About J. Wayne Fears

Food plot managers cannot emphasize enough the value of planting food plots in warm-season crops. A hard winter will take out most of the plants in a cool-season food plot, and the animals that have been depending on that food source are faced with going into the spring and summer with limited food, or moving to a property where the manager has planted food plots with nutritious warm-season plants.

To quote well-known deer biologist Larry Weishuhn, “During the spring and early summer, nature produces considerable forage and seeds for wildlife. Unfortunately, these quickly disappear because of hot weather, drought, and heavy feeding. In many areas of the U.S., summer can be a most stressful part of the year for deer, due to dry weather resulting in poor quality food. This is when warm-season food plot crops are very valuable.”

The cowpea is a favorite food of most game animals.

There are many warm-season commercial mixes promoted to hold deer on your property during spring, summer and early fall. However, there is one warm-season seed blend that I have used that can provide food and cover for deer, and attract wild turkey, quail, and squirrel at the same time. In fact, for those who like early fall squirrel hunting, this blend can become a squirrel hunter’s dream come true.

This warm-season blend is a combination of running cowpeas and Egyptian wheat. The cowpeas are planted for deer to feed on all summer. The Egyptian wheat is planted for the pea vines to run on to get them up and off the ground. Due to the height of the Egyptian wheat and the thick growth of the running peas, the plot makes excellent cover for bucks and birthing does, with plenty of food at hand. In the early fall, the seed heads of the Egyptian wheat are a favorite food of squirrels, wild turkey, quail, and other game birds.

	Cowpeas are a viny plant that deer love – and often overgraze before it matures.

Running Cowpeas
(Vigna unguiculata)

Cowpea, also known as black-eyed pea or iron-and-clay pea, is a viny, warm-season annual legume that provides palatable, high-protein summer nutrition for deer. When the plant matures and bears peas, it makes an excellent source of food and cover for turkey, quail, dove, and other game birds. However, if cowpeas are planted in an area with a high deer population, deer will ravage the lush foliage in its early stages and those birds are unlikely to ever see a pea emerge.

Cowpeas will produce forage for game about 45 days after emergence. Seed pods form in about 60 days, and will mature in about 100 days. Once the first frosts hit, cowpeas are likely to die. If bow season where you hunt opens before the first frost, this is a good place to be if there is any cowpea forage remaining after summer.

Egyptian Wheat (Sorghum bicolor)

Egyptian wheat, an annual also known as chicken corn or Shallu, is really a sorghum. It can grow to 12 feet in height in 110 days, and it produces a large seed head that is favored by squirrels, game birds, raccoons, and deer during years of hard mast failures. For deer, wild turkey, pheasants, dove, and quail, it is best to mechanically knock down some of the plants so that they can get to the high-growing seed heads. For squirrels and raccoons, that is not necessary, as they will climb the stalks and fill up on the seed.

Egyptian wheat grows up to 12 feet and must be knocked down for quail, wild turkey, and deer to reach the seeds. Squirrels have no problem climbing the stalks.

Egyptian wheat is an ideal tall-growing plant for running cowpeas to climb on. The two plants combined make an excellent food source and bedding area for deer.

Planting the Blend

A good blend of Egyptian wheat and cowpea is 12 pounds per acre of Egyptian wheat seeds, and 25 pounds per acre of cowpea seed. The planting date should be early May after the last killing frost. The seedbed should be well prepared and the seed broadcast evenly. The seed should be covered lightly, and no more than one inch deep. Both plants are highly tolerant of drought and a wide variety of soil conditions, including heavy clay and sandy soils. They can be planted within a pH range of 5.5-7.0. It is best to fertilize according to a soil test.

	Really a sorghum, Egyptian wheat produces seed that game birds, squirrels, raccoons, and deer relish during years of hard mast failure.

Plot Management

If the plot is to be for a deer feeding and bedding area, then all other forms of human activity need to be halted. There is no maintenance required and the plot should be left in seclusion. If the plot is to be used in the fall for squirrel hunting or later for quail or pheasant hunting, then don’t expect the plot to be used as a fall whitetail bedding area due to hunting pressure.

This blend of plants can also be planted in wide strips to give deer a travel corridor. I have seen Egyptian wheat/cowpea strips run between a farm pond and planted pine plantations to give deer a travel lane to go for water. This lane was a very good location for a bowhunting stand.

Many game managers like to leave the Egyptian wheat/cowpea food plot during the winter as a bedding area for bucks. However, if reseeding the food plot for a cool-season crop is in the plan, then the Egyptian wheat stalks and cowpea vines can be disked under in early fall to prepare the plot seedbed for the new cool-season crop.