New to this so bear with me.

I want to plant some summer and fall food plots. I plan on planting wheat, oats, winter peas in the fall plots and maybe a milo, soybeans mix in the spring/summer plots.

1) Is it absolutely necessary to do soil ph tests? Can someone tell me the best way to do this?
2) Can a fertilizer be bought at the local feed store? Are there generic fertilizers or ones specific to plots?
3) Any links or help is greatly appreciated

My goal is to create the greenest, healthiest plots I can with intent to increase the nutrition for whitetail deer and improve antler and overall health of the herd.

Yes pH is very important as some soils are more fertile than others.

You can test pH by buying a simple pH meter. Even though distilled water is not perfect you can still use it in your application to calibrate your meter.

What type of soil are you considering planting in? I would recommend getting a soil analysis test done instead of only measuring pH.

gravely clay loam and denton silty clay

How big are the plots?

the plots are roughly 3 acres

I would aim for a pH of about 6.5. Best way will be to add lime. You can buy it from most feed stores.

Sounds good. About to head to Lowes to grab a soil PH meter as well to test on my own.

It'll take a week or two, but I would highly recommend getting some soil samples to your local extension office. You'll get a helluva lot more info about your soil than you'll get from a store bought meter. It'll help you get the most out of your plantings and may well help you save a lot of money on fertilizer (and a lot of heartache in failed plantings).

Where are you located geographically, what is currently in place where you are wanting to plant? What equipment/tools do you have access to, and is it 3 continuous acres, or multiple small plots that total 3 acres?

As for fertilizer, yes you can buy at the feed store. But what fertilizer you use (46-0-0; 19-19-19; etc.) will depend greatly on 1) your current soil nutrients; & 2) what you are planting. The 3 numbers listed are the amount of Nitrogen-Phosphorous-Potassium in the fertilizer you are buying. The numbers represent the percentage, by weight, of the contents in the bag. Your soil tests will say that to grow (insert your crop here) - corn for example" you'll need to add "Xpounds of Nitrogen, Y pounds of Phosphorous, & Z pounds of Potassium." You can use a myriad of fertilizers to achieve that as there are about a million mixes available. If you need equal parts of N-P-K, then adding enough Triple 19 (19-19-19) is an easy way to get it done. But if you need 3x as much Nitrogen (for e.g.) then adding urea (46-0-0) and then adding a P-K heavy fertilizer at a smaller rate might be a much easier way for you to go. Otherwise if you try to amend only with a Triple19, you'll end up with way too much of some of the components.

There are some tremendous resources on the QDMA.com forums depending on how deep you want to get into this.

A soil test would be your best bet. A county agent may be able to help, or pull your own sample and send it to a soil lab.

Sean,

I am located just west of Waco, Texas.
The one food plot is rectangle in shape and 3 acres.
I planted a mixture of winter peas, oats and wheat this past fall.
I'm interested in planting some summer plots as well as educating myself on fertilizer and producing the best possible crop I can.

Sounds like I will call the county extension agent (Bosque County) tomorrow to do a soil ph test with them.

That's a great base for a winter mix, the only thing I would add is a red or crimson clover to it.
How did your winter peas, wheat, and oats do? Also imo don't focus so much on crop like production, it can lead to unrealistic expectations...

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That's a great base for a winter mix, the only thing I would add is a red or crimson clover to it.
How did your winter peas, wheat, and oats do? Also imo don't focus so much on crop like production, it can lead to unrealistic expectations...

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My winter peas, wheat and oats didn't do good...that being said, I didn't use any fertilizer so that could be my problem.

If you're west of Waco, your ph is likely to be too high,above 7
Don't add lime, it raises ph. There isn't much you can do to lower it, other than elemental sulfur-can get real costly. I mean we are talking about deer food and not Ag crops...so
Take what you can get

Wheat and oats need a lot of phosphate early on. I don't want to get in a whole soil lesson here, but put on p&k heavy early

I had a typically long Sean-type reply and TexAgs just ate it. I'll try to recreate it tomorrow.

This has sparked my interest. I am thinking about doing some plots also. When you are talking about soil test, how much soil? Do I need to pull a "core" sample or just dig a hole & keep all of the dirt in a bucket? I will be planting in Schroeder, TX.

First, there are real farmers that frequent this board and they can give you waaaaaay better and more in depth information than I could ever pretend to. But I have been playing farmer on a small scale for wildife for a few years now. Not long enough that I have it figured out, but long enough that I've made a metric crap-ton of mistakes.

Get a quality soil test. Your extension service website probably has directions on how to do it, but generally you want to dig down 4-6" and get a small sample from various spots around your plot. Remove any foreign material, let it dry out, put it in a ziploc, deliver it to your extension office and tell them what you are planning on planting. Your results should give you a matrix of data including, but not limited to: pH, organic matter, N, P, K. It will also give you recommended soil amendments for whatever it is you want to plant. E.g., if you choose corn it'll probably say to apply a crapload of nitrogen. If it's beans, clover, etc. it'll be way low on N, but higher in P-K more likely. But at least you know what you need to do to amend the soil properly.

Think of your "needs." You should try to plant to provide support to your wildlife at critical need times of the year. For me in Kansas that is 1) fawning through weaning; & 2) winter. Winter may be less critical in central Texas, but keep in mind that when season winds down most of your neighbors will stop their free corn buffet. That creates a gap in the local food source that you can fill. A distant #3) for me is providing an attractant during hunting season. For many people that is #1 but I primarily want health and nutrition. If I have good habitat and food I have faith the deer will be around. I can find them on my own.

Next keep in mind what you are trying to accomplish. Too often deer plotters get fascinated with having a "pretty" plot that looks like a farm field. While herbicide resistant seeds and "clean" plots can be a good goal (particularly if you're trying to eradicate certain problem weeds/grasses), it's not always the best. A weedy mix that is full of food is often best for wildlife be it deer, turkey, quail, dove, or non-game animals. It provides food, vertical cover, variety... In short it's more of a buffet than a single course. If you plan/plant right there is almost always something in the mix that is delicious and helpful.

3 acres is a good sized plot. Probably big enough that you don't have to worry too much about it getting destroyed before it gets started. So you have a lot of option on what to plant. Again, keep in mind your goal. Summer food? Winter food? A mix that allows you to accomplish both? Consider planting your plot in strips. That allows for more "edges" and animals love to feed along edges. It'll increase your utilization. Think about forage soybeans over production beans. They won't set harvestable bean pods very well but will provide TONS of forage during the summer. I don't have the size of plot you do so I plant a mix of things all together. Sunflowers, sorghum, iron/clay peas, forage beans, etc. If I had a nice rectangular plot like you have I would plant in strips/blocks and rotate. If you google "LC Food Plot Mix" you will find months worth of internet reading on the best food plotter I ever knew. Sadly he passed away this year from ALS, but his strategies are strong, do a great job of building soil, and provide food all year long due to the mix of his plantings and the rotation of crops.

Okay, I cheated and looked up the link myself. Since his death the QDMA forum has created a sticky called "A tribute to LC (Paul)" and has stockpiled a lot of his threads in one place.

Wow Texags didn't drop you somehow when typing that up.

very nice. I will read up on that link, thank you!

Last question: If it were you what would you plant for fall plots and for summer plots?

I'm thinking this:

fall/winter: wheat, oats, winter peas

spring/summer (on a different plot to let the above rest): a combination of what you mentioned/what my local feed store recommends: sunflower, sorghum, peas, forage beans (soybeans?) etc

Sean covered all the bases with his post!

I was a farmer/rancher in another life, and I would simply add that in selecting a sample, take a 6" slice of soil from 4-5 locations within the plot and mix them up in a clean 5 gallon bucket; then put a couple of handfuls into the shipping container. (If you obtain a "kit" from your county agent, it'll have directions.)

Don't fret if the fertilizer recommended isn't available in the precise ratio. Just go with whatever formula is closest. Chances are pretty good that whatever your local Co-Op or AG Services store has will suit your needs.

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very nice. I will read up on that link, thank you!

Last question: If it were you what would you plant for fall plots and for summer plots?

I'm thinking this:

fall/winter: wheat, oats, winter peas

spring/summer (on a different plot to let the above rest): a combination of what you mentioned/what my local feed store recommends: sunflower, sorghum, peas, forage beans (soybeans?) etc

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I think you have a lot of solid options. I'm probably not the best to answer that question because I didn't really take a big interest in this until I moved to Kansas and as you might imagine my annual precip, weather, conditions, etc. are very different than yours. So I can grow a lot of things you can't and vice-versa.

Generally speaking I like what you're thinking about. I don't have a lot of experience with oats because our frost date is too early up here to get much use out of it. I do have planted wheat and rye. Allow me to say right now that when I say "rye" I mean rye GRAIN and NOT RYE GRASS! Rye grass is the devil. It provides very little for the wildlife and will take over everything. Avoid it at all costs unless you simply can't get anything else to grow and your only other option is to have your deer eating rocks.

The one thing I would encourage you to look into a little bit is clovers and chicory. It will provide food well into the winter for you in that climate, and chicory will handle the summer heat pretty well. Clover does a great job of fixing nitrogen (making it available for future stands of sunflowers/milo/etc.), provides a good dense ground cover and a lot of overall soil benefits. There are a lot of clover varieties so if you go that route look at a mix of seeds that work well for your area.

Utilization of certain plants by deer varies a lot by location, and by what is found in your local area. Try to identify the "gaps" in your area and fill that hole. For example up here if all my neighbors have huge fields of ag beans, it does me no good to plant beans. So in that situation I would plant sunflowers, corn, clover, etc. In years with heavy corn around me I will plant beans. I want to provide them something they can't find everywhere else. I also plant a lot of brassicas in the late summer (radishes, turnips, etc.) but our deer don't use them until well after some hard freezes turn the sugars in the bulb and make them sweet and palatable. It's a good option for me because they last well into February and then the deer literally dig them up. In your area it may not get cold enough for them to turn, I don't know. If they don't eat them it's worth noting they do a very good job of soil maintenance, breaking up compacted soil and providing organic material.

Lite depending on the average rain fall in your area the clover would be a good add to the mix. It might allow you omit fertilizer for fall plots.

This year (much further south) we planted LC mix elbon rye, Australin winter peas, Crimson clover, and then overseaded with Neches clover. The hope is the clover might carry me through summer (depending on spring rains and temps) at worst it will put back a lot of nitrogen in to the soil for the next food plot .

I've heard great things about sun hemp but haven't tried it yet, I suspect we will try it this spring/summer.

Question I haven't seen addressed.

What is everyone's thoughts on using the same plot for spring/summer and then turning it over into a fall/winter plot? I've heard to keep them as separate plots to allow the soil to rest.

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Question I haven't seen addressed.

What is everyone's thoughts on using the same plot for spring/summer and then turning it over into a fall/winter plot? I've heard to keep them as separate plots to allow the soil to rest.

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I wouldn't be concerned with rest. With adequate soil amendments (fertilizer, etc.) it's unecessary. In your part of Texas, adequate and timely moisture is likely to be your limiting factor. If your available land is not limited, rest is just another way to reduce/limit the cost of fertilization expense. The goal is to match the amount of fertilizer to the anticipated rainfall. There is a direct relationship. IOW, the more it rains, the more fertilizer plants can utilize. In the end, plain old luck has a significant role, despite your best intentions.

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Question I haven't seen addressed.

What is everyone's thoughts on using the same plot for spring/summer and then turning it over into a fall/winter plot? I've heard to keep them as separate plots to allow the soil to rest.

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It's fine to plant for both you just need to remember to use complimentary plantings like I said earlier. Don't plant a high nitrogen using crop on top of a high nitrogen using crop for example.

Like A&Mhunter said, he hopes his clover (which fixes nitrogen) holds out until summer, but at the very least it will release a lot of available nitrogen for his summer crop. It's as much about the rotation of crops as it is the "rest." The biggest issue you'll probably see with constant plantings in your area is the depletion of subsurface moisture. But honestly, an appropriate winter cover crop should help your moisture (by preventing wind-drying, trapping ice/snow, etc.) more than hurt it.

The other option is the "LC Mix" I talked about earlier. Which would be easy to do in a 3 acre plot. It is a longer term rotation. Because you're not just rotating 100% of the plot summer/fall/summer/fall, you're rotating the plot in 1/3s between multiple things it's really like a 4-6 year rotation all within a year or two.

I know A&Mhunter has done the LC Mix so he'll have a better idea of exactly what will/won't work in the Texas heat compared to me.

So basically what you're saying is if I do a mixture of many types of seed I'll have a year-round foodplot and only have to plant once a year as opposed to planting two different plots?

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So basically what you're saying is if I do a mixture of many types of seed I'll have a year-round foodplot and only have to plant once a year as opposed to planting two different plots?

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No, you'll still plant a few times per year, but you won't be planting the entire plot at any one time. The LC Mix (Paul Knox when by LickCreek or Dbltree on other web forums) is included below in his original quote:

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Dbltree seed mix and rotation
Plant ALL in one plot in strips or blocks

Alice, Kopu II, Durana (or comparable) [u]white clover 10% of plot[/u], sow at
6#'s per acre with the rye combination in the fall or in the spring with
oats and berseem clover. Correct Ph and P&K with soil tests

[u]Brassicas in 45% of plot[/u]

Purple Top Turnips 3# (per acre)
Dwarf Essex Rape 2# (per acre)
GroundHog Forage radish 5# (per acre)

Plant in mid to late July in most Midwest states, or 60-90 days before
your first killing frost, Use 200#'s of 46-0-0 urea and 400#'s of
6-28-28 per acre. Follow the dead brassicas with oats and berseem or
crimson clover in mid spring at 60#'s oats and 12-15#'s berseem clover
and/or crimson and/or 50#'s of chickling vetch)

[u]Cereal Grain combo in 45% of plot[/u]...we use 50# each rye, oats and peas
along with radish and clover seed all planted in half of each feeding
area

Winter rye 50-80#'s per acre (56#'s = a bushel)
Spring oats 50-120#'s per acre (32#'s = a bushel)
Frostmaster Winter Peas or 4010/6040 Forage peas 20-80#'s per acre

Red Clover 8-12#'s per acre or white clover at 6#'s per acre (or 20-40
pounds hairy vetch and 20-30#'s crimson clover on sandy soils)
Groundhog Forage Radish 5#'s per acre

Plant in late August to early September, if following well fertilized
brassicas use 100 - 200#'s of urea, if starting a new plot add 400#'s of
6-28-28 but for best results soil test and add only what is necessary.

Rotate the brassicas and rye combo each year

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What this means is that you would plant your plot in 3 strips. 45% of it in the "Cereal Grain" combo, 45% in the Brassicas, and 10% in White Clover.

The White Clover portion of the plot should last 3-5 years. In Texas you might also supplement with some chicory as discussed before. In the midwest it would be best started in the fall, allowed to go dormant over the winter and then pop in the spring. Using rye or oats as a nurse crop to take pressure off the new clover.

The "Cereal Grain" portion of the plot should be planted in September. It includes not only rye grain and oats, but also peas. Additionally it includes some red clover and groundhog radish (GHR).

The Brassicas is a mixture of purple top turnip (PTT), GHR and Dwarf Essex Rape (DER) and is planted in late August or early September. You follow the dead brassicas in the mid-spring with a mix of oats and clover.

The following year (and thereafter) you swap rotate the location of the brassica and cereal plots.

Keep in mind Paul lived in the midwest. I adjusted the dates a bit accordingly, but AgHunter and others locally might be able to help you with tweaks to the mix that will outperform locally, or suggest slightly different planting dates.

I'm not sure the stripped versions of LC mix will work in Texas heat. I have yet to try it that way bc I think the heat would do the clover in, but I am futher south than lite.

I did it as a complete mix this year, And my initial hopes was to term the rye by mowing in early spring and let Crimson and white clover take over.. But the dang deer won't let it get ahead so I might not have to worry about the rye shading out the clover, They have it ate down... So I'm having to play it by ear this year...
If I was able to do this year over I would have protected the plot for 3 weeks to let it get up a bit...


I've got another stand of clover im trying at an experimental plot, that has much less deer pressure to see if clover is viable in my part of Texas...


Before I tried the turnips i would encourage you to evaluate you're hog population, bc I have been told they are very fond of them.