Switchgrass vs direct forest seeding input.

[Wind Gypsy]

I'm looking for some input on a path forward in planting a part of my land in switchgrass vs direct forest seeding. I bought this square 40 last August in central MN. The image below outlines my tentative planting plan for 2022. The field areas are old hay fields that haven't been cut in a few years and are pretty thick with grass and some brush starting to come up. I was planning on planting the Dark blue section (0.9 acre) in switchgrass instead of food plot to concentrate movement towards food a little and provide more cover. The property needs more cover IMO as a lot of the wooded area is pretty mature. I plan to create more cover and get sun to the ground in the woods as well.
This video on direct forest seeding has me reconsidering switchgrass. -

What says the HT crowd?

 

[Bassattackr]

I like your two food plot plans, I think they make good use of the space you have. Especially the narrow one to the NE. Easy to seal off with a screen as you have set up. Narrow or odd shaped plots tend to get more daylight use, as opposed to an open "box" (clover, brassicas + cereal grain block) you would end up with in your west area. Just something to think about.

I also like your bedding being on the interior of the property, easy to keep out of this sanctuary area and hunt/access from the perimeter.

In my head however, I'm thinking - How do you GIVE the deer the wind from your selected stand locations, but not get winded yourself? Here is one example below. This gives you CLEAN entry/exit, but still gives a mature buck the wind to enter the plot in daylight hours. Just one of many examples on your piece you can play with this scenario..



**You could also move the food portion tight to the woods to the north and have a stand at the NW corner along the wooded edge. Same concept, same wind. You just may have to hinge a couple trees into the woods near the base of your stand to keep them from circling you. But I think the sorghum would provide a natural enough fence that they would still pinch into that NW corner. You can be waiting just off their scent check.

Lastly, if you go early successional on the north block (blue above), you may eliminate the clover perimeter on the north and east edges of it. I think it would encourage deer to feed there until nightfall and won't access your larger block until after dark.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

Thanks for the input @Bassattackr. The blind/stand locations are not final. But I absolutely intended to have a ground blind right where you put it and/or in the NW corner.

The main struggle with the whole layout is finding ways to hunt inside tree cover without blowing up some of it. I don't want to just hunt the plots. The forest is relatively open directly south of that existing ladder stand location in the pic you marked up and has little deer usage so I figured in a N to NW wind I could hunt it where there is a consistent travel path towards the food.

Any thoughts on SG vs Forest seeding?

 

[sandbur]

I am struggling a bit and see purple, but assume that is the dark blue you speak of.

I agree with the video on switch not being a good choice. It may do slightly better on heavier soil than what I have in central Minnesota.

In my view, the guy in the video has missed the boat several times by not planting some spruce in these areas. I have watched another video of his where he should plant more spruce.

If you have some shrubs growing in the area, just go in and plant some spruce. Use strings and clumps. Perhaps rows on the exterior to block views into the area.

Pines will also do the same but tend to lose lower limbs at a younger age than spruce.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Bassattackr]

WG - Understand. Can only discern so much information with an aerial..

From Ladder Stand to the east of your main plot, you likely won't need the second hinge cut extending to the SE into the woods. Deer will naturally pinch in to get to the opening at the north edge of the hinge boundary. Just extend your hinge / edge feather further along the edge to the north about 10-15 yards past your stand and it should do the same job. Hinging further into the woods could create a bedding pocket, or a funnel to bring deer into the base of your stand. Defeating your attempt at clean access to this stand.

No experience doing forest seeding so I can't comment there.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

I am struggling a bit and see purple, but assume that is the dark blue you speak of.

I agree with the video on switch not being a good choice. It may do slightly better on heavier soil than what I have in central Minnesota.

In my view, the guy in the video has missed the boat several times by not planting some spruce in these areas. I have watched another video of his where he should plant more spruce.

If you have some shrubs growing in the area, just go in and plant some spruce. Use strings and clumps. Perhaps rows on the exterior to block views into the area.

Pines will also do the same but tend to lose lower limbs at a younger age than spruce.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Correct, it's the northern most rectangle in the SW.

I should mention that I also intend to plant a line of apple trees running east to west in the Brassica/Grains plot. Maybe it would make more sense to just put them on the southern border of a block planted with spruce and shrubs as bedding?