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Small clover plot

sodfather
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sodfather Enthusiast

sodfather

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I know some of you will laugh but I only have 50 acres of private land that's all hard woods. Last year I tried to do a remote food plot and didn't till the land. Needless to say it didn't work. Today I dragged the tiller back and went tilled everything up. Hope it comes up this year

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gjs4 Newbie

gjs4

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Sunlight will be an issue could also Hinge cut for browse. How does it compare to the surrounding 1000 acres? Have your chunk offer the best of what's missing during fall. There will be a point where you have to prioritize your deer hunting versus other uses of the land. The right 50 beats the wrong 5000 every time.


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sodfather Enthusiast

sodfather

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I planted it in area that does get plenty of sun. I think part of my problem last year was didn't plant till end May and was very dry. The surrounding properties have just hay field, thickets and corn. I know I can't compete against corn but hope they stop for the clover early in the season before it's harvested

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Merlot Collaborator

Merlot

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1 hour ago, sodfather said:

I planted it in area that does get plenty of sun. I think part of my problem last year was didn't plant till end May and was very dry. The surrounding properties have just hay field, thickets and corn. I know I can't compete against corn but hope they stop for the clover early in the season before it's harvested

Plot looks good to me. It's a start.

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sailinghudson25 Newbie

sailinghudson25

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You can compete against corn.    You're the spot they come to before it's time for the big meal in the corn field.

A few things.........

May is not too early, it can be too late.  Fall is best.  You got some water, but it look like if you dig 20 or 3ft of shallow channel, it'll drain and clear much quicker.

No tilling will work, but you need to rake well.   When then mean no till, they do not mean do nothing.  They just mean you don't need to dig down 6 inches or more to get a seed bed.  You still need some sort of seed bed.  York rake, a chain drag, back scraping a front loader bucket, or a good mean hand rake will makes tons of things come alive. 

 

I did one your size with no equipment except for a weedwacker.   And it was in the ADK's on horrible soil.  Weedwack the year before, then again in the spring.   Applied a dozen bags of lime hand carried almost a 1/2 mile.  I raked well before liming.   Then I spread fertilizer and seed.   It worked just fine.   The raking was the key, not so much the roundup.

 

Soil contact is key.  In some, but not too deep.    I fertilize and lime as required, then rototill, or use a tow behind disc or spring harrow.

 

Straight up clover can work, but sometimes the deer hit it hard.   So, I put in some oats, wheat, or winter rye.

 

Another key is to make nearby brushy areas, and some travel routes there.

 

50 is a ton,  I am in a club or two, but myself, I hunt 3-5 acre spots here n there. 

 

It might not be too late to get some plants from your local soil and water conservation district plant sale.  Call them up though.  They do have to pre-order, but usually have some extra shrubs and fruit trees.

 

You look swamp edge.   Willows and red dogwood might be a great idea.

 

I also take care of my oak trees where I hunt.  Apply 5-10lbs of fertilizer and maybe a 1/2 bag of lime around the canopy edge.  Clearance competing trees.   Remove grape and poison ivy vines......

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growalot Newbie

growalot

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Sod that soil looks great..to help double that plot,once you have  clover growing well you can go in later summer and over seed with WR/turnips.I Assume you know the PH and or added what was needed..Now just use a low/nitrogen fertilizer mid/summer. Remember what you see as far as Sun angles now won't be the same summer through fall.

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sodfather Enthusiast

sodfather

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Great insight all thanks. Yes I put down lime but did not put down any fertilizer. I will do that next but the skies opened up and didn't want to make that walk for the 4th time today lol. I'm glad I did get the seed down before the rain really started. Now I want to create more plots on the property. I can see this being an addictive thing.

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sailinghudson25 Newbie

sailinghudson25

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Food plots are nice, but there's many other things that add up to a great place to hunt.

Hinge cutting, plants shrubs, cutting down mature trees and let the understory take over, creating water holes,  creating santuaries for the deer the bed in.   Even making ATV trails on the perimeter to make unexpected visitors think twice.

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sodfather Enthusiast

sodfather

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29 minutes ago, sailinghudson25 said:

If you need to get some south light.  Maybe wait until fall to cut.

Cut down a tree or two right before muzzleloader season.  They love those buds.  A few days later cut the taller branch down to eating level.

Don't worry you spook them for a hour at best.....

It's on the south side of property and gets plenty of sun already. If anything the to much and dries up after a week or two of no rain and hot sun. On the north side of property and neighboring property is real thick brush. It's only 50 acres so no chance for a sanctuary. Hinge cutting I've thought about but there is already enough brows for them to nibble on. 

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G-Man Veteran

G-Man

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Personally I'd cut the 3 trees in the photo.. And trim back limbs over the plot. If you drop the trees properly.you can make the deer enter that little plot from where you want them to for best stand site.  Looks good so far ..keep up with the lime the soil looks good but I'm sure its acidic with all the leaf litter..

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tuckersdaddy Newbie

tuckersdaddy

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Before you get too crazy cutting trees... What kind of hard wood do you have? If its oak, beach, walnut, cutting down those trees to plant plot gives you a 0 net gain on food sources. I like your approach by planting paths, roads and wide spots. 2 things with your previous plots... Did you soil test/improve? and are you sure the deer didnt clean the plot off as fast as it came up?

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  • 3 weeks later...
Chef Grand Master

Chef

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Nice, see a tree wrapped up to.

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Yea there are 6 apple trees that I put in the same time as the clover two of them actually have flowers, should be a great plot


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