Right mix for small plots?

[IkemanTx]

I will be helping my father with a 1/3 acre food plot next year in southern Oklahoma (zone 7b) and was wondering what species to plant to hold up to browse pressure at that size. The area doesn't hold a huge deer population, but it is cattle country so little ag exists. His first thought was soybeans, but I just don't know that a 1/3 of an acre could make it.

I was wondering what others would recommend. The site gets good sun and is sandy as all get-out. It is currently solid Bermuda grass. I have some initial thoughts as to what we should plant, but I'll leave those aside and let you more experienced guys chime in first.

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[scott44]

If you wanted to plant soys I would go heavy on them and when the leaves start to yellow I would broadcast a rye, radish and clover mix into the soys. A third of an acre of soys might not last that long once they find them, I might plant a clover and oats mix in the spring and then late summer early fall mow the plot and do a throw and mow with rye and radishes so you would have a clover, rye and radish plot going into the fall and a rye and clover plot the next spring.

 

[Someday isle]

I started several new food plot trails this year. The total combined area was right at an acre. It doesn't get much light in some spots and I didn't have time for a soil test. I put down 800 lbs of Pelletized lime and 200 lbs of fertilizer. I think it was 19/19/19 but I'd have to check my notes (might've been triple 13). I used 50 lbs of oats, 50 lbs of cereal rye, 5 lbs of groundhog forage radish, 6 lbs of medium red clover and 4 lbs of ladino white clover. The radishes grew well in some areas and not at all in others. I think they need more light. The clover surprisingly took off already in the better lit areas and in some areas not so well yet. I expect it to be stronger next spring though. The cereal Rye and Oats has done really well everywhere and is showing a lot of use. This year I'll do a soil test and amend the soil properly. A couple of the trails will become long term clover but in the bigger and more open trails I plan to use the same mix again and add the winter peas this time. The radishes were pretty impressive in the places where they did grow and have been pretty popular. One of my favorite trail cam pics had a spike buck with a whole radish plant in his mouth. I wish I'd saved it. It's limited experience but I hope it helps you.

 

[yoderjac]

Winter Rye and Durana clover would be a good fit when browse pressure is a concern. Put up an exclusion cage to give you a gauge on how heavy the pressure is.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[IkemanTx]

Winter Rye and Durana clover would be a good fit when browse pressure is a concern. Put up an exclusion cage to give you a gauge on how heavy the pressure is.

Thanks,

Jack

I have heard some people shy away from rye because it can kind of become a problem. Would cereal eye do as a replacement without the issues of taking over?


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[wiscwhip]

Winter rye and cereal rye are the same thing, they produce a grain head. It will not "take over". I think you might be referring to annual and perennial ryegrass, which is a different species than rye which produces grain.

 

[IkemanTx]

Thanks wiscwhip, I was thinking of ryegrass.


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[yoderjac]

Some ryegrass can be problematic in some areas. I stay away from it. There are some managers who know what they are doing who do use some high sucrose ryegrass in their programs. Unless you know what you are doing, I'd avoid it. Wiscwhip has it right. Winter Rye, and Cereal Rye are both names for a cereal grain. You can also use oats or winter wheat but I prefer WR because it grows well in a broader range of soil fertility. It also has an allopathic effect on weeds which helps with the slow establishing Durana. I've found the key to establishing Durana (in my area at least) is fall planting with WR followed by timely mowing in the first spring. Each time the WR hits a foot or so, mow it back to about 6". This will release the Durana and keep the weeds at bay while it is putting down roots. Once established, Durana is both persistent and drought tolerant.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[Tap]

You didn't say what your objectives are. Will it be a kill plot?
And have you considered an E fence?
Also, maybe approach this with a long term goal of improving that sandy soil with some forages that produce a lot of organic matter. Radish, buckwheat or sunflowers are good OM builders.
Your soil prep techniques are important, too. Tillage should be kept to a minimum.

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[IkemanTx]

You didn't say what your objectives are. Will it be a kill plot?
And have you considered an E fence?
Also, maybe approach this with a long term goal of improving that sandy soil with some forages that produce a lot of organic matter. Radish or sunflowers are good OM builders.
Your soil prep techniques are important, too. Tillage should be kept to a minimum.

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Realistically, all I think he can expect is a kill plot. A hot fence would be easy, since there are a couple units and spools of wire sitting around. I am going to try to convince him into more of a broadside type blend so that the spot has a time to become a draw.


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[IkemanTx]

How would a mix like whitetail institute power plant handle browse? The sunflowers would probably get nipped pretty quick which may save some beans, but I doubt these deer have ever seen sun hemp... would give some height and variety.


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[yoderjac]

How would a mix like whitetail institute power plant handle browse? The sunflowers would probably get nipped pretty quick which may save some beans, but I doubt these deer have ever seen sun hemp... would give some height and variety.


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Warm season annuals are the toughest. They tend not to handle heavy browse pressure well until well established. Summer weed competition can be a major factor. Weed competition is less of a factor with fall plots. Fall planted clover with WR gets an early start and advantage over summer weeds. Warm season mixes get hit from both browse pressure and weed competition. RR soybeans with a light mix of corn allows for better weed control if you want a summer plot but you will still have browse pressure to contend with. I've found Eagle beans to be more browse resistant than Ag beans but they are expensive. I had enough browse pressure I had to start with Eagle beans and needed 7 acres before they would canopy.

I would avoid most warm season annuals. If it is too late for fall planting in your area, you can plant buckwheat next spring. It is so fast that it outcompetes most weeds. Deer use it but generally don't abuse it. If deer hammer buckwheat, you won't be able to establish beans or sunflowers or sunn hemp without and e-fence. Buckwheat will give you a chance to get weeds under control before planting WR and Durana next fall.

Best of luck,

Jack

 

[TreeDaddy]

Rye is a many splendored thing

Check Mr Paul Knox (double tree)thread on the topic

The "mother sauce" of all my mixtures

Grows in the back of my pickup, asphalt driveway with any k
moisture

bill

 

[IkemanTx]

Rye is a many splendored thing

Check Mr Paul Knox (double tree)thread on the topic

The "mother sauce" of all my mixtures

Grows in the back of my pickup, asphalt driveway with any k
moisture

bill

Man, that link to dbltree's corner on outreachoutdoors is a MASSIVE amount of info. I think I have reading material for a few weeks... thanks for the recommendation.
With so little deer utilizing his property right now, I might take a stab at warm season annuals with the expectation of mowing it down for Paul's WR, Oats, clover, and brassica mix in the fall.


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[IkemanTx]

As we get closer to planting time in northeast Texas/southeast Oklahoma I am re-visiting this to get a choice narrowed down.

Just to recap, it is 1/3 acre on sandy soil in zone 7b I am looking at doing a warm season annual (knowing it may not handle heavy browse, and will be turned under for a fall Paul Knox plot for the fall). I really like the tonnage of Whitetail Institute powerplant. This is a pretty low density deer area, but I know one or two doe groups could really put a hurt on 1/3 acre. To be honest, if the spring planting doesn't make it, it's not a big deal.

What other warm season annuals would make a decent option. Anything that does well in sandy soils?


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[yoderjac]

Tonnage is over-rated from my perspective. Deer are browsers and our food plots are only a fraction of their overall diet. 1/3 acre of Warm Season Annuals is a negligible contribution to the local herd. With small acreage, attraction is the best one can expect. So, I would focus on planting for fall attraction. If you plant small acreage in the summer, the objectives should be things like soil improvement and weed control. In addition to the many other issues tillage can bring, it can cause a lot of moisture loss especially in sand. For such a small plot, I'd consider buckwheat. Deer use it but won't abuse it unless they have little else. If deer are wiping out buckwheat, they will wipe out most warm season annuals. You could add some crimson clover to it if you the buckwheat rate is kept low, but I'd probably start with just buckwheat and see how it goes. In most places, if you spray for weeds, you can surface broadcast buckwheat and use a cultipacker to press it into the soil preserving moisture. Buckwheat tolerates a wide range of soil conditions. The food value for deer is about 3 months which is timely with a fall plant.

That's my 2 cents for what it is worth.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[IkemanTx]

^^^ and buckwheat is cheap... that's another plus.


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[IkemanTx]

Well, my dad was excited to get going after a couple creek crossings on his place started getting torn up... so, he stuck a feeder out 2 weeks ago, and stuck a camera on it one week ago. In one week, we already have 4 regulars that I would classify as shooters.

There's a 12 (assuming he has brow tines) that I am thinking is probably 4.5

There is a 9 that looks about the same age

There's a nice 8 that looks like he may be a year older... based on a couple other pics

And a smaller 8 that I think is only 2.5

We have multiple pics, on multiple nights of all 4, as well as a couple smaller bucks. He has the feeder throwing at night so the deer can clean up the corn before the cows get to it, the boys start showing up right after throw time. Only 1 doe was caught on camera all week, and she has 2 button bucks still with her.

The pictures lit a fire under us, and we got the plot fenced in and my dad couldn't help himself... he went ahead and filled it. It's probably a few weeks too early for anything, but I'll throw some buckwheat on it next week just in case it germinates. (Got a warm streak coming, and we are starting to get a little green coming up)

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[IkemanTx]

Well, after cameras revealed a much more heavy deer presence than we had estimated, I was able to convince him to go with a clover/chicory plot. It will be seeded just as soon as the plot can dry out a bit. The place has gotten good rains, and warm temps, but it is a bit too wet to get the 4-wheeler in to drag over the seed. Dad is already talking about expanding the plot to right at an acre, and just started on a 7X7 archery box.

EDIT: I had tried to put together a winter rye or spring oats blend instead of the chicory. I really think the added organic matter it would have produced would have really benefited the sandy soil. Unfortunately, our local seed providers were out of winter plantings already, but didn't yet have spring plantings in. Lack of planning ahead but me. Also, the online sources where I could pick and choose different varieties on the order were pretty cost prohibitive at this small scale once you included shipping.

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[IkemanTx]

Got a 7X7 archery box put together on my dad's place for this plot. It has really good shot angle coverage of the plot with the notches out of the front. The back was the last piece to go on, it is not backless... since everyone I show the pics keep asking.

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