Second year hunting East Texas. West of Pineland in San Augestine County. Piney woods and oak hard tree creek bottoms. Planted a couple of food plots last year. Mostly oats in the fall. I think they did a little good.
I would like to find the "perfect food plot recipe". I am looking for a mix that will include clover, or other legumes, want something that will self seed. I have about 3-5 acres of land I can plant in a few locations. Would love to discuss with the "EAST TEXAS FOOD PLOT GURU" Not sure if there is a mix that you can plant that will have things popping up a different times of the year. I am just trying to eleminate the trial and error process. Looking for plots that will attract deer and also are good for the deer.
Also if someone has some imput on natural native plants that can be transplanted I am interested in that as well. I want to make 200 acres as good for the deer as possible. The site has pond and creek so water is natural there as well. I like small plots as well as 1 acre in size. (which still is small.)

You will want to re seed every year ime to get good results. Rye will come back but not great for the deer. Oats, weat and vetch works well and helps with Nitrogen... especially if you inoculate the vetch... working the dirt before you plant will help also.

There is clover you can plant that will come back but I bet you already have it every spring in that area... IF its not covered in undergrowth

I know I will plant every year. I guess I am looking for a mix that I can plant around Labor Day to mid September that will have stuff come up in the Spring. Not sure if this will happen.
I will test the soil. Curious if someone knows the best lime to use and how much is typical for East Texas. Can you use regular masonry bag lime from Home Depot, or do I need to use an ag lime. Is powder or pelletized the best. I think the powder lime has a longer life than the pelletized.

Also I am curious if "transplanting" some natural stuff will help the area. I wonder if I got some dewberry vines growing, or is there something else that I can get growing, especially under the oak tree cannapies.

1st thing I think you should do is have your county AG agent out and get his opinions, they are a wealth of free information and will know your area best.

I like the Mix Navasot gave you (Oats, some wheat, vetch) could add some arrowleaf clover. I once read an opine by an east Texas wildlife biologist, he recommended Oats, some wheat, arrowleaf clover and clay peas.

As far a lime, I would get a soil test before I spent a dime on lime, but I would rather use the pellet, easier to put out and wont blow away.

Fertilizer, when no soil sample to go by, is usually recommended 200-300# per acre of a balanced mix, such as 13-13-13-, or 12-12-12

I've been planting food plots in East TX (northeast)for over 30 years and have tried just about every plant or combination possible. Although many have worked well, there are 2 that have always stood out above the rest on my place. My favorite is Durana Clover. I plant it in mid-September at appx 10-12 # per acre, with 50# / acre of oats (plus plenty of fertilizer). The clover will be a little slow to establish when you first plant it, but the oats will give the deer something to eat in the mean time. In the spring, the clover will start to take off and thicken. When the oats start to bolt, you will want to mow the plot just above the tops of the clover. As long as you have a fair amount of clover...don't give up on it. It will really explode in the second year (without having to reseed). Once established, it will usually be a good draw and receive a lot of attention from the deer about 9 months of the year. In the hot and dry part of the summer, it will usually go dormant(usually July / August)...but will start growing again by September. If it is a really cold winter, it can slack off in late December and January, but will start to grow again in early spring. I can usually get at least 4-5 years out of Durana plot before having to replant.
If you are wanting to replant each year or want to add a little variety, my second best is just a wheat / crimson clover blend. I usually plant appx 125# / acre of wheat, then add 15-25# / acre of crimson clover on top. This plot is almost foolproof (as long as you get moisture) and will always get hammered from late September through February / March. It is cheaper to plant than the Durana, but will have to be planted each year. You will always be better off adding fertilizer, but it would be too costly for the amount of acreage that I plant. The Durana Clover will always be fertilized, but the last 10 years or so I have not fertilized my wheat / crimson plots and they have done just fine. You will get a fair amount of nitrogen fixation into the soil from the crimson clover, which will give the wheat a little boost.

I like the last recommendations. The recurring/reseeding clover sounds good. Looking for the county Ag agent contact info.

100 W Columbia St #203
San Augustine, TX
(936) 275-3644

I don't know anything about Durana clover, it could be much better than arrowleaf, but have used arrowleaf many times and it is a prolific re-seeder.

Look here to find your local agent

http://agrilife.tamu.edu/locations-window/

Something you may ask your ag agent about. Ladak Alfalfa. I grew a 5 acre plot in Erath county in the 90's and you couldnt run the deer out. that plot lasted 7 years, got thinner but still enough to bale.

Here is one cultivar with some info
http://www.alliedseed.com/alfalfa/ladak-2-alfalfa/

I tried Ladak in the early 90's. I used it as an extra in my bean/pea plots when I nop-tilled into my winter food plots of oats and madrid clover. I never got more than one year out of it in the Hill Country though due to pressure and lack of timely rains. In the drought year in the spring of '96 I tried to plant about 60 acres of it mixed with pigweed seed. Only had 1/2" of rain the day after I planted it so it failed badly.

STX, your right, it needs at least 19" rain a year iirc? You probably gambled more, being that far South? I worked great for me and I bet it would do great in E Texas since they seem to always get some kind of moisture. I do know that after deer get used to it fresh, you can literally drive the pasture and they run around the edges LOL

The area I planted it in had an average rainfall of 28" per year. Just happened that it was the drought of 95-96 that only had 7" of rain from Oct 95 till August 96. So it was not a very good test that year. I have seen Ladak planted in Tom Greene and McCulloch counties that lasted 3 yrs with heavy deer grazing pressure and not much rain in the 2.5 yrs after planting. It did better in weedy areas where the plants go shade and protection from deer. Oddly it also did better in the old fields that had a lot of gravely caliche type soils. The only thing we could figure out was that the soils there allowed it to root deeper and the rains would put moisture deeper into the ground away from heat/evaporation. Stands were good enough to not have to replant and not to plow under. Tonnage per acre was better than native pasture land on forage.

Good point STX, when I planted mine, I planted with bob oats and small amount of corm/ milo mix. (for the reasons you mentioned). Since the alfalfa only really starts in the fall, the corn and milo only got about 2', but did supply some cover. The oats of course did outstanding. iirc it was Late feb or early March I saw new growth (never totally browned) in the alfalfa and directly shredded the pasture to about 6". A couple of rains and it was off to the races. The second year I no-tilled in feed oats and it was some amazing horse hay for several years.

If I had had denser WT numbers, I would have never been able to put a sickle to it! I had one group of Live oaks on one edge, then open field (native) for about 400 yards in every direction, byt the 2nd year, it was common to go down and run deer out from the live oaks, they bedded right there close. It was amazing how they responded to the ladak. 3rd year I had the feed tore get an analysis (horse hay buyer wanted it) and the crude protein was at 14%-18% on the 2 samples. pretty darn good for graze.

The Apache Arrowleaf clover does extremely well, but it is considered an annual....even though a fair amount of reseeding can take place. The Durana Clover is a perennial that will have regrowth from the roots, as well as from seed production. I grow alfalfa on my place in the panhandle and it is a huge draw to the deer. Only problem I see is the ph in the pineywoods of East TX. The Durana is a little more forgiving, but still needs a ph of at least 5 - 5.5 (preferrably 6.0).....the alfalfa is a lot harder to grow in lower ph soils. I have experimented in East TX with the alfalfas, but it hasn't thrived too well and usually doesn't last much more than a single growing season.

I have had success with a wheat, oats, elbon rye mix and then overseed with Crimson clover and Apache Arrowleaf clover, provides forage from Oct to June depending on moisture levels.

If, you have wetter bottom land plots, hard to beat deer vetch (aeschynomene)as a warm season forage and it will reseed itself. A good warm season forage for drier plots is Alyce clover.

You can also have stand alone clover plots, but will not have year round forage from them.

Truthfully you could just manage the soil durring the right times of the year and get volunteer rye, clover and other natural forbs to come up on their own.. It near pointless for me to plant clover in the spring with as much clover that comes up on its own... That's why I plant pease and other stuff they normally wouldn't see deer love having options

Buckwheat & clay peas for Spring, mix of Elbon, WW, AWPs & oats in Fall, plant mid Oct.

Here's James Kroll's recipe for "The Kill Plot" that we've tested for many years.

90 lb/ac Buck forage oats if you can use a seed drill, otherwise lightly disk, broadcast at 100 lb/ac and cover.
4 lb/ac red clover (or white or alyce depending on how wet your soil), top-seeded.
4 lb/ac (not 3) Chicory, top-seeded.

This gets planted first weekend in October, don't plant early, its a big gamble for the oats.

Use a soil test to determine exactly what your soil needs, usually takes about a week and costs about $10. If you don't want to do a soil test, 200 lbs/ac of 13-13-13 does the trick.

Brands: Kroll developed the seed with Buck Forage Oats, so obviously he recommends only that one and i have seen it survive with 5 days in the teens in nacogdoches county, for God sakes, please dont plant spring (Bob) oats! If you don't plant Buck Forage, tecomate makes a good chicory as well.

The great thing about this is it provides great nutrition from late October-April. The deer will heavily graze the oats until about January when they will begin eating Chicory, when oats finally go to seed in late-winter we usually mow them down or you can spray a specific herbicide like Fusilade, doing this releases the clover to take off and they will be eaten through april.

In late April we turn the soil and drill or broadcast cowpeas at a rate of 40 lb/ac drilled 50 lb/ac broadcast. Now you have a summer food plot that deer cannot resist. We use electric fences to keep deer out of certain cowpea plots and pull the fences off about September 25th and you have about 2 tons/ac of prime deer food!

This is obviously a year round system using multiple food plots. It creates highly nutritioius food that is very cost efficient over straight supplemental feeding (approx 3-5 cents per pound vs 15-20 cents per pound)! If you are just wanting something to kill a deer in just plant the oats and you will have deer on opening weekend.

I studied and got a degree under Kroll and worked for him for several years along with many other texas landowners and we've always used some variant of this. Our testing facility was in Nacogdoches county so this should work excellent for you.

Thanks to all for your responses. Texas Hunting Forum always good to get information. Fishing Forum the same. Really like the recipe that CalebtheLee posted. All in all, most of the posts and ideas I have been getting follow a similar thread. I will definitely be getting things ready. Will need to get some lime in the ground. My understanding is that hydrated lime actually takes less per sq yard, and has a longer life. Just takes a little longer to get cooked in the ground. Anyone wish to respond to the lime question.

I've planted Buck Forage and it comes up really well without a lot of work.

Texas PI has it figured out, Durano or Ladino either one but you need good soil, preferably bottom land. Then a second plot for you oat, wheat, elbon rye and Austrian winter pea where you disk this in and come back on top with crimson clover and barely cover it. Done this for years and it is a magnet for deer. I don't buy the premixed I go to feed store and buy sacks of each and mix myself and allways put about 150lbs/acre of 17-17-17 when I plant and ask the Good Lord for rain.