Food plot and a little work today

[unclefish]

Filled feeders and checked cameras today. The flood was pretty devastating for the habitat.

Everything that was flooded looks like a moonscape.





This was a beautiful durana clover / chicory plot pre-flood and now it looks like this....






You can tell where the flood line came up to...


The EW screen is outstanding so that is a bright spot.




Some of it is approaching 10 feet tall...




I even found some Alamo Switchgrass starting to come up.

[unclefish]

I've heard some people say the deer return back to normal after a flood but that's not the case here. Hundreds of acres of surrounding habitat was flooded for over a month and is now a desert.

I'm seeing a few bucks that have returned to the protein but only a very small percentage so far and nothing mature. A few doe groups are showing up but no fawns on camera at all...weird.

I hope in time it turns back around. I do have spin feeders and protein feeders going full blast so I'm hoping it will draw them in again.

[jkelbe]

Good luck UF. I am curious to see if the floods added or subtracted nutrients from your soil.

[unclefish]

There is a bachelor group that has started showing up in the last two days so hopefully they will draw a crowd.

[unclefish]

Good luck UF. I am curious to see if the floods added or subtracted nutrients from your soil.

Good question. I bet the Nitrogen has been depleted (leached out) but it layed down some organic matter for sure.

[SFAbowhunter]

That last pic the one buck looks like he has never seen a feeder. Maybe new bucks? I'm sure the deer are all really scattered with all of that water that you had

[deer farmer]

UF, I am sorry about some of your food plots flooding. Same thing in some of mine, where I experienced the same I am thinking these type of weather changes from yr to yr, is why so many farmers had rough time making a living. And crop insurance is high in cost. On the good side, it's not long from now when you will be replanting for your fall crops and we both know the deer will come to the rye.

[deer farmer]

I forgot to mention, like u, I have not seen the fawns but I swear some of the does still look pregnant.

[unclefish]

UF, I am sorry about some of your food plots flooding. Same thing in some of mine, where I experienced the same I am thinking these type of weather changes from yr to yr, is why so many farmers had rough time making a living. And crop insurance is high in cost. On the good side, it's not long from now when you will be replanting for your fall crops and we both know the deer will come to the rye.

Yessir! Love fall plantings! Thanks deer farmer.

[EastTexun]

Man, sorry to see that moonscape. I wonder if you could lightly disk ahead of a decent rain and stimulate some growth of some kind? Or do you think your seed bank was wiped out too? That EW looks amazing. I haven't seen my screens in a while, but I am sure you are really ahead of my sorghum sudan.

I am not sure of your normal experience, but I rarely get fawn pictures early in the season. Every year I am afraid I have no recruitment, but it turns out just fine.

[Nailhead]

Sorry to see the devistation at your place. The EW screen looks awesome. When our lake dam blew out it pushed a bunch of white sand down stream across our place. That was better than a month ago and still when you walk down there it's soft and fluffy almost. Our place is pretty dry. Haven't seen rain in a few weeks. Worried that it's gonna get our good spring plot with this big heat coming this week. Hopefully will get some rain up there and keep from whipping it out.

[unclefish]

Man, sorry to see that moonscape. I wonder if you could lightly disk ahead of a decent rain and stimulate some growth of some kind? Or do you think your seed bank was wiped out too? That EW looks amazing. I haven't seen my screens in a while, but I am sure you are really ahead of my sorghum sudan.

I am not sure of your normal experience, but I rarely get fawn pictures early in the season. Every year I am afraid I have no recruitment, but it turns out just fine.

If I disked that field doveweed (wooly croton) would pop up within days. That is the predominate seed in the seed bank. Its already popping up in few places without disking. If only deer ate it.

I think I will just leave it alone (maybe spray it again in a month) until fall and then replant clover/chicory. It should be a blank canvas....lol.

Interesting about your fawns....I'm sure the fawns are around as the flood was slow rising and they had time to find higher ground.

[unclefish]

Sorry to see the devistation at your place. The EW screen looks awesome. When our lake dam blew out it pushed a bunch of white sand down stream across our place. That was better than a month ago and still when you walk down there it's soft and fluffy almost. Our place is pretty dry. Haven't seen rain in a few weeks. Worried that it's gonna get our good spring plot with this big heat coming this week. Hopefully will get some rain up there and keep from whipping it out.

Thanks. I can't wait to hunt over the EW screens. I think it will totally change the way they enter the plot. I think they will come in earlier than normal and might even stage around it before entering in the field itself.

[EastTexun]

If I disked that field doveweed (wooly croton) would pop up within days. That is the predominate seed in the seed bank. Its already popping up in few places without disking. If only deer ate it.

I think I will just leave it alone (maybe spray it again in a month) until fall and then replant clover/chicory. It should be a blank canvas....lol.

Interesting about your fawns....I'm sure the fawns are around as the flood was slow rising and they had time to find higher ground.

If I could make money off croton, I would be writing this from the mountains or the lakehouse

[rebelbow]

Thinking about trying an early season bow plot in center tx. I have one 1/2 acre opening with surrounded by mature pines. a newly planted clear cut, and a long (200 yd) strip between mature planted pines. The open plot has been planted before but is thick with tall grass and weeds. I may try the throw ,mow and spray technique in that plot with iron and clay cowpeas ,buckwheat, and arrowleaf clover.
the long strip between the mature pines has been tilled before.
all are sandy loamy soil
thoughts or suggestions?