Getting prepared for the spring

[chas0218]

So currently I have 1 small food plot about 75'x75' it grew great but I'm looking to make something that will draw deer into my property. It was the plot spike mix mostly oats and rye I did it mostly because I got the bag for $10 and needed something to do. Well this coming spring my plan is to get ahead and put in 2 or 3 larger (1 acre each probably a little smaller) plots. I have a nice area behind my house that I mow but could easily become a great early season plot. The other 2 places would be great late season plot locations based on travel and bedding areas. The picture shows where I was thinking of placing food plots based on available sunlight. My property has a lot of big maples with thick canopies so I'm pretty limited on where the light makes it through. I don't mind cutting down trees but that is a lot of time with the amount I would need to cut down. My plan was to use areas that already had natural ground growth and close to the apples trees already growing on the property. 

My property is a slight hill getting steeper towards the rear of the property. The areas in green are the proposed food plot areas. The one in the center is .5 acres the other 2 are close to 1 acre. The low down on deer and their travel routes. The deer travel up my portion of the hill in the AM and down in the PM some of the time they stay low on the hill about where my outer 2 food plot locations are and feed on the limited amount of acorns and greens. My equipment is limited to an old spring tooth drag, sprayer with boom and wand (covers approximately 12' per pass), and my ATV (Polaris 500h.o.)  I would rather plant something that will draw them to the property and be a perennial but I included some that are perennials.

Food plot selection:

• Middle Plot: My plan is to do a 50/50 white clover plot alfalfa plot. There is a field adjacent to house all alfalfa and the deer are almost always in it every morning and evening (even now after the frost has hit it). I was thinking about maybe soybean but not entirely sure how I would plant that or how I would re-seed every year maybe mow it down then drag it back in?
• Upper plot on map I was going to do a 50/50 Brassica/Chicory 1/2 acre of each.
• Lower plot on the map I was going to go with a custom mix of Grain sorghum, Lablab, cowpea.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

[growalot]

That looks like a lot of shade... size  of plot and seed selection depends on deer density and surrounding natural browse...Alfalfa needs good light. Beans , and chicory need good light. Also on small bean plots you have to plan at least half as much more in order to stem wipe out.. I use buck wheat and spring wheat with the beans...or now Sunn hemp...talking soybeans... if cow peas hemp and Sun flowers ..this will draw the deer all summer...late summer..mow close...and plant a combo of perennial and annual clovers . If you planted thick enough you will have lowered weeds growing. So clovers should be good the following spring. Low light..... look for low light clovers also Dutch clover is good ..not as much tonage but handles.browsing and traffic and weeds well.

[land 1]

i would say this winter drop some trees to open it a lil more plus the deer will eat the tops,,,,, i planted big n beasty and the deer loved it same with WI clover......

[Zag]

Whats the total acreage and are you restricted in anyway?

[chas0218]

19 hours ago, growalot said:

That looks like a lot of shade... size  of plot and seed selection depends on deer density and surrounding natural browse...Alfalfa needs good light. Beans , and chicory need good light. Also on small bean plots you have to plan at least half as much more in order to stem wipe out.. I use buck wheat and spring wheat with the beans...or now Sunn hemp...talking soybeans... if cow peas hemp and Sun flowers ..this will draw the deer all summer...late summer..mow close...and plant a combo of perennial and annual clovers . If you planted thick enough you will have lowered weeds growing. So clovers should be good the following spring. Low light..... look for low light clovers also Dutch clover is good ..not as much tonage but handles.browsing and traffic and weeds well.

I should have much more light in those areas once I remove some trees. there is a lot of young ground growth so there is some light getting through once I go through and drop what I need I will use a light meter to see how much light they will get. I might size the plots down a bit to half acre and add another further up the hill. The biggest drawback is the further up the hill I go the less light I will have in the AM hours but might make it up in the afternoon. I was thinking cereal rye for a cover crop so the deer can still graze it before it gets killed off.

12 hours ago, land 1 said:

i would say this winter drop some trees to open it a lil more plus the deer will eat the tops,,,,, i planted big n beasty and the deer loved it same with WI clover......

That was the plan, I want to have all the trees hauled out so I can utilize them for firewood.

12 hours ago, zag said:

Whats the total acreage and are you restricted in anyway?

Total acreage is 40.

[chas0218]

Sorry forgot to mention. On average right now I have about 8-10 deer living on or around my property.

[growalot]

Can't stress this enough...the sun angle changes year around...for woodland plots what you see in spring isn't what you'll see summerr through fall as far as light reaching the ground...Also what you see in natural ground growth  can not be equated into a planting growth. Cultivated plants do not handle conditions the same as wild. Then plan on getting soil sample in early to find what needs to be incorporated. Lime takes time... look for low PH tolerant plantings now...read,read,read...

Ps ....you can find charts on line showing Sun angles for your area year around...then figure in tree heights..it will give you a better idea of plot shape and which trees need the cutting

Also species to cut...not all maples are equal,not all hickory either. Some trees are better for Turkey others deer...loggers would say drop all the beech...Fine for a tree farm not for a hunting area..plus they sucker like mad from all roots..then you have a mess...locusts and hop horn.  Great for Turkey and deer...bass wood good if your a wood worker...ect,ect....

Edited November 30, 2017 by growalot

[chas0218]

16 minutes ago, growalot said:

Can't stress this enough...the sun angle changes year around...for woodland plots what you see in spring isn't what you'll see summerr through fall as far as light reaching the ground...Also what you see in natural ground growth  can not be equated into a planting growth. Cultivated plants do not handle conditions the same as wild. Then plan on getting soil sample in early to find what needs to be incorporated. Lime takes time... look for low PH tolerant plantings now...read,read,read...

The sun angle for the lower 2 areas will receieve sun after 7am throughout the entire day over 7 hours worth. The foilage in the 2 upper and lower areas are low young growth trees aren't over 20' tall, 20' being the tallest in the middle right portion of my property we start talking 40'+. Later down the road I will need to think about cutting down more trees but for the next 10 years I should be good.

Ps ....you can find charts on line showing Sun angles for your area year around...then figure in tree heights..it will give you a better idea of plot shape and which trees need the cutting

Also species to cut...not all maples are equal,not all hickory either. Some trees are better for Turkey others deer...loggers would say drop all the beech...Fine for a tree farm not for a hunting area..plus they sucker like mad from all roots..then you have a mess...locusts and hop horn.  Great for Turkey and deer...bass wood good if your a wood worker...ect,ect....

I plan on building a sawmill once my house renovation is done but I for the most part use the wood for firewood. The softer stuff makes for great early and late season burning when I want a short hot fire to take the edge off. The lower area has tons of young and old aspen. Much of the older stuff is starting to die off so it would be best to remove it either way and the stumps rot quickly. The deer have hammered the maple tops on other properties that I have taken firewood from. The grouse in the area also love the aspen and pines.

 

[growalot]

I wrote on here about the popular area I cut.. I dropped and left them...good bedding and the suckering has been feeding a lot of critters...I still have more to do but not many. I cut all mine high...they are a magnet to woodpeckers and lots of other critters for bugs...rodents tunnel them and nest...hawks and owls take advantage of this...Though if you note nearly all my pics show I cut all trees off high...method to this for each species.

[Zag]

Ok 40 acres, does it have marketable timber? If it does maybe look into a select harvest and maybe have them harvest every tree in each area of each food plot your looking for or maybe have them harvest everything in a large section to create one larger food plot. The harvest would create additional cover for bedding and the do most of the work for you and u get of. Just a thought 

[chas0218]

3 minutes ago, zag said:

Ok 40 acres, does it have marketable timber? If it does maybe look into a select harvest and maybe have them harvest every tree in each area of each food plot your looking for or maybe have them harvest everything in a large section to create one larger food plot. The harvest would create additional cover for bedding and the do most of the work for you and u get of. Just a thought 

Unfortunately I'm about 50' from marketable timber further up the hill has nice hardwoods and a lot of them. The area I owned was all fields back in the early 1900s and since has let grow. The family that I bought the property and house from were original owners from 1906. The few oaks I have are smaller and I would like to keep them for forage. The ash is big but it isn't worth a crap anymore.

[LET EM GROW]

Id shy away from summer foods with that available acerage. Other than a good red&white clover/chicory blend. Theyll wipe them out, plus deer get alot from a younger growing forests, native browse/grasses. 

If you indeed get some trees dropped and get a GOOD amount of sunlight in there, I'd put a fall plot into one(Radish, Cereal grains, Winter Peas) Maybe even soybeans here if you can fence them off, then overseed this mix in September.  

And a fall/winter plot into the other(Winfred brassica, Kale and a couple Tubers like PTT and radish or Rutabaga) 

Also plant specific mast producing trees on the edges of these plots. Early apples/ Acorns on your clover plot edges. Later holding soft mast in your winter plots..  

Its what I do with my Property and have had great luck/success so far.. Interested to follow your progress!

I will be doing kind of the same on my piece. Making room for an orchard on a ridge top, with a clover/chicory plot in and around