CedarSwamp
5 year old buck +
We have a small 0.2 acre food plot that we plan to expand into an “L” shaped plot and almost triple the size. I want to clear it and plant the entire thing in clover and oats the first fall then plant it all in apple trees the following spring. I know I’m giving up diversity if I no longer plant it in a food plot, but I think lower disturbance of having it in just an orchard versus orchard and food plot will improve the hunting.
What are your thoughts?
I’m in an area with more woods than Ag, maybe around a 70% woods to 30% Ag field mix. We have roughly 120 apple trees planted on the 360 acres now plus other fruit and oak trees that we’ve planted. This plot is about 300 yards from the nearest food plot/apple orchard and it’s about 30 yards in the woods from an Ag field. There is substantial bedding cover in three directions of this plot. We have 6 other apple orchards and 5 food plots on the property currently.
I’d get rid of food plots all together and only do soft and hard mast trees in them all instead, but worry about losing the diversity of the brassica and cereal grain mixes that we plant. I enjoy apple trees the most, but I’m afraid there will be a point that I’ve got more apples than the deer and bears can eat anyways. I just love that I can have apples dropping in a single location from August thru December.
Any insight would be great!
What are your thoughts?
I’m in an area with more woods than Ag, maybe around a 70% woods to 30% Ag field mix. We have roughly 120 apple trees planted on the 360 acres now plus other fruit and oak trees that we’ve planted. This plot is about 300 yards from the nearest food plot/apple orchard and it’s about 30 yards in the woods from an Ag field. There is substantial bedding cover in three directions of this plot. We have 6 other apple orchards and 5 food plots on the property currently.
I’d get rid of food plots all together and only do soft and hard mast trees in them all instead, but worry about losing the diversity of the brassica and cereal grain mixes that we plant. I enjoy apple trees the most, but I’m afraid there will be a point that I’ve got more apples than the deer and bears can eat anyways. I just love that I can have apples dropping in a single location from August thru December.
Any insight would be great!