Cowpeas
Contributors to this thread:Whitetail Deer
From: Bauda180
25-Jul-15
We have a few plots that we planted with Iron Clay Peas and the deer have gone in and hammered the plot Some of the plants were 5 to 6 inches tall and have been eaten to the bare stem with the exception of a few small leaves at the bottom inch or so of the stalk. From others experience would we consider these peas dead or is there a chance they can regrow?
From: drycreek
25-Jul-15
From my experience, they are done.
From: Bauda180
25-Jul-15
Wish there was a more economical deer deterrent than an electric fence. I know milorganite is helpful but wears off easy in dry areas
From: WV Mountaineer
25-Jul-15
There are more effective deer deterrents than the stinking rags. There are more economical methods besides an electric fence. However, your game warden won't like them :^)
From: r-man
25-Jul-15
buy some field peas, plant them at 6" apart, and the rows 6" apart, broad cast other crop seed such as turnip, radish to draw deer off the beans , these will germinate fast and help your beans. and yea the current crop of stalks may be unable to recover.
From: Mark Watkins
26-Jul-15
I have no experience with cowpeas.
However.....for this year I would go in and simply broadcast a 50/50 mix of winter rye and oats right before a rain.
Next year if you are going to plant cowpeas again, sounds like you might want to plant a cover crop to protect them.
Good luck and keep us posted on what you do and how it turns out.
Mark
From: Basinboy
26-Jul-15
They are toast....
From: nutritionist
26-Jul-15
Cowpeas as a product i use in my 4 way bean combination. They are a warm season product and even though their name ends in peas, you need to treat them like a forage soybean. They don't regrow well.
The advantage of them is they tolerate the heat and drier ground better than peas or soybeans and handle a lower pH range. This is the reason why i put them in a blend with soybeans. You can put them on a wide range of ground and they do better on the sandier soils than soybeans. If you have never ground that needs to get your pH elevated, they work better than soybeans , year 1.
From: drycreek
26-Jul-15
Agree with John, they are my go-to legume if there is no time to test and ammend soil conditions. That said, a heavy deer density will wipe them out. I plant them yearly in plots that are sandy and that I cannot irrigate, but " my deer " have lots of other things to eat and I can get away with it .
