Old Farm, New Hunter / Farmer

[Bowsnbucks]

Welcome here and great looking place !! I hunted Maine for 5 years and I know good food will be appreciated by the deer. Your rye looks really good.

Buckwheat is a VERY good thing to plant on virgin ground. Old-time farmers would plant BW on new ground and build the soil with it. We have BW planted at my camp every year and rotate it around. The deer are hammering it and one of our members has cam pix of 6 bucks in it feeding. Tip - if you let it go to seed, grouse and turkeys will love picking the seed heads and you'll get volunteer BW coming up again. As the stalks die off ( or get mowed / eaten ), they put organic material back into the soil. We've had BW sprout the following spring in food plots of other seed mixes. Can't lose with buckwheat. We bought ours this spring at $25 for a 50 lb. sack of seed.

Thanks for sharing the pix of your place. Keep up the good work. Looks like the deer are already moving in !! :):cool:

 

[Mainedrifter]

Thank you gentleman, it's good to see that everyone is rolling now with lots of good updates.

It's full summer here in Maine now and we are desperate for rain.
My buckwheat is growing very well in the shaded section of the main plot.

I'm just happy to see it working and hopeful for soil improvement. The shaded area is on the left side of the pic below.

I put in a water tub and checked in on the expanded plot section, buckwheat is cranking there as well. Another tip I read on the old QDM site, I forget whom I should thank for sharing that info as well. A doe and fawn stop by each day for a drink and hopefully a cruiser in the fall will do the same.

 

[Mainedrifter]

I took a little break and headed to Canada to fish some musky on the fly and was happily rewarded with a small fish.

Then it was back to the farm to get some work done.

I cut a new opening in the deep woods, perfect for a good north wind thanks to a piece I read by Steve Bartylla.
If you are going to build a plot he says, put it in the right spot !

Then raking, clearing, lime and rock picking. I dragged in 800 pounds of composted cow manure and tried my best to incorporate it into the feeble soil. My hope is that this will give me a jump start for the buckwheat I put down. I'll be happy that after a few rounds of the LC mix and buckwheat I can make this soil something to be proud of. No rush, slow and steady.

I hope all is well and everyone is still hard charging. We need some rain and time to bank a few more sick days for the fall.
Thank you,

 

[SWIFFY]

Youre certainly not afraid to get your hands dirty! Great thread! I love your buck, everything you think of when you think of a tangled, heavy Maine bruiser! Congrats!

I look forward to more!

 

[WTNUT]

I had limed and fertilized per my soil test and was able to get some LC mix in the ground just before a nice rain and soon I was happy and thinking I was a real farmer.

Soon I had visitors showing up and each camera pull was a lot of fun for my wife and I.

That plot with the trees cut and in a windrow looks great!


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[Weasel]

Looking good MD! Love the pics & updates.

 

[Eggman]

Your plots look great! Keep the pics coming

 

[Tree Spud]

Now, as I copy and paste this from the old forum... I know for certain that the improvements I made during last year made very little difference to this buck's life / growth. I know that I am exceptionally lucky to have a farm that hadn't been hunted in many years with very little pressure in the woods and good quality forage. Now my plan is to try to make it better.

You just summarized above, what it takes many to learn in 15 years ... ;)

.

 

[PassThrew]

Looks Awesome!

 

[Mainedrifter]

Gentlemen, thank you for your kind words and encouragement, I appreciate it ! We finally got some rain here in New England and I am hopeful that it is just what we need. It's funny how hope is all that we really have. All the prep, hard work and time spent in the woods is just for hope. I'm hopeful for this fall. More than any in the past.

I finally hung my first new stand and cleared my lanes. Feeling really pumped about this one. Easy access and good visibility of the apple tree trail and a field.

The apple trees at my place are just starting their slow drop and it won't be long now till ( I hope ) the cameras start lighting up.
Just one doe checking in each day for now.

This camera location photographed every buck I had last year.

 

[Mainedrifter]

My LC mix plot is looking like a jungle. I didn't make any changes to it this summer other than adding buckwheat. It's new soil and I feel really comfortable about saying the things are looking up in terms of microbes, organic matter and health all around but again, I don't know much.

Buckwheat is waist high.

I overseeded some left over Austrian Winter peas this spring and they are putting on pods !

Clover underneath at all just like Paul Knox instructed us to try.

I think this is Sorghum that must have gotten mixed in with the left over seeds.

 

[Mainedrifter]

The pumpkin patch is looking a little cooked in the heat but flowering all the same.

Every Sorghum sprout has a missing leaf or two.

And there are still daily visitors which always makes me smile.

Hope all is well boys, only a few more weeks now !
Thank you,

 

[CentralKyHunter]

Looking good. That opening was obviously a lot of work but it looks great.

Those fish & beauties also

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Great looking plot MD !! That place should become a magnet this fall. If the does and fawns are coming ............ the boys will be showing up and cruising around. Having hunted there, I know what food means in Maine !! Pack a lunch and get comfy, MD - I'm betting you're gonna be seeing some good things from your stand !!

 

[Mainedrifter]

One year ago to the day I was putting seeds into virgin ground and today was time to try the throw and mow.... my plot is looking like a jungle.

The buckwheat, Austrian Winter Peas and WGF sorghum I added to this LC mix this spring had done well.

I spread my LC Mix into the standing growth and then spent hours weed whacking.

I did not spray. I can blame my hippy mother but decided against the gly and will probably have to just deal with weeds and lots of clover this fall but I am ok with that.

 

[Mainedrifter]

The woods are looking good, solid mast this year. 45 mins of strolling around and I found all of this.

I left a few for the deer and grabbed some to keep and plant this spring.

I also found this guy looking for acorns, one terrible photo of a nice deer is all my game cameras are showing right now.

I'm getting pumped for the fall and I hope all is well.
Thank you,

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Nice buck !! ^^^^ Even with some weeds in your plot, the good stuff you planted there is still gonna be better than leaf duff, ferns and moss. The local deer already know the plot is there, so they'll keep checking on the new growth popping up. Does + food source + fall = bucks. Apples and acorns are GREAT draws !! Nice pic showing both. What part of Maine are you in ?? ( I have hunted NW of Dexter and Abbot Village, and over around Howland area. )

Happy you're stoked !! Good luck - keep us posted.

 

[Mainedrifter]

Thanks Bowsnbucks ! I'm in Penobscot County and know the areas you mentioned well.

I kept at it this week, with more rain in the forecast I had some work to do.

My new deep woods plot buckwheat was not a healthy stand. I didn't soil test here but assumed is very low ph. Another three hundred pounds of lime down and the full LC Cereal Grain mix. I'm no rocket scientist but if it helps anyone planting for the first time, here's what I did.

I took a pointed hoe and scraped lines in the forest floor. Just enough to make some grooves for the seeds to fall in to.

Did the whole 60'x45' and spread my seed. Next I went over it with a rock rake to smooth it all out.

Then rolled it with a small lawn roller. Pretty simple, we shall see.

 

[Mainedrifter]

Buckwheat is pretty hardy, here's a seed that fell in to a cracked stump and is putting on a little growth.

 

[Mainedrifter]

Then it was back to the throw and mow in the expanded zone, lots of weeds and ferns but again, I did not spray. Just spread my LC Mix and hit it with the weed wacker. If all things work out, I'll have more fall food here then ever. Cheers !

My Sorghum test plot is looking good, next year I'll plant more of this earlier in the year.

And I stumbled on to some Bur Oaks down the road from my farm. I think I'll plant a few for next year.

The wild apples are dropping in my area, I've harvested a few seeds from them as well.

Thank you,