I've got a couple 3-5 acre clearing on my property in Jackson county that I was thinking about turning into fall food plots. Are these areas big enough to allow the plants to grow? Or do you think they will get destroyed by deer? Will a mix of turnips and oats survive heavy grazing by wildlife?

The turnips are a fall winter crop. They will probably need to be dug up for the deer to start to utilize them. Pigs now . . .

yeah I still have to spray and disc the spots. They are just clearings now, they have never been planted. I was going to plant these to be fall/winter food plots. Our farmer has a couple fields planted in black eyed peas so I am not worried about summer plots. The deer have more than enough peas to keep them happy.

How many deer are in the area will determine if the plots get hammered into the ground, but for a fall/winter plot, oats will freeze out.
The turnips are a great addition to a plot, but the deer don't eat the turnip, they eat the tops, especially after the greens frost damage.
Plant winter peas, chicory, some clovers(which will freeze out)and mix in those turnips and it's a done deal. You can mix your own combinations up,or buy a fall plot mix and add to it, which is what I do. The best I've found is Tecomate Max Attract.

Turnips are going to need a freeze for them to be consumed very well by deer. I would probably opt for a plot of oats, chickory and a clover(hubam or one for your area) in your place. I have done small plots with lots of deer. What I do is put the max amount of each seed I can in it- 100# oats, 3-5# chickory and 10-20# of clover as a mix per acre. Plant oats first then overseed with the other smaller seeds and drag it in. I do the max amount due to heavy pressure by deer. If it rains it will do great. If it don't rain much it won't matter how little of seed you use, it still won't do well. You might check with your county extension agent and get his take on it. Do some soil tests also.

I agree with stx's post but do the soil tests now.

It is a site when you have turnips in the ground after a freeze though.... they will paw them strait out of the ground

I don't think you need to put in 120 lbs of seed per acre, especially if most of it will freeze out(oats).
Nothing wrong with oats, but plant things that will survive till spring.Austrian winter peas,to name one, are an excellent draw and sustainable winter food.
I Feel like I overload my plots, which are 5 and 10 acres, with 60 lbs/acre.

I believe the heavy seeding of the oats is to take pressure off the clover and chicory until they are established. I also believe that ranchman is far enough south that you can take a chance on frost. You also have to factor in that, small grains are an excellent source of phosphorus, some thing that legumes are short of. If oats scare you to death, you can substitute spring wheat in the mix, I know that ranchman has a reason for everything he does and experience to back it up,

Jackson County(http://jackson.agrilife.org/) is along the coast of Southeast Texas. That county also has some very good soil and a lot of farm land. Probably not going to freeze very often and they get pretty good amounts of rain. I have never had oats or clover freeze in a food plot since I plant a good variety for the area I am in that is cold tolerant. I plant heavy so the plants stay thick keeping plants smaller. If you have enough animals they keep it short and have plenty of new growth, which they like better. I have used Austrian Winter Peas but if you do not have enough acres or to many deer they are the first to get grazed out. Under fence I would plant 60-100# of oats with 30-60# of winter peas per acre (price increases on oats and peas dictated amounts). The deer really like them so if I use fencing to establish the plot for a few weeks I include them but they still can get grazed out. The old farmers/ranchers in my area planted 2 bushels of oats per acre. Depends on who you ask or where you look and you can see rates from 60-120#s per acre for oats in Central to South Texas. Do you need more seed per acre? No but you can carry a few more animals with a plot that is planted heavier if you get normal to above normal rains.

Wow thats crazy.. what area are you in? With peas around here if you dont plant around 35lbs per acre minimum they will be demolished before they even can grab roots... i planted 50lbs on maybe a half acre along with 10lbs of millet and 10lbs of clover.. and it was just enough to let some grab good roots.

Fencing and a drill goes along ways also with lb/acre

I'm a long way North of Jackson County. However, I generally plant about 2 bushels of wheat per acre and immediately overseed with a couple of pounds of turnips per acre. The deer hit the greens pretty hard before they mess with the wheat or other cereal grains.

The biggest issue I have had is the availability of turnip seed and the occurrence of fall rains that I have to take advantage of.

It's like I said in my very first post, how many deer that are in your area will be the determining factor in how hard your plots are hit.
My families ranch is in a very low density area. There's not many deer, but we can sure grow some big ones. If my 60/lbs an acre wasn't enough, I'd obviously put in more.

I wasn't arguing with you guy lol. Not many hogs either?

We saw 6 last year, and that was the first time we've ever seen any on the place in the 22 years we've had the property.
I know you weren't arguing.Sorry if I sounded a bit tight.

It seems most are thinking about the turnip roots only. Their greens are very edible and hold up to some cold.

I always planted Turnips for the amount of forage the tops would produce. Deer loved them. 6#/acre of Turnips is a solid stand. After the first year the deer would eat them within a couple of weeks of emergence. They did not eat the bulbs till late Jan.

That's also my experience. I believe I've maybe gotten 2 meals of greens. They don't last long at all.