Food plots can help hunters if they can grow

Published 12:14 am Friday, August 24, 2018

It was a little surprising to look at a Texas drought map recently and find the Trans Pecos region of far West Texas in better shape moisture-wise than East Texas.

No, it is not exactly the drought conditions of 2011, but the Pineywoods and Post Oak regions have dried out considerably this summer. That is something to ponder as hunters consider whether they should or should not begin planting fall food plots.

In most years, planting food plots is a roll of the dice even in East Texas. Some years there is enough moisture for the plants to start growing, then it turns dry and they die. Some years the plants start late and an early frost knocks them off.

When food plots work, however, they are great for attracting deer and there is nothing more cost efficient for producing wildlife forage.

Former Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service wildlife biologist Dr. Billy Higginbotham said while it is dry going into planting season, that does not mean hunters should give up on the idea. Wet or dry, there is always preparation work that can be done in hopes of rain.

“Don’t give up yet. Yes, it has been hot and dry, but so are a lot of our East Texas summers. Some plots that are overgrown now with weeds should be sprayed with glyphosate, and then shredded after the herbicide has done its job. If the plots were soil tested and in need of agricultural limestone applications, disk the lime in after shredding,” said Higginbotham, who now works as a consultant to landowners.

If plots are not overgrown, he suggests waiting until early September to clean them up and disk at the same time to be ready for planting. In a low rainfall year, this can be dicey even if prudent.

“It’s a balancing act. Plowing or disking exposes soil to sunlight and if the weather is still hot it can result in lost soil moisture,” Higginbotham said.

Another option is to skip the disking and use a seed drill to punch the seed into the soil. That is a pricey piece of equipment for most individuals to invest in for just a couple of days each year.

“While most folks planting food plots don’t have a seed drill, this method of planting requires less soil disturbance and therefore may not dry soil out as much as repeated disking. However, most of us do not have access to a seed drill and use a shredder, disk, seed broadcaster and maybe some sort of drag. I have purposefully stuck with the latter equipment to conduct research trials because I wanted hunters and landowners to be able to get the same results that I have,” Higginbotham explained.

Although recent heavy rains in East Texas might tempt some hunters to plant early, that is a sure road to failure. To get seeds to grow into plants, it takes adequate soil moisture and subsequent rainfall.

“Be ready to plant around Sept. 1 and if it is still dry, hold off until that first rain event occurs. The worst thing you can do is to plant after just a little rain or when there is just enough soil moisture to get plant germination, and then if it is two or three weeks before another rain falls you probably will lose your stand. It is a balancing act. You want to plant small grains in September to maximize plant growth before the hunting season begins, but if you don’t have good soil moisture, or just enough as previously described, you have to wait until later in the month and waiting means less plant growth before the hunting season begins,” Higginbotham said.

The biologist said there is an order for planting different species. Small grains such as oats, wheat and rye should be planted in September to be ready by opening day. If planting clovers to provide protein in the spring, those plantings should be delayed until October or November.

Higginbotham offers two options for planting, depending on the hunter’s goal. If planning to hunt East Texas in October, one option is to plant 40 pounds of forage cowpeas and 40 pounds of winter hardy oats an inch deep and then 10 pounds of arrowleaf clover per acre lightly dragged. The cowpeas will come up first followed by the oats. The clover produces early spring forage.

The easy formula is to plant 100 pounds of winter hardy oats per acre and be done with it.

“Deer prefer oats over other small grains and ryegrass. It may be because oats have a higher level of soluble carbohydrates present. Regardless, use a winter hardy variety. The old bob oat-type varieties possess very little winter hardiness and can freeze out if we have a hard winter,” Higginbotham said.