Food Plot Frustrations and Copperhead

Food Plot Frustrations

Evening sky just after planting

Plant before the rain right? Yes, but 4.5 inches, not such a good idea.

I decided just day before yesterday that since it looked like rain was imminent in the forecast that I would plant a summer annual food plot. We typically don't do summer plots since our burning program increases the available herbaceous forbs and increases the food supply considerably. But this spring we were not able to get a decent burn in because of the weather.

Not many wildlife managers view the late summer as a major stress on deer. All the luscious and easily digestible plants found in the spring are much less palatable during late summer. As a result, adult bucks and does may have to live on below-average forage. Any late-born fawns must rely on reduced quantity and quality of milk. Consequently, many hunters often plant late-summer food plots to help augment a deer's nutritional deficiencies throughout this stressful period.

Food Plot preparation is very labor intensive and expensive, but its fun and the rewards of watching deer and turkeys feeding on what you have planted are great. 

Following are the proper steps to give an idea of the work involved.

1. Site Selection
2. Remove rocks and small trees if any
3. Spray with Roundup, wait 10 days
4. Bushhog
5. Initial disking
6. spread fertilizer based on soil test
7. disk in fertilizer
8. broadcast seed
9. disk or drag to cover seed
10. cultipack
11. Pray for Rain, just not too much

Tecomate Lablab Plus

Tecomate Lablab Plus ($40 per acre)

40% LabLab, 20% soybeans, 15% Iron & Clay cowpeas, 10% Milo,

10% Ebony Cowpeas

Plot just prior to planting

Plot seeded and culti-packed

Mule, disk and drag

                                                               After 4.5 inches of rain




Problem was I just guessed at the size of the plot and assumed it was about a acre, so seeded @ 22lbs per acre, but AFTER I was done (definition of a dumbass?), I checked on the NRCS soil site and confirmed that I had broadcast probably double the seed (not a good thing since overcrowding will stunt growth) since the actual plot size is only about 1/2 and acre, however since the 4.5 inches of rain probably washed away about 1/2 my seed maybe it will be just right. I applied 200 lbs of Triple 13 so that doubled my fertilizer so thats probably good. 

Trophy Magnet Summer Annual Mix

Trophy Magnet Summer annual plot mix ($22 per acre) comprised of  Cowpeas, Milo, and Millet.

Second plot was  a very long narrow strip just north of fence on Summit Lane. Approx .75 acres. 

Aerial View of  Summit Lane Food Plot

Trophy Magnet Summer annual plot mix ($22 per acre) comprised of  Cowpeas, Milo, and Millet.

 

I tried burning off some of the duff before planting but it was just too damp

Copperhead

Guess getting cut in half by an 600 lb disk and then burned puts an end to this poisonous bad boy.

Plot washed away?

Again, since I didn't measure twice before throwing out my seed, I overseeded by probably 50 % but I suspect I had a lot of seed float away so maybe I'll get lucky.  I didn't disk or drag this plot, just cultipacked since there were some very small millet seeds that should not be deeper than 1/2 inch.