Along with soybeans and cowpeas, lablab is one of the primary forage legumes planted for deer each spring and summer – and for good reason. Lablab (Lablab purpureus) is a warm-season annual legume that originated…
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Food Plot Species Profile: Buckwheat
Jan 14, 2015Ryan Basinger
Buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum) is a warm-season annual forb that can provide several benefits to your whitetail food plot program. However, it is not a legume, as are some of the more commonly planted summer deer forages,…
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Food Plot Species Profile: Berseem Clover
Sep 19, 2014Ryan Basinger
One of the primary reasons berseem clover hasn’t gained much traction since its introduction to the U.S. in 1896 is that it lacks winter hardiness. Likewise, its use as a deer forage has been limited….
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Food Plot Species Profile: Iron Clay Cowpeas
May 2, 2014Ryan Basinger
Iron-clay cowpeas are one of my all-time favorite summer forages for deer. I have probably planted more acres in cowpeas during summer than any other species. Cowpeas are relatively inexpensive, easy to establish and manage,…
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Food Plot Species Profile: Soybeans
Jan 24, 2014Ryan Basinger
Soybeans (Glycine max) are a warm-season annual legume and perhaps the most preferred summer forage for white-tailed deer. They are extremely nutritious, containing upwards of 25 to 30 percent crude protein in fields with good…
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Food Plot Species Profile: Crimson Clover
Sep 6, 2013Bob Westerfield
Chances are if you’ve ever bought a commercial cool-season food plot blend, you have probably planted crimson clover. Crimson clover is a cool-season annual (in southern states) that is relatively easy to grow and is…
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Food Plot Species Profile: Austrian Winter Peas
Jul 5, 2013Bob Westerfield
Austrian winter peas are a cool-season annual legume that can produce a great food plot on their own or as an addition to a seed mixture planted in the fall to attract deer. Easy to…
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Food Plot Species Profile: Grain Sorghum
Mar 20, 2013Bob Westerfield
My first introduction to sorghum was on a dove field over 25 years ago. The land manager had planted several strips of sorghum that not only provided a good seed source for the birds but…
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Try These Cool-Season Food Plot Mixes
Aug 6, 2012Craig Harper
There are a myriad of combinations that can be used with cool-season food plots. Many contain grasses, leguminous forbs (such as clovers and alfalfa), and non-leguminous forbs (such as chicory and brassicas). This can be…
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Food Plot Species Profile: Cowpeas
May 30, 2012Bob Westerfield
For a fast-germinating summer food plot or early bow-season hotspot, try planting some cowpeas. Cowpeas, Vigna unguiculata, are a warm-season annual that can be grown throughout the United States. Often called iron-and-clay pea or black…
