Hey all stupid question here I have 40 acres that has lanes on each side. Left site is always wet especially in the spring standing water. The right side is tall grass and hard to get a tractor in to mow it. The center is thick trees and brush all over. Deer move through the property and sometimes bed in different parts of this property. I want to plant food clover on the lanes or other food plot. If I thin out some of the trees and brush would that help the sun to get through and dry this property up. A lot of the trees are 4/6ft along with big existing trees. Some are dying from rot Thanks
Not a stupid question. You really have to look at the property around your 40 acres and get the big picture of deer movement and how making your 40 a feeding spot would work out or if there is so much available feed the deer would just ignore yours or at best grab a mouthful walking through. What are the bedding areas currently around your 40? Hope this helps you look at the bigger picture and how you can manipulate/enhance deer life on your property.
The property on one side is thick thick brush and briers. On the right is a overgrown hay field they cut once a year. The deer that move through the my 40 I think is just a pass through. Eating natural food like acorns and berries. I have only had this property 4 years and I am careful not to spend a lot time walking around in fear of bumping out game. Mornings an afternoons they pass through hard to pinpoint an exact pattern. Hope this helps
Another thing is what do I do about it being so wet. I put in 2 drainage culverts couple years ago it helped but wonder if I should thin the brush out to see if it dries up. thanks
If it's that wet, you're not going to dry it up by clearing a few trees. You need to hire a guy with an excavator and figure out how to ditch and divert the water. We have a couple places where we have food plots that are tillable in places that were basically a swamp a few years ago. It can be done but you will have to figure out whether you can get the water out of there or not. Is the property just a bowl that holds water, natural springs, or running surface water (brook fed)?
Might want to make sure there not designated wetlands as well. If not, the ditch method works best info.
I did think about drainage work and already done culvert pipe drainage couple years ago and it helped. Today we had a beautiful day of 60 and if we can string a couple more days of this it could bone up. I never thought about food plot till this year to many other projects in the spring. Now if I plant I don't want it to be a flooded loss. I may wait till late April early May so the wet season is past. Then mix a lot of peat moss with the soil. What do you think? Thanks
In regards to the thick stuff you can probably rent a push behind brush hog or a tow one if you have an ATV. I usually just take in an old lawnmower if the area is not huge. If that fails old manual work with a hand brush axe. If its really thick clearing a path will encourage deer to walk it. They can be just as lazy as us sometimes.
An idea you might consider. Rather than trying to dry up the wet area, make it or part of it into a pond to hold the water. If you put the pond towards the south, you can put a food plot on the north side of the pond. The pond area will automatically be an opening to allow sun into the plot. It would allow you to keep more trees and cover in the food plot while allowing in sufficient light.
Thanks for the tips guys I am going to revisit the idea in a month and see if its just from the really wet spring we have been having.
Is the left side always really wet in the fall too? If not, plant an annual mix in August and you wont have to worry about it drowning in the spring. Right side you could try burning the grass and then do a plot by hand if you cannot get in there with equipment.
No actually its good in the fall its just spring it holds water. I like that idea about planting an annual but worry about lack of rain in august. The right side Im going to get a tractor in and work that side up also. Thanks
If the topography allows for it, a pond on the low side to make a good drainage area could solve your problem and deer love ponds, besides the dam can be seeded into clover so you have an extra food plot. It's probably wet because it's flat and shaded. A $1000-$1500 pond could work wonders while increasing the value of the property. Plus if your upper food plots need water in the dry august all you need is some pipe and a pump.
Thanks I have a pond on t property already but another good idea. There is also water in a drainage ditch that the town went through all the neighboring back properties to help with the area. So far I have a lot to go on and will look at it in another couple weeks. Then Ill take pictures
