cut and plant or just keep it cut?

[Robhuntandfish]

 I have a little area i am trying to decide if I should plant some seed there for the deer with some whitetail mix or clover etc.  Or just keep it cut short so it stays more edible?  Right now i am thinking frost seed with clover then keep it short ..... 

Talking about the high grass behind the deer in second pic.   I usually cut it down before season for better shooting lanes for the trail that comes out there.  But thinking of keeping it cut and frost seeding clover as well.  first pic is after I had cut it down in August.  They eat the grass there in the trail and after I cut it.   Worth it to plant something or just keep it cut? 

thoughts..... 

Edited February 16, 2021 by Robhuntandfish

[stubborn1VT]

I think you're on the right track.  Personally, I would try to keep it cut short and put the pelletized lime to it first.  Once the pH is closer to 6.5 you could spread some clover seed.  Sometimes simply addressing the pH will allow better feed to grow.

I know a millionaire who has tried all kinds of plantings for deer at his house.  He decided that a hayfield type mix worked as well as anything as long as he mowed it at least 3 or 4 times.  His situation is kind of specific though.  The deer are already there.  He doesn't have to draw them from surrounding properties.  For him, the easiest method is to maintain pH, fertilize a little and mow.  

I'm planning on a similar project in an overgrown pasture.  I'm going to mow a section in the middle and leave the goldenrod, berry bushes, reed canary on the outside.  I will have to use ramps to get my walk-behind brush mower there and carry in bags of lime and spread by hand, but I know that I will be a killing spot for deer and turkeys if I put in the work.  Last season I mowed a path around the outside and one diagonally across the middle.  I only hunted it 4 times, but I had 2 does with fawns follow the diagonal path to 15 yards of my 8 foot high ladder stand.  I had meat in the freezer, so I just watched them.  It was one of my favorite sits of the season.  There's something to seeing your plan and your work pan out.  

So, back to your question.  I don't recommend working the soil more than agressively raking it.  I believe you can plant lots of things they will eat by spreading before rain or rolling with a lawn roller.  Mowing and adding lime are the easiest and best way to improve forage IMO.  

[Robhuntandfish]

we plan on tilling up two other small spots on the property but thought maybe just adding some clover here might work.  I know about anything will grow here its on the edge of the muck lands and the top soil is amazing.  Just wanted to bolster it a bit with some clover.  They def eat these natural grasses and at the least we need to keep it mowed down i am thinking. I think it will be better than chopping it down when its eye high and then waiting for it to grow back.    

[Buckmaster7600]

I have a 2 acre plot that looks very similar to that. I have had awesome luck mowing 2 brush hog wide paths in strips in a chickens foot pattern from my stands. In the paths I frost seed and fertilize. Letting the rest grow tall makes deer feel very safe and they tend to go out in this all times of the day.


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[grampy]

We have in addition to dedicated food plots, just run the brush hog, making trails, and mowing near stand sets. I can tell you that the new grass from cutting is VERY attractive to deer! Even into gun season. 

[Robhuntandfish]

1 hour ago, grampy said:

We have in addition to dedicated food plots, just run the brush hog, making trails, and mowing near stand sets. I can tell you that the new grass from cutting is VERY attractive to deer! Even into gun season. 

a brush hog is on our want list.  Maybe this spring.  This little spot i can hand mow well enough to get by and the landowner goes thru a couple of times a year with his brush hog.  But def want to cut it regularly i think this will keep it as a better food source.  I have a small bag of clover i will throw in there and see if it takes in the next couple years.  

want to keep this fella around til i can "send it" .   

[Robhuntandfish]

since i wont be able to hunt my best spot anymore after last season am looking to improve my other spot as much as possible.  

[grampy]

You definitely want to keep bucks like him coming around! And just cutting the grass will help with that.

I've found too, that sometimes mowed areas close to heavy cover, get more daylight deer movement than our big food plots.

 

[G-Man]

Personally I'd just cut trail like you do now, that is nice  tall cover, opening it up may alter their pattern.  If you want to enhance trail with frost seeding I would do that. 

[Robhuntandfish]

plan is now to widen this trial where it necks down.  We cant add new trails here but we can cut back the existing ones. And they have def grown in.  So planning to widen it, frost seed it for clover and let that and the grasses grow in and keep it mowed a couple times a year.  

Pic is view to the left from the stand.  In front of the stand the trail is only like 5-6 yards wide then opens up where high grass starts. thanks all for the advice! 

Edited February 19, 2021 by Robhuntandfish

[Berniez]

You can look it up but deer really don’t eat much grass…..when you see them in a field it’s the broadleafs and clovers that are mixed in the grass that the deer are eating.  You see them eating in the field after you cut it is because the cutting has exposed the clovers/vetch and other stuff mixed in.

Fescue is probably the worst grass there is for anything but cows.   Fescues are the worst  (www.plants.usda.gov/plantguide/pdf/pg_feru2.pdf] Some varieties contain endophytes that in high levels may be harmful to livestock (Yoder, 2000). Wildlife: Deer, elk, and moose utilize red fescue If not toxic it is detrimental to rabbits and the deer themselves. Claims have been made that fescue can be an abortifacient which is not helping the deer)

You have a spot that the deer regularly use it and increasing clover content of the field can only help. Don’t get fancy and stick with clovers and avoid ANY wildlife mix that has fescue in it. That just makes the field look green but does not help the wildlife.  So if needed add lime get a good clover stand and don't waste your money.

[stubborn1VT]

Almost all the fescue planted these days are endophyt free.  Fescue is one of the top grazing grasses for livestock and make up many of the lawns in this country.  Every pasture mix out there has fescue in it.  I wouldn't fence deer in on fescue, but I believe you are overthinking this one.  If you have ever seen a deer feed on a lawn, golf course, pasture or many hay fields, then they are eating fescue.

I agree that clover is the best bet, but deer will eat anything green when it is small and tender.  

[Berniez]

True but I'd bet that field has been there for many years.  Once infected the land is infected. Fescue tends to take over and the field becomes a mono culture, killing the forage you want. whttps://www.tahlequahdailypress.com/news/how-to-convert-tall-fescue-pastures-for-wildlife-usage/article_0d4c86d1-cbd0-5276-bd5a-f8fd6ac18891.html

I mostly plant cereal grains, clovers, buckwheat, corn, beans (there deer have almost completely harvested/destroyed the entire 8 acres or corn and beans as of yesterday). (nothing but deer trampled those fields)

I'm just a guy whose personal experience leads me to my admonition on the planting grasses. (Except switchgrass but that's another story)

[stubborn1VT]

In 30+ years of farming I have never seen fescue take over anything.  Tens of thousands of acres of hay land feed deer where there are no food plots.  The deer seem to like it just fine.  I totally agree there are better food sources, but there isn't anything I know that is as easy to maintain as grass/hay.  I'm a huge clover fan, but deer will eat anything that you mow a few times a year.

Also, endophytes are not truly a danger to deer, as they aren't stuck eating in one spot.  They don't graze like cattle or horses, so they don't get enough endophytes to have an impact.  If you fenced in a deer on fescue and rye grass they would have a problem.    

Edited February 22, 2021 by stubborn1VT
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