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STX food plots?
#7108140
03/11/18 09:49 PM
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Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 2,030
spg
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Anyone plant food plots in South Texas? I've tried a few times and never got any rain and the turkeys scratched and ate the seeds before germinating. Ever since I stopped planting it rains all the time.
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Re: STX food plots?
[Re: spg]
#7109134
03/12/18 08:50 PM
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Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 2,112
Ranch Dog
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Yeah, the ground must be well prepped before so that every drop of rain is collected and stored between the surface and clay base. Every time you work the soil, it must be packed afterward to prevent moisture loss. What really matters in South Texas is how far you are from the coast. Got to have that Gulf moisture for the afternoon thunderstorms.
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Re: STX food plots?
[Re: spg]
#7109157
03/12/18 09:10 PM
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spg
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I'm about 80-90 miles North/Northwest of Corpus....about 10 miles east of Choke Canyon lake.
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Re: STX food plots?
[Re: spg]
#7109160
03/12/18 09:13 PM
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Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 541
Gwood88
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I tried a few times and gave up. Stxranchman recommended just feeding protein and that as been working pretty well.
Texas A&M Class of 2011
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Re: STX food plots?
[Re: spg]
#7109961
03/13/18 05:21 PM
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Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 60,296
stxranchman
Obie Juan Kenobi
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Obie Juan Kenobi
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Are idiots multiplying faster than normal people?
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Re: STX food plots?
[Re: stxranchman]
#7110387
03/14/18 01:18 AM
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Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 346
Daddybigbuck
Bird Dog
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Bird Dog
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stxranchman are you using a grain drill to plant your summer plots? If so do you know the spacing? Does the spacing even matter? Looking at buying a used one and I see 7.5" and 8" are pretty common on the used equipment market.
Thanks for the help.
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Re: STX food plots?
[Re: Daddybigbuck]
#7110514
03/14/18 03:31 AM
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Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 60,296
stxranchman
Obie Juan Kenobi
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Obie Juan Kenobi
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stxranchman are you using a grain drill to plant your summer plots? If so do you know the spacing? Does the spacing even matter? Looking at buying a used one and I see 7.5" and 8" are pretty common on the used equipment market.
Thanks for the help. Yes I bought an older JD Model B grain drill with 16 drop and 7" spacing's. I can plug up some of the drops to make wider rows if I want to. I like to plant all the rows to try to shade out weeds/grass. I think an 8" or wider spacing would be better in drier areas though. If you are putting 50# of seed per acre it just means that with tighter spacing's you have less seed in each row vs more seeds per row in a wider spacing drill. Another advantage to wider spacing rows is that the deer have a walking space in-between the rows. That old drill serves the purpose well for me.
Are idiots multiplying faster than normal people?
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Re: STX food plots?
[Re: spg]
#7110544
03/14/18 04:36 AM
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Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 2,030
spg
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Look's good STXranchman, how much fertilizer did you apply. I'm thinking of trying the power plant from Whitetail Institute, just a little 2 acre test plot.
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Re: STX food plots?
[Re: spg]
#7111156
03/14/18 07:15 PM
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Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 60,296
stxranchman
Obie Juan Kenobi
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Obie Juan Kenobi
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Look's good STXranchman, how much fertilizer did you apply. I'm thinking of trying the power plant from Whitetail Institute, just a little 2 acre test plot. The first couple of years I did not use any fertilizer due to it being land that had never been planted. 2 years ago I put down 13-13-13 at 150#/acre. I will have to put out fertilizer this year but to late to do any soil tests. So will probably put down 200-250# acre of 13-13-13. Fields did well last year with no fertilizer just to many deer for the acreage of plots I have.
Are idiots multiplying faster than normal people?
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Re: STX food plots?
[Re: spg]
#7114609
03/17/18 10:46 PM
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Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 2,030
spg
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The soil on my place is more sandy than clay. The ground I'm wanting to plant is black soil, when its wet it sticks on your boots or tires but when dry its sandy. Another area is on a pipeline, I could go big on this one if I wanted to but gonna try to keep at 5 acres and soils is totally different, its still sandy but normal dirt color and doesn't stick when wet as bad as the black ground. My plan is to pretty much the same as last time disc it and apply #300 of 17-17-17 per acre and disc it in then drag with a harrow then broadcast seed and cover with harrow. Working the ground isn't an issue, I have an old 25' IH disc that I took the wings off of which shrunk it to 15', it works pretty good with two passes.
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Re: STX food plots?
[Re: spg]
#7125607
03/28/18 01:51 PM
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Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 907
Erich
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Tracker
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wow those plots look great.
Outdoorsman
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Re: STX food plots?
[Re: spg]
#7125645
03/28/18 02:21 PM
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Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 23,613
Payne
Cat Herder
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Cat Herder
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Posts: 23,613 |
You're killing me
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Re: STX food plots?
[Re: Payne]
#7127390
03/29/18 10:01 PM
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Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 60,296
stxranchman
Obie Juan Kenobi
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Obie Juan Kenobi
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 60,296 |
Are idiots multiplying faster than normal people?
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Re: STX food plots?
[Re: spg]
#7127437
03/29/18 11:00 PM
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Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 23,613
Payne
Cat Herder
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Cat Herder
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Last one I saw was 4 years ago. Last covey I saw was 9 years ago.
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Re: STX food plots?
[Re: spg]
#7159342
05/03/18 10:20 PM
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Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 2,030
spg
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Loaded with quail on our place, no one hunts or messes with them. There pretty tame and wouldn't be much of challenge to get a limit. As far as the foodplots go I'm debating whether to plant or give up, we've been getting some decent showers but the heat is coming on strong. Still green but starting to get pretty dusty.
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Re: STX food plots?
[Re: spg]
#7163583
05/08/18 11:12 AM
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Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 5,999
tlk
THF Trophy Hunter
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THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 5,999 |
Nice plots STXranchman.
I had 3 pretty large plots on a ranch I use to own in Central Texas - average rain around 30-35 inches.
What I found was you almost have to HF the plots in order to give it a chance to grow - otherwise the deer will never let you get a good stand going. Then you need to be able to lower some of the fence panels for the deer to access once the crop is up. Of course that adds significant expense to the process.
If unlimited funds were available I would purchase proper farming equipment, HF and irrigate plots.
If forced to choose between supplemental feeding versus plots I would take plots every time.
Tecomate Ranch proved that the better a farmer you are the bigger your deer will be
You can't fix stupid
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