Food plots SW Wisconsin for November

[Brian662]

You might consider hitting those brassicas with some foliar P and K. Looks like they're a little hungry

 

[Robert86]

I'd do either brassicas, or winter rye.

 

[Prairie Acres]

You might consider hitting those brassicas with some foliar P and K. Looks like they're a little hungry

Thanks. I did spread some urea on it yesterday. Also, after a long dry spell we got a good rain last night and into this morning.

 

[TenPoint]

Those purple leaves look like mine. It's a nutrient issue. I took a soil sample that I haven't dropped in the mail yet. I also have low ph issues.

As for the blind, anything elevated doesn't seem to cause many issues. Haven't had good luck with blinds on the ground though.

 

[Prairie Acres]

Those purple leaves look like mine. It's a nutrient issue.

Hopefully at the end of the week I can add some P & K like Brian662 suggested. Thanks.

 

[Prairie Acres]

Looking for some hunting advice on my property. At the very top of my property is 11 acres of grass. Many years ago it was a farm field. The field is about 500 yards long and the width is anywhere from 50 to 200 yards wide. There are only a few small trees in it. I really haven't walked the whole 11 acres of grass but I have seen some deer beds in it. It seems impossible to hunt during the bow season but with the gun hunt coming up soon I thought about placing an elevated blind in it so I can shoot the majority of the field. Will deer use the grass for escape cover during the gun hunt? Would I be wasting my time hunting it? Thanks!

 

[bigboreblr]

If they don't go thick, they go high, if they have neither they go low. Ditches. Shortest path between cover is what deer often use.

Aerial Map would be helpful. See how the deer go to and from the field.

 

[Brian662]

Looking at that grass from the photo it doesn't necessarily look like security cover but depending on surrounding habitat it could be. I would place cameras on well worn trails before the season starts so you can take inventory of travel in/out. Doing that this season will give you a better understanding of how they utilize the area and allow you to formulate a plan for next season.

I believe if you kill some of the cool season grasses in the area it will thicken up the taller natives and provide the level of cover you're looking for. Also keep in mind...one heavy, wet snow fall and that grass will look like a parking lot. One way to overcome this (a little) is to drag some tree tops out there and let the grass grow up through the branches. The branches will support the dormant grasses during snow events and provide some cover for critters.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

if they have neither they go low. Ditches. Shortest path between cover is what deer often use.

THIS. I've seen this very thing many times. Many times.

As for your question about bedding in tall grass .... I've seen that as well too. I have good hunting friends that had drivers comb a tall grass field they saw a buck go into. No dice getting him out. Long story short - the buck ducked into a big culvert that ran beneath the paved road that bordered that field. It ran out the other side. They'll use tall grass any way they can if they think it's safe to do so.

 

[Westwind]

@Prairie Acres what an awesome feature on your property. Hard to tell but it’s tall and thickish in spots? If so, there are deer in there. I personally would never hunt IN it, but I would be AROUND it a lot. I’d have stands at the edges, never go in it. If there is a doe bedded in that, think how hard a buck has to work to find her. When he finds her its going to be Ring Around The Rosie and you’ll prob get a chance.

To me, this years hunts are fact finding mission. Ease in there quiet like you are stalking before the sun comes up, get in a stand and see what’s happening, watch and see.

 

[Tree Spud]

Looking for some hunting advice on my property. At the very top of my property is 11 acres of grass. Many years ago it was a farm field. The field is about 500 yards long and the width is anywhere from 50 to 200 yards wide. There are only a few small trees in it. I really haven't walked the whole 11 acres of grass but I have seen some deer beds in it. It seems impossible to hunt during the bow season but with the gun hunt coming up soon I thought about placing an elevated blind in it so I can shoot the majority of the field. Will deer use the grass for escape cover during the gun hunt? Would I be wasting my time hunting it? Thanks!View attachment 71092

Cut some trails through it connecting wooded areas, existing trails, etc. They will use these as travel corridors.

 

[Westwind]

I like the above. In a perfect world the outside edge would be white clover fire break and maybe divide it so you can burn less than the whole thing and alternate years on what section gets burned.

I really like plots on a property that stay relatively undisturbed though. Sometimes less is more. If you make trails be careful to not make coyotes lives easier.

 

[omicron1792]

Throw NWSG and forb seed this winter. First thing at greenup spray it with gly. 3 weeks later spray it with gly plus 2-4oz of imazapic.

In early fall cut lanes through it south going to north. I like a wagon wheel type setup and a shooting house at hub. House sits at south end of field.

You can plant the spokes like green fields.

If I had a large 11 acre flat field this is 100 percent what I would do.

Enjoy!

 

[Prairie Acres]

Thanks for all the responses! So much great advice!

I'm very much intrigued by the advice of making it thicker for better security cover.

one heavy, wet snow fall and that grass will look like a parking lot.

You had some great points in your response, but this one really struck home, the grass does get beat down pretty hard after a heavy snow.

To me, this years hunts are fact finding mission. Ease in there quiet like you are stalking before the sun comes up, get in a stand and see what’s happening, watch and see.

Good advice, I'll stay out of it this year, and keep an eye on it the best I can from my ladder stand.

Throw NWSG and forb seed this winter. First thing at greenup spray it with gly. 3 weeks later spray it with gly plus 2-4oz of imazapic.

Thanks! I will look into this.

So I did look into putting this whole field into CREP. Planting it into native grasses, hoping to restore prairie. I was basically told by the local FSA office not to waste my time that it would be very difficult to get the native prairie grasses to grow without a lot of time and money. I'll add the local FSA technician has been extremely helpful with another project. My point is how difficult will it be to get this field to grow better and thicker escape/bedding cover?

 

[Brian662]

Kill the brome and fescue and it'll thicken up naturally.

Drag tree tops out there, not only will it support the grasses, but birds will rest on them pooping out seeds from shrubs.
Can also plant shrubs in the tree tops which will help act as a cage to keep browse down. In 3-4 years the shrubs will produce seed and the birds will do their thing to multiply the shrubs. Within 3-5 years it can be a bedding "thicket" for security cover.

 

[Prairie Acres]

Updated pictures of parts of my food plots. The deer are now in the brassica plot multi times a day. The winter wheat is getting less action but I get a few pictures a day of deer eating in it. Wheat planted 9/20 and brassicas planted 8/11. Both received very little rain until recently.

 

[Prairie Acres]

First year planting winter wheat...my winter wheat plot gets very little use. Mostly at night and the deer do not spend a lot of time in it. Is the wheat too short to interest the deer (pic of it from the morning attached). I never got the rain I needed in September and it didn't grow very tall. Does it get more use come late December and January? Really cold weather and snow? I can bow hunt all the way until the end of January.

 

[Brian662]

First year planting winter wheat...my winter wheat plot gets very little use. Mostly at night and the deer do not spend a lot of time in it. Is the wheat too short to interest the deer (pic of it from the morning attached). I never got the rain I needed in September and it didn't grow very tall. Does it get more use come late December and January? Really cold weather and snow? I can bow hunt all the way until the end of January.
View attachment 72106

Without any "tonnage" in there, it won't be that attractive to the deer until spring when it puts on some growth. I had the same thing on my September planted cereal grains that didn't get rain until Oct 20...they are green now but not tall enough for a deer to even get a bite.

 

[Prairie Acres]

Without any "tonnage" in there, it won't be that attractive to the deer until spring when it puts on some growth. I had the same thing on my September planted cereal grains that didn't get rain until Oct 20...they are green now but not tall enough for a deer to even get a bite.

Thanks!

 

[Prairie Acres]

It's been a month since I posted an update of my brassica plot. Deer usage appears to be slowing down significantly. I was getting deer in it multi-times a day/night after the gun hunt. The last few days it's slowed to a few deer a night. I did get a mature buck in the plot a couple nights ago which was a nice surprise.