60 minute Food Plot

[EddieWalker]

Rob,

Nice project!!! It wont take much for that rye to take off and you never know, those fresh shoots might just be the ticket when the acorns turn sour. Even if nothing else happens, you're way ahead for spring planting and next years season.

I'm hoping to have my field cleard and dirt removed so I can do the same thing this spring. Right now, it's just an overwhelming amount of dirt that I'm moving around. I'll be starting a thread on it pretty soon, and yes, there's a pic of you on mydozer getting it all started. hahaha

We're in the same climate and soil conditions, so I'm wondering what you plan on planting in the spring? I've been reading up on food plots and found the Texas A&M website had a great article on what to use and when to plant.

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

My current plan is peas in April/May and then oats an wheat in Octoboer. MY goal is a one acre plot with a permanent wood blind that has windows and a roof that is comfortable for a full day of sitting in it.

Will you put up a blind, a stand, or just hide out someplace?

Are you getting any more pics on your game cam? Are the deer eating corn?

I have two feeders out and nothing is eating my corn. No pics either since Ocober. Steph and I did have two grey foxes walk within ten yards of us yesterday. They came one after the other and both stoped and stared at us for about a minute. They knew something wasn't right, but with our camoflage and remaining still, they didn't spook. They did trot off, but then stoped and looked again before disapearing into the bush. Really cool!!!

Eddie

 

[RobJ]

Nice link there Eddie. You know I bought a bag of TAMU rye at the local coop this year and something was wrong with it. First time ever it would not germinate and come up. It was weird. A little bag of cheap Lowes stuff and it popped in 2 weeks. With the damp soil and I covered it I'll probably see some shoots next weekend.

With this little place there is a big tree we'll put a ladder stand in for bow hunting. It's about 20 yards across, nice range. A little longer to the left and right. For the gun season it's much simpler. Probably a lawn chair by the old corn head or a tripod. It's a lot easier with a gun so I like to be back 50-75 yards and keep the scents away.

Just a few doe pics at night going after some corn on the ground. Next to one cam my BIL planted about 3 acres of oats. It's about 9-10 inches tall now but the deer seem to go through the 5 wire fence around the garden for a taste. this past weekend I saw nothing in the patch, morning or afternoon. Real windy and muggy. The garden/rye patch is about 150 yards from the road. Last year the locals would see deer in there every day through Fed when I disc it up. This year it might be different because of the acorns. I also moved one feeder and game cam to a new spot. Seems all I got were pics of horses and cows and my neighbor walking the fence. We'll see what that produces in a week. It should be a good bow hunting spot for next year. About a 100'x20' cleared stretch in a bottom thicket.

 

[dirtrustler]

You'd be surprised what you can still grow - I take it you are in Southern Tx.
Mow and disk. Scatter some Oats, fertilize with a bag of 13-13-13 and lightly disk to cover. you'll shoot a buck during the Christmas Holidays if you start tomorrow and you get a rain soon. Oats will be up in 10 days.

 

[RobJ]

Oats do jump in a hurry. the place is in Elkhart, North of Crockett and south of Palestine. We are about 2 miles east of the Trinity river, on the high side of the valley.

The locals guys always like to fertilize after they come up a couple inches. I might get the soil testes for grins. The local COOP does it for about 10-15 bucks. I think they send it to TAMU.

 

[N80]

Rob, that's the sort of food plots I have too. I'd love to have one of those great big tractors (I really would) but they just couldn't do the job in little fields like that.

I am also on the low tech, low budget food plot plan(LTLBFPP). Scrape it up with the boxblade. Fertilize, lime and seed with a push spreader (ugh) then drag it with a roll of chainlink fence. Folks may laugh but I've had great crops of oats in the winter and fall and cow peas and sunflowers in the spring and summer using these low-rent techniques.

But the one thing you can't do without is rain. And it does not rain here anymore. My oats are poor this year. Hardly anything at all and what there is gets eaten to the ground. Its so dry that the deer are coming to whatever sprouts. I have seen several bucks in my plots, but nothing I wanted to shoot.

I have got a two bottom plow available now and I'm dead set on getting a disk this spring and hopefully a spreader soon after.

I also believe it is a good thing to have something in the plots year round. You may or may not attract deer this hunting season but anything that keeps them on your place is a good thing.

 

[RobJ]

George you have a push spreader...man I'm dreaming!!. All of mine are small so I use the hand toss method. I have a spreader they you hold in you hand\arm, but it's sort of slow. BIL has a spreader but it's more trouble than I need for this small.

I'll tell you if all I was doing was food plots and stayed in this soil I wouldn't need a disc, sweet stuff. But I'll run my little 5 footer over it next year. I might try some cowpeas next year for the summer if I can figure out what they are. Well a quick google and the purple hull, black eyed are all in the cowpea family. Those are easy enough to get. But I like eating those!

 

[whiteh2okayaker]

Nice! I am looking forward to my first food plot! Got my tractor a little late in the season.

 

[N80]

George you have a push spreader...man I'm dreaming!!.

Yep, and I was dumb enough to buy a good one too. Its got a big hopper and big, heavy duty pneumatic tires. I thought it would push okay in my little plots. Well, it doesn't. It is a pain; the ground is just too rough... especially with my bumper crop of rocks.

Also, it won't work with seeds like wheat and oats. They're too light and won't feed. So I do that by hand.....and it shows.

But, I'm still glad I got it. It works so much better in my yard than those cheapo jobs. So it wasn't a total waste.

BIL has a spreader but it's more trouble than I need for this small.

Yeah, I know what you mean. For some of my plots it will be a two pass job with a cyclone spreader.... but it'll beat that push spreader. Plus, I am enlarging some of my plots.

I might try some cowpeas next year for the summer if I can figure out what they are.

I chose cowpeas because they are cheap and seem to grow easily. They never produced any peas because the deer kept them eaten down...which is good, that's what I planted them for. The same was true of the sunflowers. Never got a single flower. But they are extremely cheap and pop up real quick. And so far, of the different things I've planted, the deer seemed to like them the best. Who knew?

 

[3RRL]

Rob,
I sure enjoyed the photos.
That's a great little spot you picked out there. How severe is the Winter at your place? I'm pretty sure rye will grow if it's not freezing over. If nothing else, the deer will feed there now on the sprouts. At my place that's what they do since everything else is dried out and dead. With the recent rains, some grasses, oats and wheat started popping up already in my old food plot. There was a herd in there this weekend right after sunset.

I'm gonna work my food plot around April and water it this time, so to have a nice plot during the time when the other grasses die due to heat and dryness. The deer are already used to it by now so I'm figuring they will feed there during those times too.

Thanks for sharing those pictures and the great story.

 

[RobJ]

And so far, of the different things I've planted, the deer seemed to like them the best. Who knew?

Sunflowers? Really? I guess they eat the pods while they are small? Or do they eat the stalks to? I've grown a few for fun and they mature about 6-7 feet tall!! But you are right they grow fast and just about anywhere.

sunflowers, who'd of thunk it.