I would get a food plot in and established as soon a possible. To get the deers attention , they will adopt and make good use of what ever you plant season after season. 

 I youst to live in elcampo and columbus so i think clover and turnips would be a good choice , but there are a lot of good choices to pick from . When to plant, id get the  seed bed ready  by feb 15 and put the seed down about march 5th .

The rule of thumb is 1/4 acre to every 10 acres of property you have .  A half acer plot is a good plot , but you can go BIGGER . My family has roots to the area for over 200 years  it brings back memories .  hope this helps

This helped me.  Check this out.

Q&A: Management advice from biologist John Schwarzlose of TEXLA Wildlife

Don't be a duck.

Zach, I have a small place over in Paige.  we have had luck over the past few years with a one acre oat patch on the 11acre property.  this year, I stepped it up a bit with some bio-logic "hotspot", two bags with two bags of triple-13 fertilizer, along with some oats.  got a spike and a 9-point and saw plenty of does.

Out Enjoying That Great Texas Countryside

I planted an acre of Lab Lab on March 23^rd . Went to look at it this past Saturday and it looks great.   The plants are about 8 inches high.  I guess it’s true what they say about this product. (It’s a magical bean)

M.G.

Josh- I m not trying to bash your place or anything but you are able to get some good hunting out of 11 acres?

Anyone else had good luck with lab lab?  I tried 3 years in a row and never had a good crop.  I am in Concho County and on 2 occassions planted 40 acres with a seed drill.  Not an over-grazing problem.  Expensive experiment for me.

Thanks 

David,

We plant Lab-Lab exclusively down here at the Tecomate, El Cazador, Campos Viejos, Nuestro Sueno, El Monte, Novillos, La Estrella, San Roman and several other ranches for our summer crop.  The only year in the past decade we did not produce a crop was summer before last due to the incredible drought. 

We prep our seed beds and keep them weed free.  We plant ours with an 8 row planter and skip every third row (for moisture conservation).  And most importantly, we protect it from early browsing pressure. 

If you don't protect it from early pressure, like any other similar legume, it won't respond well and will stay stunted, if it comes back at all.

Also, due to our dry conditions (we average 18 inches of rainfall per year), we plant at a rate of about 10 lbs. to the acre.  While farming is expensive, our summer seed bill pales in comparison to our winter.

Here are a couple of pics.  First is of Lab-Lab this past May, second is from July 2004, showing the plants reaching across the skip rows.  Next is from March 2003.  Last is from August 2005.

couple more from June 4 of this year.

Just some other info. We have around 7 percent of our entire ranch in Lab-Lab...another 7-8 in winter plots.

Hardy,

I planted some Lab Lab last spring and it came out great; but what do I do now? It dried up for the winter?  Do I trim it, or leave it alone and hope it will grow again this year?

Any help from you would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Mario.

Mario, You'll need to replant. Lab-lab is an annual and if you've had a frost, it's done. We are planting right now (and hoping for rain). You'll probably want to wait a little longer and get your soil temp up. Hardy

I planted some oats in a very tiny food plot that is less than 1/4 acre in size. And I have had alot of deer using it at one time. . . at one point I think I counted about 12 does in it. I also planted in early November.

Zach - it is all about

1. hunting and human pressure (keep it low, no very low)

2. access to bedding and safe havens (keep this in mind first, and make a huge effort to make certain to understand each and provide for each in your area)

3. next up is food sources - your protein feeders are great, and a food plot will assist also.

Make it easy for the deer to reach bedding and safe havens quickly, keep the human presence and hunting pressure very low, and keep feeding.  Consider switching to archery hunting to lower the hunting pressure.  On 20 acres, it is tough.  Also consider establishing a wildlife management coopertive with your neighbors.  That can work really well.

ps: have a look at my post on Food Plots.  That may help also........

Ihave some questions about food plots . I have access to 1600 acers. I have tried to plant food plots for two years now  nothing happen . last year my plots came up 2 to 3 in. then yellowed. Later in May  i planted sun flowers . they also came up spars and stopped growing  .What would be a general nutrient or mix nutrients to add to the soil . the plot  mix is a premium mix prinillal . thanks Robin

Robin,

You need to test your soil.  If your problem isn't moisture related, then you soil needs something.