New Member Introduction (Restoring 40 acre centennial farm)

[356]

Welcome to the forum. You have a really neat place, and a great canvas to work from. I love the old pictures and look forward to following your progress. I hope you will consider starting a "Land Tour" page on the forum.

 

[Cool Hand Luke]

356 Thank you for the warm welcome. That's a great idea and I will definitely consider doing that. I will thoroughly enjoy sharing the progress! What are some topics you'd like to see included in a "Land Tour"?

 

[buckdeer1]

I like the bare slate,theres no real picking lowest hole in the bucket.You need both food and cover.A small orchard,some switch,a tree and shrub planting even if it's to create travel routes from neighbors.Put food in the middle and think about how you can access stands with different winds

 

[Bill]

Bill, it ain't gone! The house is still standing proud, in great shape for it's age and we're living in it! In the process of restoring it room by room.

Awesome. That house has great looking features. Hopefully the triple chimneys are working or repairable. I love the dormers on that place. Sorry architecture geek :).

Is there any of the original chestnut trim left inside?

 

[Cool Hand Luke]

Awesome. That house has great looking features. Hopefully the triple chimneys are working or repairable. I love the dormers on that place. Sorry architecture geek :).

Is there any of the original chestnut trim left inside?

The two chimneys on the main roofline were knocked down into the attic, now I have to finish dismantling. They burned coal for many years. The back part of the house was actually cut off in the early 1900's and moved down the road to give to a family member who couldn't afford to build. They rebuilt an addition shortly after but wish I could've seen the place originally. That back half apparently had another 4 bedrooms. The people who build it came from the east coast and the husband died when it was being built. The widow sold to my wife's family and they finished the house. That's all I know. I'm assuming the part that got cut off was built for servants quarters as it had it's own entrance and staircase.

 

[Cool Hand Luke]

I like the bare slate,theres no real picking lowest hole in the bucket.You need both food and cover.A small orchard,some switch,a tree and shrub planting even if it's to create travel routes from neighbors.Put food in the middle and think about how you can access stands with different winds

Thanks for chiming in! I've thought about food in the middle but there really isn't a good flat spot and I'm liking the idea of creating as much depth of cover from the 3 neighboring properties as I can to sustain as much bedding as possible. I'll post a pick of a rough drawing I've been thinking towards but you're definitely right on the switch and tree/shrubs. Pheasants forever has a drill right down the road that I can access in the spring and I'm thinking lots of switch borders!

 

[Ikeman]

And the neighborhood. View attachment 72237

I have a somewhat similar experience, though I don’t own the place. My mother owns 42 acres of what was my great grandparents place from shortly before 1920. According to my grandmother, neither her parents, nor she, had seen a single deer on it in their lifetimes. The North Texas prairies had been pretty much shot out of deer by the end of the 1800’s. Within 2 years of removing cattle, and a prescribed fire, deer numbers exploded on the place. Well, relatively for the area at least… 10-15 DPSM is considered very good deer numbers around here.

I am excited to follow your journey!


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[Cool Hand Luke]

Here are the first and only sightings from 2023. Couple fawns and doe as well. (Cattle were still on and fence surrounded the property).

 

[Cool Hand Luke]

Now in 2024: Nothing changed early in the season, except creating a mock scrape. Cattle come off and fence was removed 1st week of October. I'd say half a dozen different bucks and at least 2 does became regulars.

 

[Howboutthemdawgs]

And the neighborhood. View attachment 72237

Do you actually own into the cornfield north of you?

 

[Cool Hand Luke]

Do you actually own into the cornfield north of you?

Yes, we actually have close to 9 acres of the tillable corn. I tried paying the farmer to leave some standing this fall and he said it would be too difficult. They are mega farmers. I did however get him to skip chisel plowing our section and he agreed to terminate the lease this year. So now I've got a big clean slate back there to create whatever!

 

[Howboutthemdawgs]

That’s cool. I’ve always wondered that dynamic I see on onx when a field is owned by two different people but obviously farmed as one unit.

 

[Cool Hand Luke]

That’s cool. I’ve always wondered that dynamic I see on onx when a field is owned by two different people but obviously farmed as one unit.

Yes, this is my first experience with multiple leases and trying not to piss everyone off at once. They seemed understanding when I approached them and said they have family friends who hunt. Now I've got to figure out what to do with these Alfalfa fields on the south. That farmer has not been cooperative...

 

[Mortenson]

Cool place for sure. Love the big trees and blank canvas. Kinda gives me the don higgins original home 40 vibe to me, at least as it will in time with thickening and growth. I don't think we're super far away. Maybe an hour. Assume you're probably a cwd county also.

 

[Cool Hand Luke]

Cool place for sure. Love the big trees and blank canvas. Kinda gives me the don higgins original home 40 vibe to me, at least as it will in time with thickening and growth. I don't think we're super far away. Maybe an hour. Assume you're probably a cwd county also.

Thanks, I've had a family friend say I need to reach out to Don or the likes of him and hire as a consultant. We're lucky enough to be able to afford the place, definitely don't have the extra cash with all the maintenance that the house and barns will require over the next decade. I'm ok with that though, been figuring things out on my own since I was young after losing my dad in '05. Love to read and research and already have a decent knowledge of habitat but finding this site has just been a goldmine!

Are we neighbors?! I'm in Ogle co.

 

[Cool Hand Luke]

I have a somewhat similar experience, though I don’t own the place. My mother owns 42 acres of what was my great grandparents place from shortly before 1920. According to my grandmother, neither her parents, nor she, had seen a single deer on it in their lifetimes. The North Texas prairies had been pretty much shot out of deer by the end of the 1800’s. Within 2 years of removing cattle, and a prescribed fire, deer numbers exploded on the place. Well, relatively for the area at least… 10-15 DPSM is considered very good deer numbers around here.

I am excited to follow your journey!


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Ikeman, that's an awesome example of what I've been learning from Craig Harpers book. I'd love to see what that looks like for you as we're nearly on opposite ends of the country!

 

[Cool Hand Luke]

Had to get out and catch some fresh air. The property line is where the plowed meets the corn stubble. I’m planning a heavy switch border for this area, trees along the perimeter and shrub pockets throughout.

What are my chances of frost seeding into the stubble? I have access to a drill from pheasants forever but not sure if it’s too heavy to clear my creek crossing. I also have a neat little implement called a Roseman Rake I just got for the tractor. It’s like a plow, cultivator and drag in one.


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[omicron1792]

Had to get out and catch some fresh air. The property line is where the plowed meets the corn stubble. I’m planning a heavy switch border for this area, trees along the perimeter and shrub pockets throughout.

What are my chances of frost seeding into the stubble? I have access to a drill from pheasants forever but not sure if it’s too heavy to clear my creek crossing. I also have a neat little implement called a Roseman Rake I just got for the tractor. It’s like a plow, cultivator and drag in one.


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Frost seeding switch will work great in that. Throw it heavy the last snow you get.

At green up spray gly. 2-3 weeks later spray gly and atrazine/simazine. The switch won’t germinate till late.

Consider mowing if broadleaves get bad late summer. Mow above the height of the young switch.

Year two do gly and atrazine at green up.

That’s it.

It takes a while but at end of year two it will start to look good.

 

[Tree Spud]

Had to get out and catch some fresh air. The property line is where the plowed meets the corn stubble. I’m planning a heavy switch border for this area, trees along the perimeter and shrub pockets throughout.

What are my chances of frost seeding into the stubble? I have access to a drill from pheasants forever but not sure if it’s too heavy to clear my creek crossing. I also have a neat little implement called a Roseman Rake I just got for the tractor. It’s like a plow, cultivator and drag in one.


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You can definetly broadcast into the stubble. Would be a good idea to run a cultipacker over it to bounce the seed into soil contact.

 

[Cool Hand Luke]

Frost seeding switch will work great in that. Throw it heavy the last snow you get.

At green up spray gly. 2-3 weeks later spray gly and atrazine/simazine. The switch won’t germinate till late.

Consider mowing if broadleaves get bad late summer. Mow above the height of the young switch.

Year two do gly and atrazine at green up.

That’s it.

It takes a while but at end of year two it will start to look good.

Thank you! What is the benefit of spraying atrazine on the second go around? Giving the broadleaves time to emerge?


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