This Will Be An Odd Question

[DirtTime]

I was talking to my buddy about food plots last weekend at camp. I wasn't going to even bring this up in here. I asked if his dad would have an issue with me planting some things here and there. His dad was hiking the High Peaks with a few friends Sunday, so I didn't get to ask. Just got a text asking what I meant. I did my best to explain, but I am not sure how to really explain the whole thing.

I can't remove trees or rip up the ground. The area is a huge canopy cover, very little full sun spots, there are streams, a small swamp, and even a small pond you cannot see in an aerial view. Most of the ground has at least a 5" layer of old pine needles.

 

I would have to plant in the woods in small patches here and there without disturbing the natural terrain. Is there anything I can plant there that will work and be non-invasive and grow in the shade?

 

Go easy on me here people, I have never done this before. I asked, and was returned a question I can't answer because I have never done a food plot before.

 

Edited August 13, 2015 by ....rob

[wdswtr]

google secret spot food plot seed.  Sunlight will be the killer though, I think most require 2 to 4 hours of sunlight a day.  Being small areas the cost is small enough to give it a whirl.  I know guys who have used various brands of secret spot with some success deep in the woods. 

[DirtTime]

I will check that out. Thank you.

The no sun and only being able to plant small 20 foot areas is an issue. Never hurts to ask people who know about things. 

[sailinghudson25]

I'd say anything is 4 hours minimum.   Thick layer of pine needles, nothings really going to grow ontop of that.  You need bare ground.  Is raking against the rule?  

 

You can still do a lot, but work with-in the rules.  Weedwack lime and fertilize the grassy spots if you're allowed to.  That alone makes a difference.  Go back there in march or febuary and spread about 2lbs of clover per acre.  Mix it up with a bag or two of lime, so you can spread it out evenly.

 

Fertilizing good browse is a good idea.  Find out what the deer eat there, then looks for cover spots.  Is the swamp edge real brushy?  Any south hills with brush?

 

Use dead branches to make a fence line of sorts to get a deer where you want him.  Open up a spot in a stone fence,  deer prefer to walk through open spots, than stumble over the rocks.

 

Got any trees that bear fruit or nuts.  About 1lb of 12-12-12 fertilizer per inch of tree diameter spread around the tree canopy edge.  The trees leaves deflect water around the base of the tree, that ring where the leaves ends, put the fertilizer around that ring.  A good sized oak tree might be a 60ft diameter circle around it. 

 

It's not a good acorn year by me, however, my fertilized oaks got a bit more acorns than the average oak tree.  However, a good chunk of that is attributed to releasing the trees around it.  Basically, cutting down the shade around the preferred tree.

 

If there's any fruit trees from an old homestead, maybe he'll let you prune them.

 

pH of the soil makes a difference in the taste and nutritional quality of the thing deer browse on.  Finding a place where there's good brush and cover, and the cover is a better food source is not a bad place to sit.  People pick spots based on how far you can shoot.  However, those thick brushy spots is where deer feel comfortable and get a good chunk of their food from.

 

Buying about a half dozen bags of lime and spreading it around a 1/4 acre spot, then adding some fertilizer will make that spot better. 

 

If allowed to weedwack, buy about 3 or 4 bags of lime for every bag of fertilizer. Spread that around first, then buy a bag of rye.  Not ryegrass, but rye the annual cover crop.  And some sort of clover mix would be nice too.   Put that down, then weedwack so the dead grass helps keep the soil surface moist.  You'll have a difference.  Labor day weekend is not too late to do this.

 

I did this to a few spots over the years, even without buying seed.  Just making sure the deer have fresh tender weeds and natural grasses by taking care of the soil and especially weedwacking it around labor day.

 

There's a good bit of grass the deer really do not eat in the woods.  Just don't think green is a goldmine when hunting.  A really good spot by me, the place is riddled with those red berry bushes that I have been told were poisionous,  they slowly walk through those nibbling along the way, until the right one gets in my shooting lane.

Edited August 13, 2015 by sailinghudson25

[bkln]

"....planting some things here and there...." what does that mean?

[First-light]

Secret spot will work.

[BizCT]

Throw and grow will work. I used it last year for the first time as a trial and just used my foot to kick away leaves. Barely any sun. It grew pretty good.

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[dbHunterNY]

small patches means many of them to prevent too much browse pressure.  here and there would most likely mean a lot then.  might want to be careful about wiping out what natural browse is left in some spots.  any spot that has sun light probably has something, but if there's not much probably better off raking to bare soil and throwing down shade tolerant clover or something like has been said.  keep in mind it sounds like it'll get browsed over pretty good and you creating these small patches of utopia could change the pattern of travel and what not of the deer. just things to consider when picking spots.

[DirtTime]

Planting here and there means small patches maybe 20 feet or so in maybe 3 or 4 areas. It would be like the pics Biz posted. I can't make large areas.

If I get permission to do this it can't be something that will 'take over' or become invasive.

 

There is a lot of vegetation, ferns, a few grassy patches, and a lot of small shrubbery already. I got the idea to possibly plant some things in areas I sit. Just to improve the odds a bit in my favor. Too late for this year, but was looking forward to next year. 

[BizCT]

Rob not too late for this year for throw and grow. I threw it down in September and it grew

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[DirtTime]

Rob not too late for this year for throw and grow. I threw it down in September and it grew

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Might give this a try. Drop a bag or two near the swamp or pond where it can get to actual soil. Thanks Biz. 

[Five Seasons]

Maybe he thought you wanted to plant weed haha

[sailinghudson25]

IF you can borrow a leaf blower, it would help.

 

Does the property have a small lawn where a house or driveway is?   Seeding into the lawn there can help.

 

You would be surprised how much 1 hour of using a rake can accomplish.

[WNYBuckHunter]

Dont bother spending the cash on the buck in a bag Secret Spot, or Throw N Grow stuff. Buy a cheap bag of winter rye from your local Agway or farm seed shop. The vast majority of that buck on a bag stuff is rye grass seed anyhow. The winter rye will do fine, Ive used it in the woods on heavily shaded trails before with good success.

[DirtTime]

Thanks for all the input people. I appreciate it.

I was told no. No plots.

[growalot]

 

Open up a spot in a stone fence,  deer prefer to walk through open spots, than stumble over the rocks.

 

I would avoid that! I own stone fences and let me just say...someone did that on one of mine...they'd think they had stepped into a ground bees nest when I found them...just saying

[growalot]

 

Might give this a try. Drop a bag or two near the swamp or pond where it can get to actual soil. Thanks Biz.

 

If you do this near a swamp or pond then make sure you know what the land drainage is first...or DO NOT fertilize... you can mess up a pond if fertilizer drains into the pond from where you plant.