Increased the food plot size to 25 by 20 yards this year. Here are a few pictures of the progress and deer working on it. Got some goat weed coming up but the peas and throw and go are doing well.
Planted between 175 and 200 Nuttall, water and willow oak along with some bitter pecan in the bottoms this past winter/early spring. Cleared some areas on the big hill and planted 60 saw tooth oaks putting each one of the saw tooth oaks in grow tubes. Walked the bottoms today and the trees I could find along the trails are looking good, some of the pecan were up to waist high. The saw tooth all look to have made it and are growing rapidly. One of the young persimmon trees is putting out fruit for the first time this year. Here are a few pictures from up on the hill.
Got a call the other day from a lady that works with my wife. Her husband just bought some honey locust trees and they offered me five of them. Plan on keeping them watered in pots until this winter and then getting them in the ground. Hunted over them when I was stationed in Alabama and they were always a guarantee for deer. The puzzle is slowly coming together. This place will have a very wide variety of critter groceries growing on it by the time I get it to where I want it.
The Project doubled in size this week. Closed on an additional 40 acres that connects on the northwest corner of this 40. About 90% 20 year old hardwoods and gum trees with the remainder being scattered pines. Some of the trees are big enough to get a climber in. The same creek cuts through part of this property. Unfortunately its been about 8 weeks since we had rain and the creek is now dry. Good deer sign and plenty of hog sign along the creek. Found a doe skull and a young 7 point skull on the same deer run about 40 yards apart. It's a heavily used run so I guess someone shot them and didn't look hard enough to find them. This 40 won't require near the work I am putting into the other 40, just got to let the trees mature a few more years so they start dropping good acorns.
Looks like some beautiful land, congrats! That's my goal/dream once I retire from the Army, to plant my feet somewhere and have my own patch of land Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
It's been a while since I added to this post. Spent last summer cutting out a patch of black locust trees and after deer season dug out lots of stumps. Fighting the roots is a battle I am not yet winning, they keep re-sprouting. Start of the area that I was cutting out to make the food plots. Area after the axe was done swinging. Used some of the trees to lay down through a wet area along the train so I could stay somewhat out of the mud. The start of the food plot earlier this spring. One of the saw tooth oak planted two years ago the grow tube is six foot tall and they were 12 to 15 inch tall when I planted them. The old food plot started three years ago ready for planting this year.
Here are a few more pictures form the place taken within the last year or so. Last years food plot, a mix of soy beans, purple hull peas and turnips. Front 40 ground blind last fall, View from the climbing stand on the back 40 last fall. Duck hole south end of the front 40. Still needs to be worked on quite a bit. Used to wheel barrow to show the size of one of the hogwallers. Killed 4 out there last year but there is an endless supply that need killing out there. Clearing the south end bottoms, If it isn't a hardwood its going to go. Hopefully the tractor will be in my budget next year. All work to date has been axe, shovel, sling blade and machete. Except the food plot I can get my 4 wheeler with the disc to.
Only got one food plot worked and planted so far this year, put in purple hull peas and turnips. Hopefully it will be up soon. We have had a very wet season so far. Need to spend some time on the property and get a lot of work done.
Purple hull peas mixed with turnips. It's up and growing. Needing some rain. Very wet spring now too dry.
Been too busy with work to get much time out on the project this summer. Pulled camera card today and had this spike with real thick bases on his goat horns. Going to post him here and see if time will be good to him and some strange set of antlers develop in the future.
Good looking young buck. Food plot is overgrown with weeds as I've been laid up with a knee replacement the past few months. Hopefully his daddy is near by.
