I'm a bit puzzled by Iron Clay Cowpeas?

[MarkDarvin]

How does the Gypsum help out?

I believe it changes the flavor of the plant. I liken it to a burger king tomato vs a home grown tomato. There are differences in plant tastes based on how they are grown. In a given area where farmers bring complex fertility, they'll likely attract the deer more than a plot that is growing but has some sort of nutrient hole in the bucket. There are countless variables that could drive poor plant uptake, but gypsum is cheap enough and safe enough, you can just throw some out there and try it. Maybe don't do all of your acres, but pick one plot, cut it in half, and give one side gypsum, the other none. If that's your issue, the deer will tell you.

A complete soil test will also tell you this, and everything else you need to know. When I tested mine, my soils came in at 5 - 8 ppm (my lowest hole in the bucket). Where we applied ammonium sulfate in prior years (to put N on brassicas in fall), we had slightly higher sulfur numbers, but still not adequate. When we put beans on an expanded piece of land that had zero sulfate/sulfur in any form, those beans were the very last of the beans to get browsed. Three other plots within 200 yards of that expansion were completely wiped out before they started on those sulfur deficient beans.

 

[MarkDarvin]

I got to thinkin, I've got those old before/after soil tests to illustrate this. When talking parts per million, you have to divide your lbs by 2 to arrive at ppm in a 6" soil test.

Here is the plot that got 150lbs ammonium sulfate/acre in the fall for brassicas. Note my sulfate at 21 lb/ac. That equates to 10.5 ppm. Still would like to see that at 20 to feel good. It was fall applied, soil was tested the next spring. The beans here got eaten right away.

Now here is the plot expansion. Not a single soil amendment was put on before this test was taken. 3lbs/ac = 1.5 ppm. That left me 85% short of minimum. These beans weren't hardly touched until October. After this test, we put on MAP, potash, and dolomitic lime, which contain practically zero sulfur (MAP has 1.5%). We completely missed the biggest nutrient deficiency. We could have skipped the lime and put on gypsum instead and done far better. That isn't completely true, but for purposes of this conversation, it is.


Lesson here, you can't manage it if you don't measure it.

 

[Familytradition]

This is my first year planting them. The eat them but do not keep them mowed down, but the corn and sunflowers seem to keep them at bay. They did eat the lab lab and soybeans first. The cowpeas survived and gave us the summer jungle that we were looking for.


Sent from my iPhone using Deer Hunter Forum

 

[THE LLC]

Yes, but those southern deer snub brassicas.

Man, mine don't. Wish they would---at least until they get more than 4 inches tall. My deer don't snub anything that I can figure.

 

[David]

Man, mine don't. Wish they would---at least until they get more than 4 inches tall. My deer don't snub anything that I can figure.

Mine aren't picky either. Sunflowers, then soy beans, then the cow peas....nothing left of them. I replanted two bags a few weeks ago just to see what they will do now. Inside my exclusion cages they were 8 feet tall.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[Doe Shooter]

Mine aren't picky either. Sunflowers, then soy beans, then the cow peas....nothing left of them. I replanted two bags a few weeks ago just to see what they will do now. Inside my exclusion cages they were 8 feet tall.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

Sounds like you got a lot of hungry deer. Maybe it's time to shoot a lot of does. Or put up a E fence.

 

[MarkDarvin]

I wonder if a good clover blend wouldn't be a better option. I've seen the light on summertime clover use this year.

 

[Drycreek]

I wonder if a good clover blend wouldn't be a better option. I've seen the light on summertime clover use this year.

Clover is an excellent option if you don't live where it gets 90 degrees plus for two months in the summer. I grow it anyway, but IC peas thrive in hot, humid Texas summers if they just get a little rain from time to time. My peas were feeding deer from May until I shredded them last week. My clover was great too until two weeks of 90+ temps knocked it out. That's all good though, it will be back next year !

 

[David]

Sounds like you got a lot of hungry deer. Maybe it's time to shoot a lot of does. Or put up a E fence.

The season opens friday....I plan on killing a couple.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[bigbluetruck]

There must be a difference in sunflowers, they grow everywhere here on the edges of fields but I never seem to notice any browsing. But then again you guys say that they will murder beans and leave corn alone, and I seemed to find the opposite this year in my plot.

 

[Mennoniteman]

There must be a difference in sunflowers, they grow everywhere here on the edges of fields but I never seem to notice any browsing. But then again you guys say that they will murder beans and leave corn alone, and I seemed to find the opposite this year in my plot.

I've also had sunflowers in a mix and never noticed the deer showing much interest in them. Soybeans are definitely the best plot planting around here, with clover second, new oats third, and corn forth.

 

[Mennoniteman]

Even though we have a lot of deer I guess the reason they don't eat the cowpeas much is that I've just planted too much food. Here is a mix of Oats, Ironclay Cowpeas, Pearl Millet, Sunflowers, T-Raptor Brassica, Sorghum-Sudan, SunnHemp, Buckwheat and Daikon Radishes. This field is a real jungle, eight feet high.

I did find a few on the edges that have been browsed. Aren't deer as quick to wade into a thick standing plot to browse things like cowpeas?