Soil info? Food plot

If there is anyone well versed in the soil data reading, can you please pm me. I need some help with growing a food plot for doves.

Call your Ag extension office. If you have not done the soil sample, then your at the right place. Get a current sample and have it tested. All the bags and info sheet to take the sample is available at the
Ag office.

Your location says College Station- take advantage of that little ol' place called Texas A&M University to help you out. I live in Nacogdoches and use SFA to help me out on soil sample stuff. The Ag Extension office is a good place to go.

I need to update, I'm in deep east Texas now. And I have the soil sample data, just need help understanding it more or less.

Here's link to County FSA office locator. You pay for them, might as well use them. They can be very helpful.

https://offices.sc.egov.usda.gov/locator...Eastern%20Texas

Thanks, I'll for sure use them, was just looking for a little help for right now before I visited them.

What kind of question do you have? I take a few thousand soil samples a year working in a soil fertility and chemistry research group so may be able to help.

You say your are in deep east Texas. Your soil analysis tells me it is probably land that is either growing pines or has had pines on it. I answered your PM but I have three words for you....lime, lime, lime.

If pines grow there, then the soil is acidic and lime reduces this. Each year that you apply lime, it gets a little better. Put the lime out in the spring, or tomorrow. Do not wait until Fall and expect it to do anything, it takes several months to do anything.

My first analysis was one ton of lime per acre. I haven't been consistent in testing the soil every year, but I have added lime to it every other year. I'm now down to needing 500 pounds per acre in my last soil report. My NPK results seem to be all over the place. One year I need more of one thing, the next time, I needed more of the other. Usually I just put out 13-13-13 and add a sack of whatever it is that I'm low on to the mix. If it's Nitrogen, I'll get a sack or two of 25-0-0 or something like that and add it to the 13-13-13

Depending of the size of the plots yall have you can probably save some money on fertilizer by going to your local ag chemical dealer (Helena, CPS, Wilbur-Ellis, etc..). If your plan to put out granular fertilizer then find one that sells it and they should work with you and sell you what you need and it doesn't have to be a semi load. I've got 5 gallons buckets and trashcans of fertilizer before and it is cheaper than buying the fancy bags at the store. They will usually carry Urea (46-0-0), MAP (11-52-0), MOP (0-0-60), and maybe DAP (18-46-0).

Check with you local agriculture agent

When I was at SFA (not sure where you're at in deep east texas) you could drop off a soil sample with a sheet filled out on what your intentions were for planting. They'd run the sample, give you a report, and give you recommendations based on your plans and the analysis. Think it was like $30 back about 10 years ago. A lot has changed down there - so I'm not sure if the soils lab even offers that anymore.

goat weeds


While not considered a food plot, at the right time of year, walked a pasture with goat weeds & the sky darkened with dove.
Some good info by others in this thread, soil makes a difference on the type & growth for food plots. Deer mostly did the oats & rye, later the store bought throw & grow.

I️ think sunflowers would grow on top of Mount Everest you should be fine

http://ag.sfasu.edu/index.php/idsa?id=25

it is still going, but unfortunately Dr. Young passed away back in 2016