Staging plot question: What to plant

[roymunson]

Got my soil sample back for a field that will probably be used as a staging area before they hit the big ag in the evenings.

I was pleasantly surprised to see the sample come back at a 6.7 PH. It was a pasture field until 2 years ago. This means the plan to build soil is starting to work.

That said, this piece is secluded and will be about 2 acres between the sanctuary and the big feeding fields. High deer density, and a couple of pinch points that I think are gonna make it a really good spot to be this fall.

I have 2 acres worth of alfalfa that I'm gonna put in somewhere on the farm, and 2 acres of sugar beets. My question is which should I plant in this transition area that'll withstand the browse? I'm afraid they'll eat my alfalfa into the dirt, but haven't had a lot of experience with beets to know if they'll scalp the greens during the early fall.

Whatever I don't plant here, i'm gonna plant elsewhere, but this is probably the best conditioned soil on the farm.

If I do the alfalfa, i'll probably plant it this fall with a cereal grain mixed in and use it as a perennial going forward.

I'll probably get people telling me to do neither, but for now, this is what I'm down to for a number of reasons.

 

[S.T.Fanatic]

I'd say alfalfa would be perfect if you think the deer pressure will be that high. You'll never have to mow it and will easily be able to over seed it in the fall with a brassica, clover, and or cereal. I would not do an annual in a plot like that. Two acres is to big for a staging plot in my opinion but .....

 

[roymunson]

It's not a square plot. It's more of a long narrow field that they'll move thru getting to big food. If I can get them to stay out of the woods passing thru and get them to walk the short grass, I think it'd be a good spot.

 

[Rit]

It's not a square plot. It's more of a long narrow field that they'll move thru getting to big food. If I can get them to stay out of the woods passing thru and get them to walk the short grass, I think it'd be a good spot.

How is the cover? Can you paint a picture of the field? Brushy cover, tall trees, dimensions? I wish I could start over today knowing what I have learned. I probably wouldn’t have any set plots it would all be huntable travel corridors with plots in a more linear fashion.

 

[roymunson]

Ok, so the yellow outline is a 2 man co op. My buddy and I own it. Hunt it as 1 piece, plant plots as 1 farm, do habitat work together to make it work.

Deer in general are travelling from the sanctuary, and headed SW to the big crop fields.

Light blue is where I wanna put my staging plot and have them filter thru. There's also a draw working thru there that naturally moves deer too.

I'm thinking a stand in the SW corner of that blue area in the narrows would be pretty dangerous.

We've hunted it a couple years and deer move generally that way, but I think something to feed as they work their way thru will just sweeten it enough to make it worthwhile.

 

[Ben.MN/WI]

I've had good luck in a similar setup using a mix of vernal alfalfa, a couple different kinds of clover and chicory. That mix can stand up to a lot of browsing pressure so it won't get wiped out like a small field of annuals. I prefer mixes as an insurance policy since one of the species is likely to grow fairly well regardless of the weather or time of year.

 

[Telemark]

Apparently I hunt 12 miles from you.

I like the idea of a blend like others have mentioned. I also would add some clumps of standing corn. Standing corn is the best in that area, and some clumps of it would add a bit of structure to the food plot.

 

[Hoytvectrix]

I've noticed that on long and narrow plots, that deer like to cut across it perpendicularly (depending on the lay of the land). I would think that you would have great success hunting the natural choke points you have created, and not in the field edges. I have found that clover/alfalfa plots are much better coming right out of a bedding area and/or right before a bigger food plot. I don't think that they typically go out of their way for clover and alfalfa.

Looks like a great farm!

 

[roymunson]

vectrix, that's the plan for it, use it as a browsing corridor while they're heading out to the crop fields.

May be something to get the right buck on his feet an extra 10 minutes earlier...

 

[don]

Sunflowers around all the edges with corn in the middle should make them feel safer after leaving the bedding area and probably work for the morning as well.
There also would be some structure left after the corn/sunflower heads have been eaten. You may have to fence the area off to protect it during the initial growing period however if you can.