Planting Iron Clay Cowpeas for deer
Vigna unguiculata
Deer hit this hard. That is the point.
- Seeding rate
- 50 to 80 lb
- per acre, broadcast
- Minimum plot
- 1 acre
- smaller gets browsed out
- Plant
- Late spring into early summer, once soil is warm
Rates are broadcast figures. Drilling runs roughly a third lower. These are starting points from extension guidance and have not yet been re-checked against a second source per record, so treat them as indicative and soil test before you buy seed.
About Iron Clay Cowpeas
Warm-season legume for summer protein, which is the season most food plot planning ignores. Antler growth and lactation both happen in summer, and a property with nothing green in July is not holding deer regardless of what it grows in October. Very high protein, very palatable, and nitrogen fixing. Drought tolerant once away. The problem is that deer love them from the moment they emerge, and a small plot can be eaten to the stem before the plants ever canopy. An acre is a realistic minimum and two is safer. Many people cage a section or run a temporary electric wire for the first six weeks to let the crop establish, then drop it. Broadcast at 50 to 80 lb per acre. Warm soil is essential, so wait until well after last frost.
Soil and care
- Soil pH
- 5.5 to 7
- Drainage
- Well drained
- Water
- Low
- Growth rate
- Fast
- Maintenance
- Low
Similar to Iron Clay Cowpeas
Other food plot forages with the same deer rating.
- Cereal RyeSecale cerealeZones 3–9Frequently damaged
- Crimson CloverTrifolium incarnatumZones 5–9Frequently damaged
- Forage ChicoryCichorium intybusZones 3–9Frequently damaged
- Forage OatsAvena sativaZones 5–9Frequently damaged
- Forage RadishRaphanus sativusZones 3–9Frequently damaged
- Forage SoybeansGlycine maxZones 5–10Frequently damaged
Protecting Iron Clay Cowpeas
Deer will destroy this without protection, so the question is which kind you are willing to pay for.
- How tall a deer fence needs to beEight feet, and six is the most common expensive mistake in deer fencing.
- What a deer fence costsMaterial ratios are stable even when prices are not, and installation reliably doubles the figure.
- Repellent that actually worksThe egg-based recipe that reproduces the active ingredient in the commercial sprays that win university trials.
- Check it is actually deerDeer tear and leave a ragged stub. A clean 45-degree cut is rabbits, and slug holes get blamed on deer constantly.
Where Iron Clay Cowpeas grows
Hardy across most of these 46 states on zone range alone. Mountain and coastal areas sit outside the ranges used here, so check your own zone before ordering.
- Pennsylvania
- New Jersey
- New York
- Connecticut
- Massachusetts
- Virginia
- Maryland
- Michigan
- Ohio
- Indiana
- Illinois
- Missouri
- North Carolina
- Tennessee
- Georgia
- Texas
- Colorado
- California
- Oregon
- Washington
- New Hampshire
- Maine
- Rhode Island
- Delaware
- West Virginia
- Kentucky
- South Carolina
- Florida
- Alabama
- Mississippi
- Louisiana
- Arkansas
- Oklahoma
- Kansas
- Nebraska
- Iowa
- Montana
- Wyoming
- Idaho
- Utah
- Nevada
- Arizona
- New Mexico
- Alaska
- District of Columbia
- Hawaii
Browse from here
Every list Iron Clay Cowpeas belongs to.
Hardy in these zones
Common questions about Iron Clay Cowpeas
- What is the seeding rate for Iron Clay Cowpeas?
- Broadcast 50 to 80 lb per acre. Drilled rates run roughly a third lower. Soil test before buying seed, because pH matters more to the outcome than the rate does.
- When should I plant Iron Clay Cowpeas?
- Late spring into early summer, once soil is warm. It is a warm-season crop and needs soil that has genuinely warmed, not just a frost-free date on a calendar.
- How big does a Iron Clay Cowpeas plot need to be?
- About 1 acre as a realistic floor. Below that, deer graze the crop faster than it establishes and you get bare ground instead of forage. Local deer density moves this number more than anything else.
- Do deer actually eat Iron Clay Cowpeas?
- Frequently Severely Damaged on the Rutgers scale, which measures how heavily deer damage a plant. On an ornamental that is a warning. On a food plot crop it is the specification.
- What hardiness zones does Iron Clay Cowpeas grow in?
- Iron Clay Cowpeas is hardy in USDA zones 6 to 11. Outside that range it will either not survive winter or will struggle with summer heat.
- How big does Iron Clay Cowpeas get?
- Mature height is roughly 60–120 in. Growth rate is fast.