Food Plot Idea... 2017

[roymunson]

So I have a big open field that is family owned, bordered by neighbors with all the woods and the deer holding capabilities.

This year I planted some AWP and Daikon Radishes, followed by a brassica mix...

Some nice deer in the area, but not huge deer numbers. The plot is literally right on the property line, but I could plant as big a plot as I want. The brassicas are probably 2 acres, and I've got 4-5 deer going thru each night, so it's not like their being mowed down.

I have an aerator to pull behind a tractor (knives on a shaft kind of thing), and a brushhog, along with access to a quad and drag.

My thought for next year is to plant a giant corn food plot. 3-5 acres. Tear up the soil, broadcast it, and then drag it in in the spring. Let it stand, then selectively mow some of it down in the fall, and leave the rest stand as cover.

it's literally a 40 acre field that I have access to, and I can't "hold" deer at all right now, but providing the food I can suck a lot of deer to my side. Any thoughts? I have a raised blind on the current plot, and because of what it was used for, I had brassicas above my waist this fall. Purple top turnips bigger than softballs. Which may not be ideal for palatability, but the nitrogen is there.

I have the run of this property as far as planting/food plotting goes and would love to plant some trees and possibly get some cover going for the future. Could probably have up to 10-15 acres where I could legitimately plant something.
But the corn thing seems like a good jump start for next year.

Any thoughts? I'm kind of doing it as a hobby and wouldn't be all opposed to something off the wall on the property to see how it goes.

 

[roymunson]

Maybe a poor picture, but you get the idea.

Red dot is where I have a blind currently. Yellow is the property border. Blue section is the current brassica plot, and the proposed corn plot is in purple

I'd probably leave the southern part standing all year for bedding.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Looking at your aerial pic, I see a lack of big trees for tree stands near your proposed corn plot ( on your land ). If it were me, I'd plant a corn /clover rotation. I'd move the plot out to start where your western blue line is and plant west from there. 1/2 in corn, 1/2 in clover - rotated each year for nitrogen fixing from the clover. The area that's currently in blue, I'd plant some pines and spruce to give the deer some sense of security for " hanging around " to smell for danger and check the scene before venturing out to the plots. I'm assuming you have a westerly prevailing wind. If you plant the corn/clover plot in a north-to-south rectangle, you could also plant some pines and spruce between the mature woods along your southern property line and the southern border of your plot. That would allow you to put a tree stand in the mature trees along your south line and watch the growing pine/spruce staging area outside the corn/clover plot. Stand location #2.

The pines will grow faster than the spruce, so you should get some decent cover in about 4 to 5 years after planting. I would leave space to plant a crabapple tree or 2 in the area near the tree stand for added attraction. Native warm season grass could play a good role there too. The pines, spruce, and crabapple trees will give you benefits for years.

If you can make similar plantings on the whole property, you could set up several pockets of hunting " hidey-holes " to vary your ability to use different winds. I'm sure other guys will have good ideas. Pretty good, knowledgeable guys on here. Good luck with your plans !!

 

[chummer]

Tough set up but tons of potential if you have time and can plant the whole 40. I would focus on the bottom right corner. It appears to be the best stand spot you have. I would do a few acres of corn ending at that corner. Leave a strip at least 50 yards wide (clover perhaps) that runs on the eastern border. My hope would be deer would not want to cross that strip and would come through or follow the corn right to you in the woods in that corner. They will also access the corn through that corner if they are going to the corn. You get them coming and going.

 

[yoderjac]

Folks could probably provided more detailed options if we knew your area. First, I'd move the plot away from the border and bedding cover. I don't know what your neighbor situation is, but unless you have permission to hunt that land, you don't want a dispute over shooting deer on the land of another. Given your description, I'd only plant an acre or two of some attractant. Smaller plots surrounded by visual barrier will get more daytime use. I would plant some kind of cover strips of a non-food to provide a visual barrier around the plot. I would also plant strips cover from each corner of the CRP bedding to the plot.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[Tap]

May I ask how old you are and for how many years will you continue to have free run of the property? Would you be allowed to drastically reduce the size of that field by converting a lot of it to cover?
If I had a magic wand, I'd have a 5 acre destination plot located (and screened) out near the access road. The rest of the field would be sectioned-off into micro plots, various mast plantings, water holes, sanctuaries and heavy cover. Now, exactly how those areas are laid out would depend on how deer are already naturally using the surrounding properties, how other hunters are using those properties, and how you can keep the disturbance from your activities to a minimum.

Now, if you aren't allowed to convert the field to mostly brushy cover, then, at the very least, I would still section that field into smaller units by planting a variety of tall grasses that can be easily eliminated if the family would require you to restore the field to a tillable state.
The idea behind sectioning the field is to keep doe groups content and not in competition with each other and to also make bucks have to actually roam your property to check for does. A buck can check a wide open field in a matter of seconds and then move on to the neighbor's place and be shot.

I know that the name Lapratt stirs up some strong opinions, but I have to say that when I toured his property, I was amazed at how "big" his 50 acres hunted. The intricate layout of heavy cover, bedding areas and small food plots made it seem like 500 acres. And I can see how that concept would keep bucks busy (and not leave the property) trying to keep tabs on scattered doe groups.

 

[roymunson]

May I ask how old you are and for how many years will you continue to have free run of the property? Would you be allowed to drastically reduce the size of that field by converting a lot of it to cover?
If I had a magic wand, I'd have a 5 acre destination plot located (and screened) out near the access road. The rest of the field would be sectioned-off into micro plots, various mast plantings, water holes, sanctuaries and heavy cover. Now, exactly how those areas are laid out would depend on how deer are already naturally using the surrounding properties, how other hunters are using those properties, and how you can keep the disturbance from your activities to a minimum.

I'm 30, family owned piece, but still used for work/family business stuff. I don't have access to convert the entire thing. More of an edges thing than anything else. I'll have access for the foreseeable future. Potentially the option to buy it some day, and if that's the case, I'd like to use it strictly as recreational land and then convert the whole thing.

I"m thinking the southern side would be a place to plant some cover as it is one area that is not used at all for the work application. Cedars, switchgrass, etc should make for good bedding. That would allow me to hunt things differently.

 

[WTNUT]

Okay, thought about this today. Well that didn't help much. I like Bowsnbucks idea to add some pines for a staging area, but I think I would lay it out a little differently. I would not lay the purple and blue plot out as you have it oriented. I would work off your southeast corner. You have your largest group of trees that lies northwest of a neighbors field, and that corner is in a funnel. Deer can funnel from the CRP through the woods and travel south west through the strip, or they can jump from the narrow field that belongs to a neighbor up to your plots. I would orient a clover and corn plot parallel with the inside line of that triangular strip of trees in the southeast corner of you plot. Make the fist plot fun from eastern property line to souther property line. I would only make it 35 yards wide so you will PROBABLY have a shot at every deer that enters the clover plot. In fact I would make it a clover and rye plot so that when the clover goes to sleep mid to late fall depending on where you are the rye will be there to carry the day. Then continuing to work inside towards your northwest corner, I would go ahead and plant as many acres in corn as you want. Just plant the plot parallel to the inside edge of that tree group and your clover rye plot. Personally, I like 3-5 acres. This lay out also takes that awkward shaped purple plot of corn that someone has to farm around. It give you at least 4 good stand sites. Number one is in that triangle shaped group of trees. My favorite. Then I would move that blind to where the corn and clover come together on the east side of the property. You can catch deer that might me in the CRP coming in to clover or corn to feed. Then if you have a tree along your southern line that is next to the outside edge of your corn and clover plot, plant a stand. Finally, I would put a stand in your southwest corn. Deer may skirt that inside edge trying to get to the corn and beans. I assume you enter the property on that road, which means you probably don't have much hope for morning stands. Remember to use the coyote call and clear those plots when you get out at night. Otherwise, you are not going to have many sits without educating every deer around. Just my two cents.


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[Bowsnbucks]

WTNUT - I was looking at the S.E. corner for many of the same reasons as you point out. Mature trees for stands, funnel from neighbor's field, etc. My thought of pines & spruce for staging areas is for focusing spots for stand placement and giving deer a reason to " feel safer ". Maybe coax them into showing themselves in evening / dusk light ( especially bucks ) given their super-cautious nature. But I agree, the S.E. corner is the " spot ".

 

[Tap]

Pines seem to be a preferred species for scrape and rub locations, too. At least they are around here and I'm blown away by the rubs on cedar trees I saw in Iowa.
Keep bucks busy checking and making scent hubs on your property.

SW Pa

 

[roymunson]

WTNUT - I was looking at the S.E. corner for many of the same reasons as you point out. Mature trees for stands, funnel from neighbor's field, etc. My thought of pines & spruce for staging areas is for focusing spots for stand placement and giving deer a reason to " feel safer ". Maybe coax them into showing themselves in evening / dusk light ( especially bucks ) given their super-cautious nature. But I agree, the S.E. corner is the " spot ".

SE Corner WAS the spot. Then someone decided to ring the entire property in woven wire fence and they travel that edge on the wrong side of the fence...

 

[WTNUT]

Surely we can work around that fence. Is the person a friend or not so much?


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[WTNUT]

Roy we don't know each other but I am committed to helping you because you don't have a lot of tree options. I have some other ideas if we can't work around the fence. I am assuming the deer can jump the fence. Once you plant corn clover and rye they are going to jump. We want to plant the corn as early as possible so it dries as quickly as possible. You need to be in there seeding brassicas when the corn dries. We need to get the MAXIMUM tons of food from your place because they don't seem to be going there for any other reason.


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[WTNUT]

In fact we can work with any of the four corners but my thoughts differ dramatically depending on which we go with. Please tell us more about neighbors and amount of cover on each side. I mean cover that is 6 feet and below.


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[Tap]

SE Corner WAS the spot. Then someone decided to ring the entire property in woven wire fence and they travel that edge on the wrong side of the fence...

I seldom look at fences as being a negative. In most cases they can actually be a positive. 1st off, a deer can jump an 8 foot fence from a stand still. I've watched them do it. So, most of the time, a fence is not a barrier to deer movement and in fact, we can use a little creativity to get deer to cross fences exactly where we want them to. "Artificially raising" a fence by adding a strand will encourage deer to cross at the exact spot that we don't raise. With permission, you can string some survey tape above the existing top strand of the fence except for where we want them to cross. The fence appears to look lower to deer and they'll jump it in that spot. In some cases, (with permission) next to our artificial raised area, we pinch-down the very top of the existing fence and the crossing now appears even lower.
Now, if you can't get permission to attach an extra strand to the fence, you can always string a strand along your own make-shift fence and still achieve the illusion of high and low spots in the fence.
And snow fence is said to be something deer don't like to jump, but I've never used it so I can't attest to it. You may be able to encourage deer to cross the woven fence right where you want by running snow fence parallel to the woven fence.

Encouraging deer to cross fences exactly where we want is especially useful in areas where trees for hanging stands are few and far between. Sometimes we find a beautiful tree... it has everything we would want except it's 20 yards too far from the fence crossing for a shot, or they cross there with an unfavorable prevailing wind. We can change where deer choose to cross by strategically "raising" the fence.

Sometimes, mother nature lowers the top of a fence for us. When a tree falls, or large branch drops across a fence, the top of the fence gets crushed down deer will cross right beside it. I've seen trees lay across fences for years before the owner removes it. It can be an excellent crossing spot.
Also look for some natural terrain features where it would be less of a jump for deer to cross.
Deer will also go under fences where the fence crosses drainage ditches and low spots.
Hinge-cutting in the "take-off" and "landing" zone can encourage deer to cross where we want, as can piling some debris (old christmas trees for example) where we don't want them crossing.
Fences can be our friend. Use them to your advantage.

 

[4wanderingeyes]

NS bedding?

 

[wiscwhip]

(NS)=Norway spruce/whatever conifer is appropriate to your area. For the vast majority of northern guys, NS fits that bill nicely, but like anything you plant, site specific conditions may dictate some other conifer. If you are planning on doing something like this, and you don't know which will fit your situation, you can ask on here, or contact your county forester.

 

[4wanderingeyes]

What is the benefit of Norway spruce to say Blue Spruce, white spruce, etc..?


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[wiscwhip]

Blue can have disease issues and takes FOREVER to grow. White are not as tolerant of poorer soils as Norways. But keep in mind, Whites may be best for your situation, Norways are just a better "all-around" choice in that they tolerate a wider variety of soil and moisture conditions.

 

[Tap]

Blue can have disease issues and takes FOREVER to grow. White are not as tolerant of poorer soils as Norways. But keep in mind, Whites may be best for your situation, Norways are just a better "all-around" choice in that they tolerate a wider variety of soil and moisture conditions.

Looks like there is some type of disease starting to effect Blue spruce around here. Some of mine are beginning to look sickly toward the bottom. A guy I know lost all his and he said that's how it started on his place...dying from the bottom>up.
I'd say to plant a variety of any tree, not just conifers. We get so invested in a certain variety and everything seems great...after several years of love and care, the trees start to produce...mast, cover or whatever we planted them for, and then some stupid blight or disease gets introduced from Asia or wherever and our chosen species of tree goes right down the crapper.
My brother spent many dollars and years planting Hemlock on his place. They were beautiful. Then the Woolie Adelgid struck. Now he's spent thousands of dollars on tree specialists trying to save them.
Conifers are a great wildlife planting but plant more than 1 variety as a cushion against disease.
The spruce I have are Norway, White and Blue. I also have White Pine, Scotch Pine, Hemlock (still healthy for now) and Douglas Fir. Each one has it's positives and negatives.