I can have adequate rain fall for the plots to survive, but I am just unsure on what to plant. There is a lot of briar patches and scrub oaks that I plan on cleaning up and or clear out. I put out a corn feeder with very little luck also I think was a result of to much vegetation on the ground acorns and a wheat field that is on a neighbors property. There are several deer in my area and as of now most of them are just passing through, I would like to have them stop and eat on my place.

I have included a small layout of my property I would love to hear your opinions. The key would not come out clearly so I will have to write it down:

Green=thick brush and scrub oaks impossible to walk through except for the trails that have been made.

yellow=food plot areas will still have to clear spots to get equipment to them.

Blue=creek that runs through property carries water majority of the year and trying to expand the small pond so that water will stay year round.

Orange=dark orange is heavy deer trails and the lighter orange is trails less traveled.

Brown=clearing that was made so that you could drive onto the property I am working on clear the fence line all the way around the property only wide enough for small truck or fourwheeler.

Red is my blind and purple is my feeder, I do not like it because I am watching two different fence lines. I don't like hunting fence lines.

I would love any help possible if not thanks for at least taking the time to read this long thing.

North Texan

Turner Seed Company in Breckenridge will probably have seed that is better suited for your needs. Besides turnips, other good options would probably be vetch and black-eyed peas. They are relatively easy to establish, but you have to plant them every year. I am trying to get some of our rangeland back to historical climax, but we are still in the brush management phase right now. I did plant some old world bluestem and some Illinois bundleflower with good results a couple years back. I like Illinois bundleflower because it is valuable as both a cattle and wildlife forage, and an excellent food source for quail. Other native plants that might work are maximillian sunflower, purple prairie clover, englemanndaisy, and fourwing saltbush. There are a lot of clovers that I wouldn't mind having, but they require more rain than I normally receive. I also plan on planting some of the native grasses, like big bluestem, little bluestem, indiangrass, switchgrass, and green sprangletop. The deer won't use them for forage, but they will use it for cover if it is allowed to grow tall enough. Deer especially like to fawn in tall grass, since it provides the best cover. Most places around here are grazed too heavily, so the deer will fawn out in wheat fields instead of pastures.

As far as your brush is concerned, it looks like you could probably clear some, especially on the side with the stock pond. Just remember that greenbriar and oak are good browse plants for deer, especially during the winter when wheat is about the only other thing growing. If you can provide them with food, water, and shelter, then they will at least stop by for a visit every now and then.

Turner Seed Co.