When it comes to early season food plots, we have traditionally had the most success with purple hull peas. They grow abundantly by just being broadcast over a field with little preparation. Our little pea patches produce enough peas every year to fill not only our deer tags, but also our freezer. There is a deep sense of satisfaction that comes in setting down to a meal of fresh peas that you’ve grown yourself along with fresh venison that you’ve harvested while it was eating from that same field.
With all the success we’ve had with peas, I was shocked when my husband suggested planting peanuts in half of our food plots this year. The old adage, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” kept running through my mind, but I continued to listen quietly. It seems a friend of ours had become closely involved in Delta Peanuts, LLC, a peanut production company out of south Mississippi, and had offered to give us enough peanuts and inoculant to plant two acres. He brought us pamphlets containing rave reviews from numerous clients including one from Tara Hunt Club and Willow Point. The pamphlet also extolled the nutritious values of the superior protein content of the peanut which directly contributes to antler growth. We decided to give it a try.
We divided each of our smaller fields in half and planted peas on one side, peanuts on the other. Two days after planting, we went back to check the fields. The peanut side looked like a hog lot! There were tracks on top of tracks on top of tracks. The ground was covered with holes where the deer had pawed up the peanuts. It was one of the most amazing things I’d ever seen. They definitely loved the peanuts. The only problem was that they were digging them out of the ground and eating them before they could sprout. The deer were “goin’ nuts” over the nuts! Luckily, we tend to over-plant. Hopefully, enough seed would be left in the ground to give us a somewhat decent stand of peanuts.
We are still checking the fields every few days. Some of the peanuts did actually make it long enough to sprout. However, about half of those that sprouted were eaten off even with the ground within a few days. I would say less than 25% of what we actually planted was left by the deer. It remains to be seen whether that will be left to grow to maturity.
In comparison to the peanuts, about 95% of the peas are now knee high and blooming. The deer are eating some of the leaves, but they don’t like the plant itself as much as they do the peanuts. I know from experience, however, that once the peas come in the deer will definitely focus their attention to the long purple hulls. Too bad they didn’t know to be patient and wait for the peanuts to mature. Too bad we didn’t know that we would need to find a way to keep the deer from eating the peanuts until they matured. That’s something we’ll have to work on before next year. Until then, I guess the deer will keep “goin’ nuts” over what’s left of our nuts.
