Tynimiller's Piece of Dirt...Property Thread

tynimiller

5 year old buck +
Finally decided to slap up a property thread of my own, as I love following and reading so many of others here!

As some of you know I purchased a chunk of ground somewhat near to my home (20-30 minutes away) in the spring of 2016...that will serve as not only hunting ground but also a big habitat manipulation project!!! **Now there is a slight chance this property will be used to turn for a profit in an attempt to buy a portion of the farm I currently hunt (MUCH BETTER LOCATION) but if not this little chunk is gonna be killer!

Brief Description of Property:

Acreage: 22.27 Acres Total

Layout/Terrain:

Fairly flat for the most part with only small grade changes (never more severe than 10degrees).
It is for the most part a North/South Rectangle with a 2.2 acre wooded square attached on the NE corner of it. The main rectangle has a nearly 1000 foot long pond (about 10 to 30 feet wide varying spots) that is placed basically smack dab in the middle of it like a key hole.
On each side of the pond are two fallow fields which at one time were both farmed. The one on the West side has sat fallow the longest and about 2/3 of it not seen a plow or farm equipment long enough to have cedar trees taller than me (I'm just shy of 6ft.). The East side was farmed as recent as 4 years ago and is predominately overcome by multi-flora rose/blackberries and other thick briar variations as well as sycamore saplings scattered everywhere.

Mature trees are located circling the pond, the woods, some along the borders and some in the southern forest as well.

OVERALL AREA DESCRIPTION:

Rural most definitely. There is a large 100+ acre ag field to the SE and some woods to the south, but beyond those to the SW, S and SE are housing developments and further yet a river and commercial buildings. To the West are homes immediately. To the East is a large open field and creek bottom, which than butts up to an industrial complex (about 40 acres...my father and I hope to buy sometime). To the NE is a blueberry patch of about 24 acres, to the direct N and NW are houses or businesses. But N of the Blueberry patch (across a road) is another section of woods and ag fields probably in the 200 acre or so size. For a total of about 450-550 acres of "contiguous" woods/ag fields.

Further N is the toll road, which I know deer cross some, and if they do they then hit immediate large scale ag fields and woods (thousands of acres).

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I have quite a few youtube videos posted with tours and work done over the past year and a half, but won't share here as some construe that as advertising. I'll however start slapping some aerials in the coming posts to illustrate the property and continue with still shots from the videos of things we've done so far and hopefully will get it caught up and can just start updating semi-live here on the forum.

Few pictures at least for now are attached...first one is just an overview from a couple years back...

2nd one is after some initial brush hogging on both the East side and the N side of the West side as well...

3rd is the section where the first year cereal grains were planted then overseeded with clover/chicory and is now a lush clover/chicory plot (this is also where apple/pear trees have been planted and will discuss that in another post) I also labeled the arteries I cleared in this bedding by it this past 2017 March/April as this area was too thick for use, I cleared the whole area of lower branches and made the bedding a real option...use skyrocketed this year!

...4th is the E side (main food area) with plots roughly marked out, the black spots are sections with Norway Spruces shoved in the ground for long term sight and plot break ups, the yellow section is a spot I did plant cereal grains in last year and this year planted clover/chicory but I plan on planting a ton of Miscanthus here as the area to the north of this the deer love to bed in and to the south of it as well...

5th is back to the West side of the property and shows two areas I have brush hogged in the past, the yellow areas are spots I'll be shoving MG in and the tanner section is a spot I am going to frost seed RealWorld Bedding in a Bag this winter. This is the largest dedicated bedding/sanctuary area on this side of the property.

Will share more through coming days and weeks to get it all up to date.
 

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From one small property owner to another, looking good. Managing these properties on such a micro scale is fun.
 
From one small property owner to another, looking good. Managing these properties on such a micro scale is fun.

Fun, but at times I truly think is a bigger challenge than with larger acres. Every little thing can make or break a spot IMO...someday I pray Lord willing Pops and I can buy a portion of the field to the East and the 10 acre or so creek wash bottom...that is a bedding paradise!
 
Fun, but at times I truly think is a bigger challenge than with larger acres. Every little thing can make or break a spot IMO...someday I pray Lord willing Pops and I can buy a portion of the field to the East and the 10 acre or so creek wash bottom...that is a bedding paradise!
I couldn't agree more. Habitat improvement and food plots are all the rage but one must be very cautious on a small property not to do too much. It's just as easy to push deer off a spot as it is too attract them to one. And without a "back 40" or two or three to depend on, one could ruin their whole place in short time. And of course neighbors...
 
I've always been curious how the interaction goes when you shoot a deer and it ends up dying in one of those residential back yards......
 
I couldn't agree more. Habitat improvement and food plots are all the rage but one must be very cautious on a small property not to do too much. It's just as easy to push deer off a spot as it is too attract them to one. And without a "back 40" or two or three to depend on, one could ruin their whole place in short time. And of course neighbors...

YUP! That is the primary reason we hope to someday by the north half of the field to east and that creek bottom....the whole field will be put into switch and that area will be a 100% stay out unless retrieving sanctuary....I cannot imagine the difference that could make!
 
I've always been curious how the interaction goes when you shoot a deer and it ends up dying in one of those residential back yards......

LOL, I grew up hunting very small parcels...relationships with neighbors IS huge! The good thing is most likely a wounded deer will hit cover and that is never the yards, as even beyond them there isn't cover...however I've introduced myself to as many neighbors as would answer doors....sent letters to the rest introducing myself, expressing I'll never step foot on their property without permission (expressing I'd appreciate the same) and I've breached the recovery topic with many. Have yet to have someone not grant verbal promise of retrieval so long as I contact them first. Most deer hit will run to either the creek bottom to the East (off property I have permission for walking and recovery), my bedding thick stuff on West side, or head north of mine into the thick overgrown stuff partly mine and partly owned by the company to my NW (have recovery permission)...the final most likely spot would be the vacated dirt track to the W which is actually who I purchased from and I know he also is 100% fine with recovery.

I'm actually going to discuss with the West neighbor of converting some of that vacated dirt track into a food plot...be easiest thing as he is actively seeking to sell portion of it, and I've even thought about buying an acre or two more from him that way as it would be a good building spot should we ever desire to build a home here.

The only spots I worry about is if a wounded deer were to run directly south across the road, I do not have the contact information for that landowner...but through communications with local ICO he said he could obtain it if ever needed as it is a decently known developer in the area.
 
Those hidey hole places can produce the monsters,your place really looks like a place that could easily triple in value for either housing or industrial in the future to get your other spot.Have fun
 
Those hidey hole places can produce the monsters,your place really looks like a place that could easily triple in value for either housing or industrial in the future to get your other spot.Have fun

It definitely may....but the water level is extremely high on most and the southern woods along road is under water most of the year and would need solved.
 
Interesting property. I remember growing up I thought 20 acres was huge. Now I have 150 - and I still visit that 20 acres and I feel like I can trow a rock across it! Access is going to be the key. Being able to access the ground while the deer still feel safe there is going to make or break you. Also understanding how the deer use your property within a much larger picture will help as well. You can certainly have decent hunting, but how the deer move thru and the pressure and the like they see on neighboring properties is going to have a big impact as well. Good luck and I look forward to seeing how things go.
 
Interesting property. I remember growing up I thought 20 acres was huge. Now I have 150 - and I still visit that 20 acres and I feel like I can trow a rock across it! Access is going to be the key. Being able to access the ground while the deer still feel safe there is going to make or break you. Also understanding how the deer use your property within a much larger picture will help as well. You can certainly have decent hunting, but how the deer move thru and the pressure and the like they see on neighboring properties is going to have a big impact as well. Good luck and I look forward to seeing how things go.

YUP!!! Honestly, I wish it was a square and not a rectangle...as it shrinks the center of the property quite substantially, mix in the pond taking acreage and it definitely at times feels much smaller than the just shy of 23 acres. God willing I'll grow it or someday sell and buy elsewhere but not planning on it as land is SALTY up here.

When I have times I will continue walking all you guys through what was done last year...I even surprisingly killed the first deer and buck last year off the place on October 25th:
 

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Nice little farm, you have some great projects going on with it.
My little woods property is smaller than that and I've sure had a lot of fun developing it.
 
Figured I'd start slapping some more updates from past stuff...last spring I added some Apples and Pears to the spot illustrated on the map to the NW of the pond around the clover/chicory plot:

Went with Stark Bro's out of Missouri after quite a few fellas directed me to them and their free shipping over $99 order helped some (1 year replacement policy too).


Apples:

2 - Chestnut Crabapples (Semi Dwarf) - These are great pollinators and will be one of the first each year to set fruit which is fine by me in early/mid September. Being the Pollinators they are they'll probably go one the outskirts of the plot with others between.

1 - Enterprise (Dwarf) - Claimed to be very disease resistant. Ripens in Mid-October.

1 - GoldRush (Dwarf) - Again supposedly good resistance to disease and ripens Mid/Late October.

1 - Jonafree (Semi-Dwarf) - Disease resistance is good and ripens Mid-September

1 - Arkansas Black (semi-Dwarf) - These are not pollinators but everyone claims the fruit is incredibly firm and will last a long time even if on the ground (doubt deer let that happen though). Ripens in October. Guys have told me I'll fall in love with this one...and hope to graft some from it onto rootstock in future.

Pears:

Colette Everbearing Pear (Dwarf) - A partially self-pollinating Pear, which is unique in that it sets its first fruit in mid/late September but then will set more until frost hits and goes dormant. Will pollinate the Anjou below.

Anjou Pear (Standard) - Very cold hardy and firm fruit which can hold into late October even. Ripens late September...pollinator for Colette

Kiefer Pear - Not on this order, but going to keep eye out as I desire to include one or two of these as well.
 
All the fruit trees got mulch around them and most have tube protectors from Starks....I did also in the NE Opening at the top of the Food side planted 9 Chestnut trees (chinese) as well. All took and were fenced but one (for experiment)...100% survival the first year on all the trees from Starks. Pops took half dozen of the chestnuts for his place, more shady but all took and lived as well there.

I also got like 30 MG rhizomes and started long term sight line blocking in areas on the food side of things...I'll need to throw an illustration up explaining where and how...but I had 100% survival of them except for along the Eastern tree line....the longer shade time and few moisture holding spots didn't produce the greatest survival for them. I have 75 more ordered for this year (2018) and I am going to start a MG bedding extension spot discussed in the previous posts.

Few more pears will be ordered as well as some chestnut crabs, liberty and enterprise which all exceeded any growth expectations in just one year.
 
One further thought, I will be switching from mulch to gravel around fruit trees....long term better as not needing redone nearly as much if ever...holds moisture but vols and such won't be as likely to nest
 
When I read you had mulch.....my first reaction was to make a post telling you to switch to gravel. Good call. I do have a question about the fruit trees. You are planting dwarf trees in some cases. Is this intentional? The reason I ask is that I plant all semi-dwarf fruit trees. I do this because I want the tree to grow beyond the reach of the deer to protect them from browsing. I read that dwarf trees will typically produce sooner than semi-dwarf, but I was just curious if this was just what you planted or if you had specifically selected dwarf trees. I'm not trying to be critical, I'm curious if you have info that I may not as to why a dwarf may be better, or suit your needs.
 
When I read you had mulch.....my first reaction was to make a post telling you to switch to gravel. Good call. I do have a question about the fruit trees. You are planting dwarf trees in some cases. Is this intentional? The reason I ask is that I plant all semi-dwarf fruit trees. I do this because I want the tree to grow beyond the reach of the deer to protect them from browsing. I read that dwarf trees will typically produce sooner than semi-dwarf, but I was just curious if this was just what you planted or if you had specifically selected dwarf trees. I'm not trying to be critical, I'm curious if you have info that I may not as to why a dwarf may be better, or suit your needs.

Yeah, the gravel/pea gravel implementation will hopefully occur on all of them...may even circle the chestnuts (which didn't get anything) just to nudge them with a little assistance but they're thriving as is surprisingly, even ran over one with the tractor and thing has slight bend but is thriving.

Excellent question about the sizes and not critical at all. Given the "playground" I have to play with is already smaller in size (just shy of 23 acres) every little space must be maximized in my opinion. I knew going in I wanted no full size for sure, Semi-Dwarfs at the biggest and dwarfs preferred....however I knew that this could mean minimal trunk protection with fence may be a forever type thing for me....and lower branches could succumb to some eating as well but we shall see. Will also admit Semi-Dwarf was not always an option for the trees either from Stark. I started on the northern most side of this small fruit plot with the semi and standard Pear...working towards the south only semi or may just do a few dwarf additions this spring.

I knew that dwarfs would allow me to position a few more without blocking sun upon the others...easier to prune and care for hopefully as well.

There is another spot or two where I may put just duo of trees and I'm thinking of even potentially going full size as to the their NW is a thicker transition area between food and bedding and the sun blocking in long term wouldn't hinder any kind of plantings or growth in its shade.
 
Yeah, the gravel/pea gravel implementation will hopefully occur on all of them...may even circle the chestnuts (which didn't get anything) just to nudge them with a little assistance but they're thriving as is surprisingly, even ran over one with the tractor and thing has slight bend but is thriving.

Excellent question about the sizes and not critical at all. Given the "playground" I have to play with is already smaller in size (just shy of 23 acres) every little space must be maximized in my opinion. I knew going in I wanted no full size for sure, Semi-Dwarfs at the biggest and dwarfs preferred....however I knew that this could mean minimal trunk protection with fence may be a forever type thing for me....and lower branches could succumb to some eating as well but we shall see. Will also admit Semi-Dwarf was not always an option for the trees either from Stark. I started on the northern most side of this small fruit plot with the semi and standard Pear...working towards the south only semi or may just do a few dwarf additions this spring.

I knew that dwarfs would allow me to position a few more without blocking sun upon the others...easier to prune and care for hopefully as well.

There is another spot or two where I may put just duo of trees and I'm thinking of even potentially going full size as to the their NW is a thicker transition area between food and bedding and the sun blocking in long term wouldn't hinder any kind of plantings or growth in its shade.

That's cool I was just curious. I will say that my semi-dwarf trees will always have trunk protection. I know as soon as I don't I will pay the price, and I will be upset. I even had a deer remove a cage and destroy a chestnut tree of mine this year.....I wasn't happy! He turned a nice 6 feet sapling into a 2 foot stick! I just know that I can mow under them much easier with the lowest branches being 5 or 6 feet off the ground as my trees are in clover plots. I also figured some of it may have been just the availability of the variety/rootstock combo.
 
Yeah...I'll probably never remove the fencing as really no advantage to not other than weed control right up to the trunk but between the gravel and spot spraying when needed shouldn't matter.

I'm curious to see what happens to the one chestnut we didn't fence...accidently overlooked it and took everything home....thing thrived, leafed out and was there still as of winter hitting...may throw a fence around it, but as you have said if a deer wants in my fencings could be broke or ripped off like yours. Time will tell...
 
I may get creative if I don't remove fencing though to get apples/pears falling to shovel outward from trunk and past the fence for the deer. Seen a few designs some friends and clients have done that I may try...however I think between mice/squirrels/coons and such squeezing through the few that land within a foot or two of the trunk will get cleaned up most likely.
 
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