Planting sunflowers is an effective method for attracting and holding mourning doves, whether for wildlife observation or preparing a hunting field. The success of a dedicated dove field relies on precise timing and thorough preparation to ensure the seeds are mature and accessible when the season begins. Sunflowers provide a high-energy food source that is extremely attractive to these birds, requiring careful management to align the plant’s maturity with the dove season opener.
Determining the Ideal Planting Date
The single most important calculation for a successful dove field is determining the planting date based on the target maturity date. Most mourning dove seasons open around September 1st, meaning the sunflower seeds must be fully mature, hard, and dry by mid-August to allow time for field preparation. Sunflowers typically require a growing period of 90 to 120 days from planting to full seed maturity, depending on the specific variety chosen.
To achieve an August maturity, planting must generally occur between late April and early May. For growers in northern regions, planting should be delayed until the second week of May to safely avoid the threat of a late-season frost, which can kill young seedlings. Conversely, southern states with earlier warm weather can plant in mid-April, capitalizing on the longer growing season while still aiming for a mid-August dry-down. Germination is optimal when the soil temperature reaches approximately 70°F.
Planting too late risks the sunflower heads still containing soft, milky seeds that doves will not utilize effectively. Planting too early, especially for varieties with shorter maturity cycles, can result in the entire seed crop shattering and dropping to the ground before the season opens. Counting back 100 to 110 days from the desired mid-August maturity window provides a reliable planting target, minimizing the risk of premature seed loss or immature seeds.
Essential Preparation Before Planting
Before planting commences, selecting the correct variety and preparing the soil properly are two essential steps. Doves prefer small, black-seeded oil types, such as Peredovik, over the larger, ornamental confectionery varieties. The smaller seeds possess a higher oil content, offering superior caloric value, and these oilseed types tend to have a more predictable maturity timeline, generally falling within the 90-to-110-day range.
The seedbed must be firm and free of weeds, as doves are ground feeders and avoid foraging in thick cover. Deep tilling to a depth of six to eight inches should be followed by a final pass with a cultipacker or roller. This ensures good seed-to-soil contact, which is necessary for uniform germination.
Soil testing is recommended to check the pH level and adjust for necessary nutrients like phosphorus, potassium, and boron, which support robust plant growth. Applying a pre-emergent herbicide is also common practice to control weed competition, which can otherwise choke out young sunflowers.
The Sunflower Growth and Maturity Timeline
The approximately 100-day life cycle of the sunflower is divided into distinct biological phases that must be monitored closely. After germination, the plant enters a period of rapid vegetative growth, building the stalk and leaf mass necessary to support the eventual seed head. Flowering occurs roughly 60 to 70 days after planting, where the bright yellow petals attract pollinators and the head begins to fill with developing seeds.
Following pollination, the plant enters the seed-filling stage, where the seeds accumulate oil and solidify. This stage is followed by the dry-down period, where the plant redirects its energy away from growth and toward fully hardening the seeds. A mature sunflower head signals its readiness when the back of the head transitions from green to yellow and then to a dry, brown color. Doves only seek out these hard, dry seeds, so the plant must reach this final stage before any manipulation begins.
Maximizing Seed Accessibility for Doves
Once the seeds have fully matured and the back of the head is brown, the final management step is to ensure the seeds are made available to the ground-feeding doves. Doves rarely feed directly from the standing head; they prefer to forage on seeds scattered across bare soil. Field manipulation should begin two to three weeks before the anticipated opening day of the season to allow birds to find the new food source.
The most effective strategy is to mow or lightly disk sections of the field in staggered strips, rather than manipulating the entire field at once. Mowing with a brush hog or rotary cutter shatters the dry seed heads, dropping the seeds onto the ground below. Staggering this action—perhaps mowing a new strip every week—provides a continuous supply of fresh seed throughout the hunting season. This mechanical action, combined with a clean, weed-free base layer, creates the necessary bare-ground feeding conditions attractive to doves.