Southeastern Summer Plots

[Doc Holliday]

Any other folks in the Southeastern US here who do year round plots for whitetails?

I have great success with winter plots in the form of oats, topdressed with crimson clover, but have never had much luck in the summer. Either the deer hammer it as soon as it comes up, or the heat kills it. Plots right now total about 5 acres with largest being 2 acres.

Soil pH is 6.8

 

[Billy Goat]

Tried buckwheat?

 

[N2TRKYS]

Iron clay peas

I have small areas that I can plant and high deer density. Iron clay peas was the only thing I found that could half way keep up with the browsing. I have since changed my management philosophy and don’t do summer plots. I plant for year around food sources.

This has allowed be to stop discing plots, as well.

 

[KenLee]

Any other folks in the Southeastern US here who do year round plots for whitetails?

I have great success with winter plots in the form of oats, topdressed with crimson clover, but have never had much luck in the summer. Either the deer hammer it as soon as it comes up, or the heat kills it. Plots right now total about 5 acres with largest being 2 acres.

Soil pH is 6.8

Peredovik Sunflowers IF you put a fence around them til they get up 2 ft high. Deer love them even more than okra.

 

[Doc Holliday]

I have since changed my management philosophy and don’t do summer plots. I plant for year around food sources.

This has allowed be to stop discing plots, as well.

Interesting. Would you mind elaborating on your approach?

Here is what I am working with. Red are property lines. Green are existing food plots that are established and easy to plant. Yellow are clearcuts from July 2021. We just burned and will be replanting loblolly in the next month or so, but I was thinking of creating some foodplots in the back corners of each. They are surrounded by old growth oak/maple/hickory/beech climax, except for the southern portion which is 6 yr old loblolly.

Happy to hear any recommendations you may have

 

[N2TRKYS]

Interesting. Would you mind elaborating on your approach?

Here is what I am working with. Red are property lines. Green are existing food plots that are established and easy to plant. Yellow are clearcuts from July 2021. We just burned and will be replanting loblolly in the next month or so, but I was thinking of creating some foodplots in the back corners of each. They are surrounded by old growth oak/maple/hickory/beech climax, except for the southern portion which is 6 yr old loblolly.

Happy to hear any recommendations you may have

View attachment 482642

PM to you

 

[Vern400]

Peredocik Sunflowers IF you put a fence around them til they get up 2 ft high. Deer love them even more than okra.

I agree deer love black oil sunflowers. They don't burn up easily.

 

[Vern400]

Sorghum works well. Deer don't hurt it so bad then it's young but when it heads out they devour it. Plant acre or more. Full sun.

 

[FLATHEAD]

soybeans

 

[Long Cut]

Soybeans will get destroyed unless you can throw down a 10+ acre field of them.
Deer Vetch (American Jointvetch) is another great option that’s resilient to browse pressure and grow into October with high Protein content

IMO a blend with buckwheat, sunflowers, sorghum, lablab, soybeans and deer vetch will get you what you want.

It will be expensive. You could go with Power Plant by Whitetail Insitutue they have a very similar blend that works well.

I hope this helps

 

[Alchemy]

WGF Milo/cowpeas mix . Fertilize according. weed control will be tough, if that's a concern go with one or the other to able to hit the broadleaf or the grass with the other, just have to pick your poisin

 

[Doc Holliday]

Sorghum works well. Deer don't hurt it so bad then it's young but when it heads out they devour it. Plant acre or more. Full sun.

Planted 3+ acres today. It’s the WGF variety so should head out around mid Sept

 

[Rich M]

peas

aeschenomene (however it is spelled)

 

[Vern400]

Planted 3+ acres today. It’s the WGF variety so should head out around mid Sept
View attachment 741987
View attachment 741988
View attachment 741989

SWEET! it works. Hope you get good rain.

 

[Nine Banger]

With fall plots here in the low country the only crop I've had true success with is clover. I disc every other year and apply Slay and reseed annually between years.

Oats and winter wheat work OK in the fall if you have no goal to harvest and just want to attract and hold deer but its short lived for the effort and cost.

Here the population is so high summer crops are a non starter unless you have a 10' perimeter fence and that just sucks all the fun out of it. Corn will get 2' high and you will be feeling good and then over the course of the week it becomes palatable it will be chewed down to stubble. Similar results with sunflowers.

My best success feeding and holding deer has been to implement prescribed fire annually in my forest sections and thin these forests with hack and squirt methods.

The fields I used to plant food plots in just get an annual stem treatment with garlon or triclopyr to kill trees. Otherwise they are loaded with ragweed, goldenrod and blackberries....and deer.

 

[Long Cut]

The best way to manage deer habitat is with a drip torch, feller buncher, chainsaw and sunlight.

By doing select timber cuts, allowing more sunlight to the forest floor, rotating prescribed fires every 1-3 years and doing some minor TSI-hack & squirt etc… that is the best way to provide year-round food plots for your deer herd.

Quality “Savannah style” habitat will produce around 1 ton of forage per acre. Now imagine having 100 acres in that style of habitat…

A well managed food plot can provide 1-5 tons of forage per acre, but if 5 acres of your 100 acres are only planted in food plots, you’re still coming up short and spending a lot more money in doing so.

Also without having your deer population in check, your herd can be consuming more than the habitat can provide for it. Trail camera surveys can help determine your annual harvest goals.

 

[dr.mooseknuckles]

We have about 100 acres in field, with 10 acres being used for food plots. We planted sorghum in 4 of those plots back in May, only one really took. Replanted 3 of those again and they're coming up very spotty. The 3 plots that failed were burnt up after round up but the weeds came back strong.

Going to look at doing Green Cover fall release, get a crimper, then look to do the summer release, or mix of buckwheat, sorghum and vetch to help suppress weeds.

 

[Boarmaster]

My lease is in Alabama. We went with clover. It took a couple years for it to do good as we had some drought. We sow rye on top of it in Late Sept into October depending on rains. Food plots are pretty ate down by end of Season in Early Feb. I was back up there right after Easter and the clover had really taken off with the spring rain and I suppose with the natural browse coming out the plots got a break. Pics are at Easter of just two of our 30 some plots the one plot is an old road bed and is almost a mile long. I cant take any credit for our plots we have a member in Alabama who takes care of them.

 

[Thwack16]

Vetch & Cowpea plot.

Planted a few of these this year and they are doing well.