Best Midwest bedding/Cover possible?

[williams111]

I like the proposed layout but it looks like a ton of work!

I've never dealt with switch but have heard others mention that you're going to want to burn it and having that many rows of other stuff in the middle of it might make that tough.

One thing I struggle with is when screening the perimeter of something like this - how to you discourage deer from bedding in the perimeter and looking out from it such that they would bust you? I wonder if just having miscanthus and not having conifers right up against it would help in that regard?

I assume with a tree planter I could have all of the trees/shrubs planted in a few days? I dont think getting the switch going would be to bad.

The switch maintenance does concern me. I mentioned that to the forester and he said there are other methods for managing it. I assume potentially discing or mowing? I will have to iron that out before implementing anything. Maybe like others have said, fewer wider strips of trees would be better? As well as make for larger blocks of switch which should be easier to manage.

I am concerned about bedding in the screening as well. The west edge of this piece is a gated and locked level C road. There is some traffic back there. I suppose worst case scenario they get bumped and run further into my property? I rarely come in from that side to hunt, because it requires an Easterly wind which we rarely get. The blind I put on the image is right on top of the hill. An east wind would blow downhill into the neighbors. I have access from all sides of the property and with such a small parcel I hunt very conservatively. Miscanthus on the outside of the switch might not be a bad idea instead of conifers.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

I assume with a tree planter I could have all of the trees/shrubs planted in a few days? I dont think getting the switch going would be to bad.

Tree planter would definitely make it easier. My frame of reference is doing a spruce screen with 1-2 gal potted plants that get a weed mat and cage in efforts to get the screen going as fast as possible. It ended up being a lot of work and I'm still not done!

 

[williams111]

Tree planter would definitely make it easier. My frame of reference is doing a spruce screen with 1-2 gal potted plants that get a weed mat and cage in efforts to get the screen going as fast as possible. It ended up being a lot of work and I'm still not done!

I hope to provide that kind of care to some of the trees.

 

[Brian662]

What kind of trees do you have on the east edge of the field/west edge of your woodlot? If they are prolific seeding trees, box elders, maple, ash, elm, etc. You may consider leaving about 100 yards on that edge to just be volunteer seeded early successional growth. I have experience in this (and the deer love these areas). The first year or two will be mostly weeds, think giant ragweed and goldenrod style, maybe you get some pigweed or marestail you can spray if you'd like, but under that growth the woody stems/briars start to come in, by year four or five you'll have an 8-10' tall forest. You can reset the clock by cutting some back as necessary, even hinging when they get big enough. Might plant some conifers in there for added diversity with a cage for the first few years.

The rest of the field I would put about 75-100 yards wide of corn alongside this volunteer seeding area, and closest to your border I would do the conifer/shrub rows you're talking about.

Going with your objectives of keeping deer safe during that December time frame, this strategy will provide a deer everything it needs. Might only hold anywhere from 4-10 deer throughout the day(depending on dpsm, pressure, etc) but the corn will be a draw for evening food and should hold bucks. I would consider fencing the corn until early November if it were me.

 

[Hawkeye]

I would not mess with switch. I can show you multiple fields of switch that are flat as a pancake or severely lodged right now from the snow.

If it were me, I would plant clumps of Eastern red cedar, a few scattered oaks, strip disked zones and let it go to succession.

 

[Brian662]

What kind of trees do you have on the east edge of the field/west edge of your woodlot? If they are prolific seeding trees, box elders, maple, ash, elm, etc. You may consider leaving about 100 yards on that edge to just be volunteer seeded early successional growth. I have experience in this (and the deer love these areas). The first year or two will be mostly weeds, think giant ragweed and goldenrod style, maybe you get some pigweed or marestail you can spray if you'd like, but under that growth the woody stems/briars start to come in, by year four or five you'll have an 8-10' tall forest. You can reset the clock by cutting some back as necessary, even hinging when they get big enough. Might plant some conifers in there for added diversity with a cage for the first few years.

The rest of the field I would put about 75-100 yards wide of corn alongside this volunteer seeding area, and closest to your border I would do the conifer/shrub rows you're talking about.

Going with your objectives of keeping deer safe during that December time frame, this strategy will provide a deer everything it needs. Might only hold anywhere from 4-10 deer throughout the day(depending on dpsm, pressure, etc) but the corn will be a draw for evening food and should hold bucks. I would consider fencing the corn until early November if it were me.

This is what I would do as described above.

Yellow - switchgrass
Purple - shrub conifer rows
Green - corn
Red - early succesional forbs and woody stems
Blue- shrub thickets inside switchgrass with a few conifers in the middle of the thicket.

With improved switch varieties this will be viable in 2 years. The conifers will take longer which is why the switch borders the edge.

This plan will give deer additional edge features, food, security, and multiple potential stand locations even though you've stated it is for adding years to deer, there may be a deer living in there that you want to hunt some day.

 

[S.T.Fanatic]

I would evenly distribute the trees/shrubs into smaller clusters. Forget about burning ( I love to burn but ...) Mow between the shrubs for a few years and then just let nature run its course.

 

[Brian662]

You definitely do NOT need to burn switchgrass to keep it viable long term in my experience.

 

[Barndog56]

What are deer eating during December at your location? And can deer get to that food source from your planned bedding location without traveling through danger? If not, you'll need to include that in your plan to keep them safe.

 

[williams111]

View attachment 61484
This is what I would do as described above.

Yellow - switchgrass
Purple - shrub conifer rows
Green - corn
Red - early succesional forbs and woody stems
Blue- shrub thickets inside switchgrass with a few conifers in the middle of the thicket.

With improved switch varieties this will be viable in 2 years. The conifers will take longer which is why the switch borders the edge.

This plan will give deer additional edge features, food, security, and multiple potential stand locations even though you've stated it is for adding years to deer, there may be a deer living in there that you want to hunt some day.

The timber to the east is a mix of red oak, elm, cherry, box elder, and hackberry. The neighbor with the house to the east did this with a field and it is full of cedars 2-3 feet tall, 4-5 years old. I don think that would be a bad thing, they would just need to be thinned.

How would you suggest managing the switch if it’s not burned?

Thanks for your input!

 

[williams111]

What are deer eating during December at your location? And can deer get to that food source from your planned bedding location without traveling through danger? If not, you'll need to include that in your plan to keep them safe.

It’s really dependent on the weather it seems. This year has been strange, I have 2 acres of standing corn, clover, and winter rye and the deer didn’t feed on me like they typically do. They can get to the food source from the planned bedding without traveling through danger.

 

[Mortenson]

Native Hunter does not burn his warm season grasses, if I'm not mistaken. I've never burned my switch either. Just chopped occasionally. No plans to burn.

 

[Howboutthemdawgs]

Do deer actually bed in switch regularly? It just seems so thick and tough and falls down after snow and frost.
I have some open areas im going to convert to native/bedding/fawning/brooding cover. My plan was to nuke it early spring and then lightly disc and let it go from there. Establish a break around it and burn it every couple years.

 

[Tree Spud]

I've had my CIR switch grass in now for 7 years. Have never done anything to it.

 

[Hoytvectrix]

Do deer actually bed in switch regularly? It just seems so thick and tough and falls down after snow and frost.
I have some open areas im going to convert to native/bedding/fawning/brooding cover. My plan was to nuke it early spring and then lightly disc and let it go from there. Establish a break around it and burn it every couple years.

This is a pretty good channel on habitat work. This guy shows several beds and where he killed a buck that was bedded in his switchgrass stand. The key is to have diversity pockets that are not switch.

 

[bwoods11]

Hoyt.. that’s a good video ! The absolute best bedding cover I’ve ever seen was a 14 acre switchgrass area in Iowa that had natural cedars and shingle oaks popping up in it .

We once saw 26 deer come out of that cover during the late season !

 

[Hoytvectrix]

Hoyt.. that’s a good video ! The absolute best bedding cover I’ve ever seen was a 14 acre switchgrass area in Iowa that had natural cedars and shingle oaks popping up in it .

We once saw 26 deer come out of that cover during the late season !

Shingle oaks are probably in my top 3 habitat trees. Really hardy, fast growing trees that hold their leaves for the entire winter. Bonus - they produce acorns once in mast every few years (I still haven't figured out why or when some years are more than others). I also think they the very best tree in our area for making mock scrapes.

 

[Hoytvectrix]

I'm still learning what works and doesn't work for habitat projects on our farms, but I think one of the keys with bedding is to provide a diversity of cover. Some bucks seem to love NWSG, some prefer high stem count shrubs, some prefer early regen thickets, and of course these all change with the seasons. What I am trying to do based on this is to provide all three, favoring any that I know my neighbors may not have.

We have brought in some new to us 3.5 year olds and held them around the farm for a few years, so I think this strategy is somewhat working.

 

[Native Hunter]

Do deer actually bed in switch regularly? It just seems so thick and tough and falls down after snow and frost.
I have some open areas im going to convert to native/bedding/fawning/brooding cover. My plan was to nuke it early spring and then lightly disc and let it go from there. Establish a break around it and burn it every couple years.

The high number of beds I find in NWSGs is amazing. I would have never believed it before. I do think that in the hot summer months they use it mostly for travel cover rather than bedding. But by October they are piling in it.

With our low amount of snowfall, flattening is not a big problem. Big Blue tends to flatten the easiest. In heavy snow areas, Indian will be the second to flatten, but my Indian stands the whole winter. Little Blue and CIR switch really stand strong, as well as most goldenrods.

 

[bwoods11]

Shingle oaks are probably in my top 3 habitat trees. Really hardy, fast growing trees that hold their leaves for the entire winter. Bonus - they produce acorns once in mast every few years (I still haven't figured out why or when some years are more than others). I also think they the very best tree in our area for making mock scrapes.

I’m trying to find shingle oak seedlings! Yes, it’s perfect for deer. The sign in a switchgrass/shingle oak (with a few cedars) is insane !