December food source?

[sticknstring]

Wright Co, MN. Low DPSM. Woodlot surrounded by ag fields w/ a 1/3 acre foodplot. What do you plant for December bowhunting? The deer wiped out my beans and corn before Thanksgiving this year due to the untimely snow & cold and have moved out entirely 10 days ago. Essentially, my season is done on that property. I broadcasted WR in the beans late August, but never got any germination. I tried brassicas back in 2010, but they went untouched. I'm thinking of scratching the beans and going to 1/2 corn, 1/2 brassica for next year. Thoughts?

 

[Terrific_tom]

I would think brassicas would be the ticket. Problem would be that a 1/3 acre food plot might be wiped out come December.

 

[sticknstring]

Can't afford a hotwire system unless batman is interested in getting rid of his setup on the cheap! The pods get wiped out pretty quick once the deer find them.

Will probably frost seed some clover where the beans are in the spring, and then follow that up with brassica in July. Convert the other side that's clover into corn. Hopefully with all the farmers that have been planting brassica for cover crops lately, the deer will have learned how to utilize them.

 

[sandbur]

Your set up sounds similar to mine. Brassica have been a nogo for years.
My best luck is late hanging crabs and corn.

With 1/3 acre, maybe go all crab apples and put some clover around them?

do you have the winter cover?

Deer to the west of you have moved on silage piles in some places.

 

[j-bird]

standing corn or soybeans are awesome late season draws but very difficult to grow on small plots without protection. Corn is awesome because it typically is above the snow line, soybeans can shatter and drop the grain and be covered, but both are great for deer converting the protein and carbs into body heat. Small plots of corn tend to get attacked by coons, tree rats and virtually anything else in the woods. Small plots of beans simply get wiped out by deer browsing. I like adding cereal grains (wheat or rye) and brassica to them as well just for something green as well - even an annual clover will work in certain cases. It's all about plant density and getting the needed light to the ground for the over-seeding to work well. The biggest advantage to corn of beans is the cover it provides. Corn is more difficult and expensive to grow than beans. I like using the earliest maturity beans I can get so the leaves turn and drop sooner and help with the over-seeding.

 

[SD51555]

I hope you're not south of Hwy 12 and west of Watertown, because the DNR thinks there are endless herds of deer in that zone.

 

[PRK]

My brassicas got hit hard but with the little snow we have there is still green sticking up and deer feeding on it. I am planning to put in a 5 acre plot of corn next spring and broadcast brassica into it mid- July. Hoping the corn will last into the winter but even with our low deer numbers I'm not sure it will last for the December food source I'm looking for.

 

[j-bird]

Stu - if the neighbors want to feed the deer outside of hunting season that is fine with me. The thing is that in my area - after harvest the fields have about as much food as a parking lot. yes there is some, but the harvesting equipment has gotten VERY efficient in my area. If I have the only corn or beans around come November and December - I'm sitting on a gold mine. I can overseed these and have had far more luck with corn, beans and cereal grains than brassica mixes - just what my deer tell me (my brassica rot in the ground with minimal top foraging as well). I realize it isn't for everybody - but I have to listen to what my deer tell me. My favorite is corn - I know the down sides, I know the upsides - it simply works for me, and that's what it's all about - doing what works for the individual, all the rest of us can do is provide information and support. I have had luck planting small 1/4 to 3/4 acre plots of both corn and beans or even a mixture of both - my low deer density helps with that as well.

 

[Freeborn]

I walked my place today. I’m in an AG area and there is about 2” of snow on the ground. My brassica have not been touched, LC mix very little use, a little use of my clover as it is still green under the snow and finally the beans and corn are being hammered.

No doubt about it corn and soybeans are the big attraction. As easy as beans are to plant I think they are a good option for many plotters.

 

[sandbur]

I walked my place today. I’m in an AG area and there is about 2” of snow on the ground. My brassica have not been touched, LC mix very little use, a little use of my clover as it is still green under the snow and finally the beans and corn are being hammered.

No doubt about it corn and soybeans are the big attraction. As easy as beans are to plant I think they are a good option for many plotters.

I could post the same thing, word by word.

 

[tooln]

In my area there are a lot of corn and beans still in the fields. More than I've seen in many years. I've got the LC mix and not much action in it.

 

[j-bird]

Unfortunately on small acrage and no protection I think your limited to cereal grains and brassicas - mix oats, wheat and rye and PTT and GFR. I am not sure if late season fruit trees are an option, but it may be worth looking into. Corn and beans may be ideal an help you compete with the harvested ag fields, but I fear they may be impractical based on your limitations.

 

[PRK]

J-Bird, what do you think is the minimum size corn field to plant to keep a food source into December- 5 acres in my Northwoods with no Ag and low deer #'s ? I have clover trails and another 3 acres going into brassica/cereal grains plus overseeding the corn with brassics. Also, at what snow depths do the soy beans become unavailable to the deer?

 

[sticknstring]

Your set up sounds similar to mine. Brassica have been a nogo for years.
My best luck is late hanging crabs and corn.

With 1/3 acre, maybe go all crab apples and put some clover around them?

do you have the winter cover?

Deer to the west of you have moved on silage piles in some places.

I planted a harrelson & a few honeycrisps last fall. The harrelson produced fruit this fall.

There is no winter cover in the immediate area. The deer leave to yard elsewhere when the cold hits. With food, I can usually delay the move for a few weeks and provide a hunting opportunity. I just didn't have enough food to make that happen this year.

Going to check out 172 west of Crosslake this weekend and hopefully get something for the freezer. Big warmup!

 

[j-bird]

[QUOTEJ-Bird, what do you think is the minimum size corn field to plant to keep a food source into December- 5 acres in my Northwoods with no Ag and low deer #'s ? I have clover trails and another 3 acres going into brassica/cereal grains plus overseeding the corn with brassics. Also, at what snow depths do the soy beans become unavailable to the deer?
][/QUOTE]

PRK - I can't tell you what a minimum would be. Lots of critters love corn so you will have some loss to coons, tree rats and the like. I have seen turkey walk down the rows once the corn just starts to sprout and wipe out 1/4 acre with no issue. I started with everything I could in corn and then started to cut back based on what I was seeing left come spring time. I see it this way -if I plant everything I felt was reasonable come that december time frame you are after you can look at the corn and say "well, It looks like the deer ate only X amount of what I planted" - and you adjust your planting next year. If you start too low your going to get, "Damn - I need more next year......but how much more?" How may years of that do you want? It will also fluctuate some based on mast crop and other things like early or late winters and the like. Ag beans will come in various heights, full season beans tend to be the tallest. I have had beans once dried down as much as 3 feet tall. You will have to talk to the co-op. You will want tall and shatter resistant beans and I preferearly maturity to facilitate overseeding of the cereal grains and brassica. Those may be a tough trio of traits to find.

 

[wildfire]

Had a neighbor that left 20 acres of corn stand last year, turkeys not deer fed on the corn. Walked around the 20 acres last Feb. very deer tracks. With the type of snow we had last year, using snowshoes is probably the dumbest thing I can remember doing, 30" snow on the level, sinking down to the ground with each step. Do not know for sure, but poaching on Alliant Tech property, 3000 acres had much to do with less numbers. Last Friday, the DNR had a decoy out on the property, watched with my binocs.