Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Best forage in Red Dirt

anyone living in an area simil;ar to SC knows that we have this muddy red caly type dirt.
I am looking for something to plant during the spring for summer and fall forage that will take hold. any ideas would be appreciated.
thanks

Cohiba
I dont live any where near the Carolina's but if I was you I would contact the Soil Conservation Agent for your district or the Dept of Wildlife should have a biologist in your area. Either one will be able to guide you in the right direction.
Hope this is helpful.

i have been looking for someone to do a soil sample. i guess im gonna have to go that route.
someone told me iron clay peas would grow in concrete <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> and that deer loved them.
thanks much

Green beans.

Just simple, good old, plain green beans.

Grow like stink in red dirt (PLENTY of that in Central VA), deer eat'm like candy, and grow when ya want'm to, as well.

Red Dirt here too...

Clay peas grow well. Just disc, drag, spread seed, drag again and fertilize. The deer love them. Using the same process, oats, clover, and wheat grow great and deer love them.

We've tried plenty of high dollar seed included the overpriced Biologic and we haven't found anything that the deer will eat more frequently than plain ole' wheat and peas.

They just mow the wheat down in my plots every year.

Spent all kinds of money on Biologic one year and the deer wouldn't touch the stuff. It sure looked pretty but, that's not what I bought it for.

Good Luck

Reloader7RM

when do you plant the clay peas?
do you think they will last till OCT? or will i need to plant them over again?

Black Autry Cowpeas have worked even better than claypeas for us. YMMV. We plant in the spring and they'll last till a freeze, assuming enough moisture and large enough stands to not be eaten to nothing.

Regular black eye peas work too. Never tried beans but will.

Have used LabLab and they do love it. Just expensive and don't spend that money since odds can be high it'll burn up in our hot dry summers.

Jeff

We have planted oats and wheat in the same fields and had the deer walk across the wheat to get to the oats. They wouldnt touch the wheat until they had mowed the oats to the ground. They do the same thing with oat vs. rye grass too.

John M.

Cohiba,

We've always planted them in the late summer just for drawing deer in during the season. But they always eat them before they mature and they are usually gone by the season. You could plant them in spring too as long as they get adequate rain just about any mild climate will grow them.

If you put up the deterents so they can mature it'd probably be much better for growth but, I just don't care to keep the deer out of an area that I want them to frequent later. We just plant the seed and let em' eat.

You could also plant soy beans if you get the soil tested and bring the PH to the proper level. They are extremely high in protein and are definitely good for antler growth. The problem is in some places the deer will not hardly eat the soybeans.

Cow peas work well too.

If I was going to do easy year round plots, I'd go peas in summer and wheat & oats in the fall & winter. Seems like after you get a plot going year after year the growth gets steady as long as the rain is adequate.

A good alternative to off season feed sources is supplemental feeds from feeders. In many states you can't bait game but you can legally feed them if you don't hunt the bait. A good supplement is corn mixed w/ protien or soy beans.

The trough type feeders work well for that. They also make for good locations for game cameras as well to monitor antler growth.

Good Luck

Reloader

Throw you some plain old purple top turnip seed in there too. They will last the winter and deer love turnip greens.

BCR

red dirt here too. a few years ago i planted some lab-lab. it's pricey, but full of protien and grows well in red dirt. add a little corn seed to give it something to attach to. it's like a running vine type of plant. they really loved mine.

man, i really thank you guys for the info. i'm gonna do some corn/ lab-lab one one spot and some green beans in another.
Is there anything that would grow under an oak canopy. what do you guys know about chufa? i have been told that even small 25-50 yards squares of chufa attract both deer and turket. in fact its so good that it is against state law to turn chufa a month prior to turkey season.

Durana White Clover from Pennington seed co. Super graze resistant grows like a shag carpet, Remember to keep the soil Ph between 6.0 and 7.0 just use lots of lime, also it takes the lime several months to work so put it on early.

Nut grass- hog bait. Wild hogs, if you have any and if you don't stand by- they're coming, will root plow your forage patches for nut grass.

Deer won't mess with it much as what they are looking for is underground.

BCR

Cow peas, planted in august and lasted to late october.

"Have used LabLab and they do love it. Just expensive and don't spend that money since odds can be high it'll burn up in our hot dry summers."

I have tried Lablab several times. Deer love it. It can survive the heat and drought, but must be protected from grazing until the plants get established.

I have tried planting milo and lablab, but the lablab still gets overgrazed and killed. Hogs get everything else.

pepaw

this is the first year i have really considered doing a full scale food plot. last season there were so many acorns that the deer were as plum as butterballs. late doe kills were showing twins and even a triplet. we usually dont get 2 years in a row of great acorns so i want to be ready.

Cohiba,

We have had good results using oats, peas and clover. Can second the turnips as well. Might want to order a Spandles catalog, has great info matching soil types with crops and last I saw reasonable pricing.

thanks gregg.