Planting Chufa

[nhn2a]

I always hear that turkey love Chufa. I'm starting to plan out my work in the spring and just curious how others effectively plant and hunt with Chufa. I tried planting Chufa once before but since its planting dates are during the end of turkey season it wasnt useful during the season and was pretty much gone by the following season. Should I abandon chufa and stick with clover or doe anyone have any tips for chufa?

 

[lasttombstone]

One of the main reasons for plant chufa is to benefit the turkeys, not as bait to hunt around. If you plant chufa and have good nesting habitat you are encouraging the turkeys to stay around. Don't look at chufa as "turkey corn". Look at what you can do to benefit the overall population of birds and make your place more desirable to them.

 

[nhn2a]

One of the main reasons for plant chufa is to benefit the turkeys, not as bait to hunt around. If you plant chufa and have good nesting habitat you are encouraging the turkeys to stay around. Don't look at chufa as "turkey corn". Look at what you can do to benefit the overall population of birds and make your place more desirable to them.

Interesting, I hadnt even thought of it that way. Just always heard that it was highly attractive but what you say makes perfect sense.

 

[lasttombstone]

It isn't always about what makes for an easy kill. Most times it is actually about making a spot desirable for a species in order to have them in the area. Kind of hard to kill something when there isn't anything used to being there. Then you get the occasional transient critters.

 

[jug]

Honestly for turkey hunting give me a wheat field and or clover. When I hunted Northampton County alot you could kill a turkey in a field that had chufa in it about like you would deer hunting. They would hit the chufa one day and be gone for the next 3. The chufa grows wild up there in the crop fields. If you plant it then I would recommend an acre cause 10 to 12 turkeys and raccoons and squirrels can destroy it in no time.
The main 2 fields that we hunted were 20 acres and 40 acres in size. The chufa was everywhere and the turkeys started on it usually around late February . By May they abandoned those 2 fields and head to the nearest wheat field.

 

[Rescue44]

Hogs like it, to.

 

[Eric Revo]

It's a nutgrass, but typically planted as an annual since turkeys, crows, almost anything will dig it up as fast as it gets put into the ground. I used to plant strips of chufa in and around established food plots and it's really easy to get started, but rarely makes it to the point where it can sustain itself. AND...it's darn expensive seed in the first place.

 

[oldest school]

it is so effective that at one time SC game laws prohibited manipulating it and hunting it during turkey season.
IMo you want some sandy soil for best results. It'll look like moon carters once they get into it.
The native nut grasses work ok but farmers seem to hate them and one I know has the same outlook on chufa- No planting it on his land.
We planted some a few times on the little river bottom in okeweemmee to give us a chance at attracting some birds off of a big "ranch" across the river, it worked like a charm.

 

[nhn2a]

It isn't always about what makes for an easy kill. Most times it is actually about making a spot desirable for a species in order to have them in the area. Kind of hard to kill something when there isn't anything used to being there. Then you get the occasional transient critters.

I'm not looking for an easy kill as much as I'm looking to attract and retain turkey during the spring or ideally year round. My original point was just that if its gone by spring is it really helping and is there something better to plant that would last year round like clover or something else. I get turkey on property a lot during the fall as they come for the corn but during the spring I'll get some occasional appearances but they're few and far between. I'm all for improving habitat and have a control burn scheduled to try to open the pines up as I've heard that will help.

Just trying to make some plans now so I'll be ready when the planting season comes.

 

[wolfman]

I've never had a chufa plot make it to spring. You could probably overplant it (many acres) that might provide more food than the local critters could consume by spring but it is expensive. As torn up as a chufa plot gets, you could probably broadcast some clover on it in March and have a clover plot by April but I'm not food plot expert.

 

[lasttombstone]

I'm not looking for an easy kill as much as I'm looking to attract and retain turkey during the spring or ideally year round. My original point was just that if its gone by spring is it really helping and is there something better to plant that would last year round like clover or something else. I get turkey on property a lot during the fall as they come for the corn but during the spring I'll get some occasional appearances but they're few and far between. I'm all for improving habitat and have a control burn scheduled to try to open the pines up as I've heard that will help.

Just trying to make some plans now so I'll be ready when the planting season comes.

It sounds like you and I are trying to do the same thing. I planted chufa once but it didn't do well in the tight soil in Granville Co. It's mainly clay up here and mostly rocks. It is true that turkeys love clover as there is plenty scattered in the fields here and I have opened crops that were packed full of clover. I think one of the major things anyone can do to hold turkeys during the spring is to make sure there is plenty of nesting and bugging areas. I am trying to get my field edges more turkey friendly and have cut trees back as much as 10 yards to open up the edges and promote native grass and weeds growth. My biggest issue is trying to get rid of and keep the fescue out of it. I hope you are successful in your efforts. Anyone who works to improve wildlife, especially turkey, habitat is making a major contribution as far as I'm concerned.