Best Midwest bedding/Cover possible?

[willy]

I'm not sure where you are located, but in SE MN I think your plan would work well. I would probably plant increase the % of shrubs and conifers and decrease the % of switchgrass. I like the combo that includes rows of shrubs next to rows of conifers, but I'd also recommend leaving a few solid 1/4 acre blocks of shrubs and a few solid 1/4 acre blocks of shrubs. Sometimes they feel a little safer in wider blocks than in more well defined rows. For shrubs, I would select wild plums, hazelnut, dogwood and ninebark. White spruce has always worked well for me, so I'd go with that or norway spuce.

I like the idea of having a wall of spruce around the property line screen things off from the neighbors. To add a little late season food in this area, I'd also add a couple dozen red splendor crabapples from your local soil and water conservation department. I usually get a pack of 20 of these every spring and they typically cost around $50. They hold their fruit most of the winter and will give some bonus calories to the wildlife.

Let me know if you find any CRP programs that allow that type of tree/shrub planting. I have some acreage that I'd eventually like to put into a similar project.

I did something similar to this about 3 years ago. It was through a general crp sigh up practice. I'll see if I can find out what the practice is and get back to this thread.
It was cp33 that williams111 already pointed out. I am late to the party, like normal.

 

[willy]

This is something I had asked the forester, he mentioned other ways to maintain the switch or mowing around the switch to give the trees enough of a buffer to avoid fire damage. Think that would be possible? That is something I will have to figure out prior to signing anything. Thanks!

When I did my cp33 project, the plan allowed for an alalfa/clover plot around the 3 acres so I would be able to burn the NWSG and pollinator when it management time, perhaps this might work for you.

 

[willy]

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.

My dad and I planted 1650 tree and shrubs in a day, starting within an hour of sunrise and ending at just after sunset, using a tree planter behind my tractor. He drove, I planted.

 

[williams111]

Thanks for the info. I’m waiting to hear if this field is eligible with the new bill or not. I can’t find where it says what years the field had to be row crops. I’m leaning towards taking out 1/2 acre every year of crops and planting whatever I want. I’ll wait and see what the offer is though.

 

[willy]

I’m waiting to hear if this field is eligible with the new bill or not. I can’t find where it says what years the field had to be row crops

'12-'17 is what I was told on Tuesday this week by my FSA

 

[bwoods11]

I walked around in the area that I leave as a sanctuary and it was full of beds/trails/rubs!

Spruce, pine, cedar, dogwood, willow, cattails . Deer love it .

 

[Wind Gypsy]

Guilty of ordering too many trees too. I’m going to try to hire some help this spring. Have had babies at home the past two springs so the mrs hasn’t been able to help much and it’s been a stretch to get it done alone. I’ve given/thrown away trees the last 2 years.

 

[Brian662]

I walked around in the area that I leave as a sanctuary and it was full of beds/trails/rubs!

Spruce, pine, cedar, dogwood, willow, cattails . Deer View attachment 62204love it .View attachment 62205View attachment 62206

It's a beautiful thing

 

[BuckSutherland]

I walked around in the area that I leave as a sanctuary and it was full of beds/trails/rubs!

Spruce, pine, cedar, dogwood, willow, cattails . Deer View attachment 62204love it .View attachment 62205View attachment 62206

Every buck I've ever seen shot up in Cass county usually has the same thing. There is so much sap on their foreheads from rubbing conifers that their heads look like Doug Mientkiewicz's batting helmet. Looks like they've been hard on that white pine for more than just one year. The black hills spruce look amazing. That's pretty much the look I'm going for on my property, only much thicker with apples and copious amounts of oak to boot. Gonna be a few years before mine looks that good.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

Every buck I've ever seen shot up in Cass county usually has the same thing. There is so much sap on their foreheads from rubbing conifers that their heads look like Doug Mientkiewicz's batting helmet. Looks like they've been hard on that white pine for more than just one year. The black hills spruce look amazing. That's pretty much the look I'm going for on my property, only much thicker with apples and copious amounts of oak to boot. Gonna be a few years before mine looks that good.

Love the Mientkiewicz reference and the rest of the picture painted!



That's how you spell, Mientkiewicz:

 

[BuckSutherland]

I have two pockets of weedy switchgrass. The deer have really been using it this summer. There are some nice dry high spots in it. Last few years I have planted a lot of spruce, white cedar, some pine, and a good amount of shrubs in and around the switch. When I was brush mowing last weekend I was constantly bumping the resident does. They didn't seem to mind my presence too much. They seemed amused watching me go back and forth.



This year would be the highest amount of usage these areas have gotten if I am judging by the number of beds. They have been laying all over the place in it. Hoping to get time to run up for a day or two and nuke the damn thistle soon. I don't mind any of the other weeds. Gonna be fantastic bedding once the spruce, pine, cedar get bigger. Shrubs are growing really fast in the full sun inside the opening.

 

[Tree Spud]

Here is our marsh area with Tag Alder, ROD, Grey Dogwood, Tamarack, some Cedar, marsh grass, & cattails. We have about 160 acres of this. We leave is as a sanctuary area as for one, very difficult to walk through. And two provides out standing bedding cover.

 

[omicron1792]

Here is our marsh area with Tag Alder, ROD, Grey Dogwood, Tamarack, some Cedar, marsh grass, & cattails. We have about 160 acres of this. We leave is as a sanctuary area as for one, very difficult to walk through. And two provides out standing bedding cover.

View attachment 66273

Can you cut lanes in it for hunting?

 

[Brian662]

Here is our marsh area with Tag Alder, ROD, Grey Dogwood, Tamarack, some Cedar, marsh grass, & cattails. We have about 160 acres of this. We leave is as a sanctuary area as for one, very difficult to walk through. And two provides out standing bedding cover.

View attachment 66273

Some beautiful diversity there, looks great.

 

[bwoods11]

I hunt in Otter Tail County MN, the tamarack swamps hold big bucks! When it’s wet like this year, they will be up in the timbered edges more . I have a CRP field that borders a huge wetland/tamarack area.

I expect the bucks to be pretty active there in November.

 

[Tree Spud]

Can you cut lanes in it for hunting?

You could, but very difficult to hunt which is point of the sanctuary. Simply entering this area can push a buck to a neighboring property. I once shot a buck back there. Took me 3 hours to drag him out, we don't have small bodied deer. I lost 12 lbs in water weight.

Better to hunt the edges and trails coming out of the marsh.

I do plan on cut tag alder to stimulate new regrowth.