Food plots SW Wisconsin for November

[Prairie Acres]

This is a view looking south along the east edge of the orchard. I forgot to mention in my original post I have a rotary mower and keep the edge mowed. This is one of the spots I have picked for a food plot.

 

[Prairie Acres]

This is a view in roughly the same location but looking north. It's thins out a lot towards the top of this ridge. I was thinking of putting a food plot right along the trees.

 

[356]

Welcome to the forum. It sounds like you have a great place. I hope you will consider starting a land tour thread. You have the equipment necessary to do general land management, so you are well ahead of the curve.

Based on what you wrote, the old orchard could become an apple tree savannah. I like the idea of clover, but also consider some natives. SW Wis is famous for the native Savannah habitat. That would provide a degree of drought resistance that could make your place extra special in years that other farms are not producing good habitat.

 

[omicron1792]

That makes it perfect for deer cover & bedding. Here in the north, bucks relate to stem count & density, and prefer cover that is 10' - 12' high. The higher the stem count to more to their liking. I have seen mature woods where there is a single line of understory trees running for a 100 yards or so. This is where you will see them move along and create rubs & scrapes. Hard to apply southern approach to northern approach. Too many different variables.

This thicket probably gives a mature buck thick cover, some sight lines, and multiple escape routes.

Many of us here in the north are spending lots of time and resources to create this type of cover.

This may be the single most important feature relative to deer movement on this property.

Remember, it takes 5 minutes to cut a tree down, 10-20 years to regrow it.

I’ve had the exact opposite experience. Left several areas so thick and they get no deer use. A deer couldn’t walk through them.

It’s a regional difference. Areas left like that in south get so thick nothing can get through them. Becomes a desert. I guess mice and rabbits like it.

 

[Tree Spud]

I’ve had the exact opposite experience. Left several areas so thick and they get no deer use. A deer couldn’t walk through them.

It’s a regional difference. Areas left like that in south get so thick nothing can get through them. Becomes a desert. I guess mice and rabbits like it.

Where are you located?

 

[omicron1792]

Where are you located?

Alabama. Thick here isn’t trees. It’s briars. There are areas of 10-12’ tall briars. You literally can’t walk through it.

That’s main purpose of burns here. You have to beat back the woody and briar growth for grasses to stand a chance.

Long term the fast growing sweetgum will canopy and make it less thick. But now the sweetgum is a foot apart in those areas. With briars in between. If you wait 100 years the shade tolerant oaks will grow past seeetgum and shade them out. But who has that long. Ha

Big bucks here live in old growth forests. And cruise topography change edges. I’ve never seen a big buck out in a field during daylight. Ever.

 

[omicron1792]

Welcome to the forum. It sounds like you have a great place. I hope you will consider starting a land tour thread. You have the equipment necessary to do general land management, so you are well ahead of the curve.

Based on what you wrote, the old orchard could become an apple tree savannah. I like the idea of clover, but also consider some natives. SW Wis is famous for the native Savannah habitat. That would provide a degree of drought resistance that could make your place extra special in years that other farms are not producing good I love ths

I love this. Have areas of grass and clover within an orchard. Would be a perfect deer setup.

Leave an acre or two of “thicker” if you want. But that would be wasting the awesome gift of all the mature fruit trees you have.

I’ll tell you, if any of you tree junkies on here magically found a 9 acre mature orchard that was grown up, you would have it whipped into looking like your other orchards, baby the trees, and be grafting the heck out of them.

 

[Westwind]

@356

I grew up in what I believe is the southernmost part of the Driftless area.

I didn’t know it had a name until recently.

I used to say “it’s Illinois but we got hills” lol

 

[g squared 23]

Wow, thank you all for some very thoughtful and helpful responses! What a great community!

The number one issue with this property is access. I can only access it from the N/W. In the fall the prevailing winds seem to be N/W to W so my scent is blowing into a lot of areas I hunt on the walk in. It's frustrating. If anyone has dealt with this issue I would love to hear what has worked for you?

Thinking about it yesterday, while walking the property, with the limited amount of hardwoods/cover I have to hunt I'm reluctant to remove the thick cover in the orchard.

I'll post a couple trail camera pictures of the outside edge of the orchard...

If you have limited access to a small property, you have to be extremely disciplined on how and when you hunt it. Meaning most of the season, you shouldn’t hunt it. You’re going to have to find other places to hunt or else you will burn the place out. You can get away with hunting each stand 1-2 times per season unless your access is pristine and wind blows into a deadzone (these spots are rare). Your strikes should be surgical and precise, and if the wind is wrong and you want to hunt, go scout or hunt some public land, or go fishing or whatever else. The fewer times you hunt it, the higher quality each hunt will be.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Prairie Acres]

If you have limited access to a small property, you have to be extremely disciplined on how and when you hunt it. Meaning most of the season, you shouldn’t hunt it. You’re going to have to find other places to hunt or else you will burn the place out. You can get away with hunting each stand 1-2 times per season unless your access is pristine and wind blows into a deadzone (these spots are rare). Your strikes should be surgical and precise, and if the wind is wrong and you want to hunt, go scout or hunt some public land, or go fishing or whatever else. The fewer times you hunt it, the higher quality each hunt will be.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thank you. I've thought of hunting local public to decrease the pressure on my land.

 

[S.T.Fanatic]

Thank you. I've thought of hunting local public to decrease the pressure on my land.

It’s a good idea and better than not hunting.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Tpstacy]

I’ve had the exact opposite experience. Left several areas so thick and they get no deer use. A deer couldn’t walk through them.

It’s a regional difference. Areas left like that in south get so thick nothing can get through them. Becomes a desert. I guess mice and rabbits like it.

I've learned this the hard way in kentucky as well. There is definitely such a thing as "too thick" cover. In freshly cleared areas I'll have blackberry brambles grow up like gangbusters and make rabbit and mice paradise. Have to at least cut trails and pockets to get any deer usage.

 

[westonwhitetail]

I hunt in an area near an old orchard that was sold off 20+ years ago. Between the apple trees, the place has grown into thick rasberry, grasses, shrubs and brush. Its the best cover in the area and the deer utilize it plenty because of that cover and the apple food source. If I were you I would do what others have mentioned here and try to leave the cover in tact, but add some plots around the edges and hunt those. I would think about cutting a trail or two from those plots into the apple trees to help encourage deer to enter your plots where you want them to, but other than that I would try to keep the cover in tact.

 

[Prairie Acres]

I hunt in an area near an old orchard that was sold off 20+ years ago. Between the apple trees, the place has grown into thick rasberry, grasses, shrubs and brush. Its the best cover in the area and the deer utilize it plenty because of that cover and the apple food source. If I were you I would do what others have mentioned here and try to leave the cover in tact, but add some plots around the edges and hunt those. I would think about cutting a trail or two from those plots into the apple trees to help encourage deer to enter your plots where you want them to, but other than that I would try to keep the cover in tact.

Thanks! After reading everyone's advice I think I will leave the cover intact and plot around the edge. I'm thinking of splitting the plot and planting brassicas in one half and winter rye or wheat in the other. Perhaps frost seeding clover in late winter like Tree Spud suggested. I took soil samples on Saturday and I'm looking forward to the results.

 

[Prairie Acres]

I've never planted brassicas. I'm looking at seed right now. I would love to get opinions on the four blends I have linked. All four are local and I can easily get...

Frosty Delight

Brassica Blend

Prime Time

Ballistic

....or maybe something else?

 

[Brian662]

I have always used these brassicas but my local dealer doesn't handle the seed anymore and shipping is spendy. They have always produced big, giant brassicas the deer hammer from mid October on.

Sweet Feast Brassica Blend | Northwoods Whitetails, Inc.

Brassica is an important part of any food plot program. Feeding deer when the cold arrives and the snow flies is just what our brassica blend does. With for ...

northwoodswhitetails.com

 

[Tree Spud]

I've never planted brassicas. I'm looking at seed right now. I would love to get opinions on the four blends I have linked. All four are local and I can easily get...

Frosty Delight

Brassica Blend

Prime Time

Ballistic

....or maybe something else?

Ouch! Those are around $7-$10/lbs.

Welters has some brassica blends & clover mixes that would work ...
Brassica

» Big Buck Brassica Mix

welterseed.com

Clover

» Big Buck Perennial Mix

welterseed.com

Or you can just add 3 lbs each of jumbo ladino & med red clover to the Big Buck brassicas mix and you have your mix.

I actually put my own mix together, most at Welters can be bought by the pound, per acre I use...
3-4 # jumbo ladino clover
3-4 # med red clover
2 # appin forage turnip
2-3 # purple top turnip
2-3 # barkant forage turnip
2-3 # ground hog radish

I like the forage turnips because they will regrow after browsing. There are plenty of other seeds there and their prices are good.

 

[Prairie Acres]

Tree Spud thanks for the link to Welters! Their prices appear a lot cheaper!

 

[Brian662]

Fwiw, not all brassicas are created equal. I have tried the deer creek brassicas and they aren't nearly as attractive to my deer as other mixes. I have used other deer creek seed with great success but I won't try their brassicas again.

 

[bwoods11]

The rack growth in SW Wisconsin should be outstanding this year. I’m excited about Minnesota & Iowa as well !