Ohio Farm Tours

[Buckhunter10]

Living mulch in the garden and tomatoes (although I was behind this year are taking off). The living mulch has a little weed pressure but it’s great. I’ll continue to mow it down every two weeks or so.

NITROBOOST is seeded into the rows- aiding in feeding soil and helping increase water infiltration. See picture two of the beans I’ve pulled to check on N fixation - it’s been rocking!!

Not far from there - my pollinator patch is kicking it into gear.

All things we do are connected, and starting with the soil be it for wildlife or for our food - is a darn good place to start!

 

[Buckhunter10]

This time of year my phone gets blown up by happy customers and their fields of NitroBoost. I wouldn’t want to have it any other way!! What an absolute killer job Eric has going on here!! This sure will feed some PA deer!!

 

[Buckhunter10]

Little foliar treatment on the tomatoes last night!!

 

[Buckhunter10]

 

[Buckhunter10]

We are always thinking about deer and one key we emphasize is the importance of observation, both of exclusion fences and the native browse species.

Observationally, I’ve noticed more twin fawns this year than any year before. I suspect this is due to a lot of the heavy TSI we’ve done - combined with maximizing our foodplot average and biomass for the deer.

We don’t just stop at this observation. We can use this data to highlight our continued efforts to manage deer densities. As we’ve harvested does, and made habitat better - deer numbers increase through better nutrition and fawn recruitment.

From fawns to antler growth to doe weights post birth - there are so many observations we can take this time of year that will help us analyze if our improvements are working or how they ought to be adjusted.

Have a great Saturday!

-Al

 

[Buckhunter10]

Adding chicory to the fall carbon load has continued to pay off. Here is a few plants that have been mowed 2x. These are in my garden and they are on my walking trails “living mulch”. These combined with the inter-seeded NitroBoost - we are slowing working on breaking up that deeper compaction.

Combined all these with a good mycorrhizal network, and we’ll really be “cookin with peanut oil”!

 

[Buckhunter10]

 

[Buckhunter10]

When we first bought the farm - we were admittedly green.

We had a hard time seeing deer albeit had good bucks on camera from time to time.

For the last decade and a half - I’ve poured my heart and soul into this farm. We’ve been blessed to harvest several good bucks, timber, plenty of does and acquired more land along the way.

From the planting of 40+acres in Foodplots a year and tons of trees as well to the killing of invasives species to feeling the rhythm of a sthl 291 - The farm has turnaround!

One can witness this from the beagles bellows as they chase bunnies through prime habitat we’ve created. To occasionally flushing a grouse. To the Tom strutting in Spring. To seeing the deer numbers increase to the point we need to manage them. From this I know we are leaving it better than we found it.

To some these are just pictures of deer. To me this represents years of work and dedication. None of which could be achievable with our great friends and family.

My passion for wildlife, soils and nature is as pure as the day is long.

Get outside and enjoy the outdoors!

Thanks for reading.

Albert

 

[Buckhunter10]

 

[Buckhunter10]

 

[Buckhunter10]

Roller crimper update -

So far the crimper plots continue to feed deer. They are absolutely behind compared to plots where herbicide was used - if we are only measuring specifies and above ground biomass.

I cannot say I’ve noticed any decrease in deer activity in the crimped plots due to weed pressure. Deer are in them constantly and feeding on “weeds” and our Nitro-boost”.

All in all - I’m happy with results and I am looking forward to continuing to use a crimper to help reduce herbicide use.

I would still be interested in doing a side by side comparison of crimping vs. flail mowing or bush hogging. I’ve done smaller scale examples this year with mowing and I suspect it would be equally as good as the crimped plots on a larger scale - specifically for deer plots.

Most importantly- never stop learning. Enjoy the outdoors and be safe!


-Al

 

[Buckhunter10]

 

[Buckhunter10]

Here is another crimped field.
Overall it’s preforming very well.
Feeding a ton of deer.
Piles of clover, beans, buckwheat, Sudan, etc. are visible.

I’ll take a closer look here come Fall plant and decide if I want to crimp, mow or spray to continue cycling our nutrients from one crop mix to the next in the 1-2 system.

 

[SD51555]

Is that doe covered in ticks?

 

[Buckhunter10]

Is that doe covered in ticks?

I’m not 100% sure. Ticks or flies (maybe both).

It’s a real shame we can’t burn in Ohio - but I am working on it with my forester.

Not saying we won’t have deer with ticks but I do think it would help some. It’s interesting because this is the first deer this year, that I’ve noticed ticks on.

 

[SD51555]

Maybe need to get a few of those redmond garlic blocks and give them a try?

 

[Buckhunter10]

NitroBoost Testimonial:

As a small business owner - there are some very hard days. One must become calloused and stay hyper focused on offering the best customer service and products available.

When I get a text like this - it makes every minute of this journey so worth it.

We don’t have customers at Vitalize Seed - we have friends. Jared and I cannot thank you all for the continued support and friendship!

Have a safe and blessed Fall.

-Al

 

[Buckhunter10]

How fast can cover crops impact soil? Here’s an example!!

 

[Buckhunter10]

I see a lot of posts this time of year - asking is a deer is healthy or not.

Sometimes, a deer may look very skinny and possibly could be feeding twin fawns - or they are just living in degraded habitat.

One observation I’ve noticed on the farm is that we don’t ever have this issue. Our deer look equally healthy in summer as they do later in Winter.

Even a doe nursing twin fawns - the observational body weight appears fantastic year round.

I believe this is due to our continued emphasis on managing our farms deer densities relative to food availability.

We are constantly working on timber. Adding acres in the 1-2 system and planting the Vitalize Clover/Oats/Chicory - on our logging roads. We then harvest does as we see fit - so the ones we do keep, have more food than they can eat!

Resulting in healthier deer, soils, and bucks.

 

[Buckhunter10]