I've been deer hunting NW Wisconsin ever since my best friend invited me 'up north' during gun deer season 35 years ago, I wouldn't trade the memories for anything. About a year ago I was finally able to realize my dream of being a land steward to a small 12 acre piece of God's creation. I hope to build a cabin on the land in the near future so that memories can be built among friends and family the same way the gift was given to me. We deer hunt the vast amounts of public land in the area but I'd like to manage the property with bedding, trails, and maybe 1/2 acre of food plots just to 'tinker' with all the stuff I've learned here. I'd get satisfaction from having the deer use something I built and of having a new hunter harvest a deer on the property. Hope you find the thread interesting.
Jackpine's Journal
- Thread starter jackpine
- Start date
Took a soil sample. I'm figuring on low pH and low OM. Was pleasantly surprised that even though only the top 4in is black topsoil the sand under that is darker than I expected based on the exposed sand 50 yds down the road from my line.
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I will try and post a satellite photo with markups as I find it more interesting to read others when you have the bigger picture. Gotta read some back threads ..Im not a wiz on all this and remember seeing a how-to thread on that.
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Goldentriangle
A good 3 year old buck
I really enjoy seeing people transform small parcels into whitetail havens. What kind of farms are around you? Do your neighbor's manage?
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4wanderingeyes
5 year old buck +
I too have a small property, with the same dream of building a cabin/home on it soon. I am in the county just south of you. Let me warn you, land improvements are addicting! I have gotten to the point I think about land improvements more then deer hunting. My family thinks I am an insane, hard worker that just cant relax, and enjoy my time at the cabin, what they cant understand is, doing the improvements is what I enjoy, and seeing the results is more rewarding then a deer hanging come November. Dont get me wrong, I still love to have meat in the freezer! Looking forward to your story, and pictures.
No farms in the area, it's all forested area dominated by thick scrub oak (northern pin), hazelnut, red pine. Nearest Ag is probly 25 miles away. Neighbor to one side is 12ac vacant land, other side is timber co (open to public) but again very think cover making it difficult to hunt.
Can't wait to get some plots in next summer, thanks to all the info and advice from you and WiscWhip. I was originally going to hire a dozer or the skid steer w/chipper to clear several small plots totaling 1/2 acre. The skid steer quoted $1700 over the phone so I was thinking of dozer w/root rake after reading about that. After walking the property again I think clearing it by hand with a trimmer w/saw blade might be best since the area in question was previously part of the timber company land and is a failed red pine planting that has very uneven ground due to the furrowing years ago. Kind of a challenge to see if I can get something to grow on 4" of black dirt on top of all that sand.
Goldentriangle
A good 3 year old buck
Sounds like a no-till situation. What do you have for equipment for plotting? If you are equipment poor like myself, I would study up on Crimson in camo 's throw and mow threads. Done correctly you can improve your soil quality while providing quality feed for your deer. I would also check into the lickcreek rotation. This along with good hard and soft mast is about as close to year round groceries as you are gonna get. I look forward to following your thread.
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Bowsnbucks
5 year old buck +
One thing you have in your favor is all that thick cover. Creating plots / planting an apple tree or 2 is much quicker than starting with open fields and trying to grow cover where there isn't any. That can take some years. I really like the thickness and brush you have for cover and browse.
Whip and Bueller are good sources of info ( after reading their posts for some years ) and I've used some of their tips at my camp here in Pa. with good results.
One clover to keep in mind for soil that's not the best pH is Alsike. It will grow on poorer soils and give you at least one kind of clover to start with until you get the pH up with lime. Whip and Bueller can advise on what to mix with Alsike there. ( You guys have sand - we don't ). Alsike worked for my camp on our crappier old field that was left go for years. After we got the pH up, we went to other clovers / chicory / rye, etc. Good luck with the project !!
Whip and Bueller are good sources of info ( after reading their posts for some years ) and I've used some of their tips at my camp here in Pa. with good results.
One clover to keep in mind for soil that's not the best pH is Alsike. It will grow on poorer soils and give you at least one kind of clover to start with until you get the pH up with lime. Whip and Bueller can advise on what to mix with Alsike there. ( You guys have sand - we don't ). Alsike worked for my camp on our crappier old field that was left go for years. After we got the pH up, we went to other clovers / chicory / rye, etc. Good luck with the project !!
Soil test came back. I figured my PH and OM would be low and it looks like that's the case. How do the numbers translate into lbs/acre of specific fertilizers? And lime? I'm planning to use pelletized lime and will be spreading everything with a solo hand crank spreader due to my uneven ground. Plan for next year is to get the plots cleared early spring and throw down some buckwheat & sunflower then Plant WR with a little PTT in Aug. thanks
bueller
Moderator
Looks to me like they are recommending about 5 tons of lime per acre. Impractical with a hand spreader for a plot of any decent size. I'd start adding some each year or even twice a year for a while. I use ag lime from the coop. I pickup about 1/2 ton at a time and spread it with a shovel.
Your fertilizer recommendation is for 40 lbs/acre of N, 40 lbs/acre of P, and 40 lbs/acre of K. That is actual NPK. Easy conversion is to remember this. Fertilizer ratings are based on 100 lbs. So 100 lbs/acre of 17-17-17 gets you 17 N, 17 P, and 17 K per acre. 250 lbs of 17-17-17 will put you in the ballpark of your recommendations.
Your fertilizer recommendation is for 40 lbs/acre of N, 40 lbs/acre of P, and 40 lbs/acre of K. That is actual NPK. Easy conversion is to remember this. Fertilizer ratings are based on 100 lbs. So 100 lbs/acre of 17-17-17 gets you 17 N, 17 P, and 17 K per acre. 250 lbs of 17-17-17 will put you in the ballpark of your recommendations.
I had about 1000 pics on that cam with nothing in the picture. Not sure if it was wind or the sun because it faced south. I decided to reposition it so its not right on the bed anymore.
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