OUTDOOR LOGIC WITH BIOLOGIC
Four Bean Deer Salad Annual Legumes
Warm-season annual legumes can pump out huge amounts of attractive, protein-rich forage for your herd. Warm-season legumes can be an important factor in antler growth, while cool-season legumes can be a key to filling your tag. (Photo Credit: Tes Jolly)
There are numerous plants classified as legumes (Fabaceae family) and they can be annuals, perennials or biennials. All types can be used in agriculture and wildlife management, but the annuals can be especially productive for whitetails when managed properly. Many annual legumes grow a fruit that develops from a simple carpel that forms a pod and these pods produce foods like beans, peas, lentils and peanuts. Some legumes are also grown for livestock feed because of their prolific production of high-protein, very digestible forage. Another huge bonus of legumes is their capability to fix nitrogen to the soil through bacteria contained in little configurations called “root nodules,” so they also make great soil-builders for rotation, a cover crop or soil-enhancing “green manure.” As gamekeepers, we 28
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can take advantage of all of these above. Legumes include perennials like alfalfa, clover, trefoil and vetch; and annuals like peas, beans, lentils and peanuts. There are also legume trees like the locust tree or the Kentucky coffee-tree. Perennials are important because they are up in the spring before any annuals have begun to germinate, but for your herd to really “put on the feed bag” nothing can compare to the tonnage produced by annuals. Soybeans, iron & clay peas, lablab and winter peas make up the better share of annual legumes most often planted for whitetails. Understanding these legumes and how to best utilize them can help you to attract and hold more deer, grow bigger antlers and take your management efforts to the next level.
