i have cleared the trees out of 1/3 of big pines but there is about 3 inches of needles and many thorns. My questions are: What to plant for spring and fall in a very acidic soil, how to remove the thorns and needles, and what to do with the accumulated wood and brush?
it could be but i don't think it is smart because there are 3 or 4 big pines still in the plot. but fire shouldn't harm them, i will look into that thanks.
You may need to rake the needles and thorns out (roundup to kill them first) or mow them down. I would plant clover. Use the wood and brush to create/block entry areas into the plot to create funnels where the deer can only enter the plot in certain spots. Have fun with your project. Take lots of pictures documenting the process :D
the easiest option would probably be fire if you could get ahold of a permit. if not, i guess just use your chemical of choice to kill it off and maybe take a tiller in there and turn it under. As for the acidic soils i couldnt tell ya what to plant. I would lime the crap out of it and get it close to neutral. If not an option,dont plant anything. sunlight hitting the ground will allow all sorts of native vegetation and food to pop up.
*First getting proper PH is key, soil test it and do as you need to achieve it! When you say 1/3 what we talking acre? We've hand racked our food plots before and one is a full acre. I'd say rake it out either by hand or tractor attachment, till under whatever is left and then planting options: -clover is an easy bet, and many will say it. It is true deer love it and it will bring deer in and depending on the kind can be quite hardy. However, we've seen clover's primarily serve as a spring/summer and early fall food source (crops and other food plots play a factor in our case) so know your area. -If you see your self planting brassicas (like daikon radishes or turnips) raising the nitrogen level is huge and two things that I like accomplish that. Soybeans and Winter Rye. Both will raise the nitrogen level in the soil, which is key for brassica success. I know some that have a lot of success with planting soybeans then over planting with brassicas (typically purple top turnips). The turnips grow under the protection and nitrogen rich forage soybeans. Producing a killer early and late season food plot. We've started a new cycle between our food plots that no plot goes more than 2 years in brassicas (just 1 sometimes), followed by atleast one year of winter rye to raise nitrogen levels, then the 3rd or 4th year we'll do a blend or go back to brassicas. -Don't overlook early spring plantings. This can be simple to do and will provide great green fertilizer for the plots to be tilled under. Buckwheat is a favorite of many, as is a rye or clover. This is a step we often used to over look but hope to do more and more of as we get better at plot manipulation. The weird thing is though that some deer we've learned take a little while to realize the turnips and radishes are good (some guys even will rake a few out of the ground and even cut a couple that first year trying them). If this is the first food plot in the area I'd really recommend keeping it to a blend. Definitely throw out some clover and brassicas, but don't be afraid to try some winter rye or oats or maybe peas as well. By keeping the plot a mixture deer will frequent it more as they can satisfy different cravings. Perhaps breaking into into thirds this first year would let you see how the deer are responding to what for future plantings. Don't forget food plot cover. I believe cover around food plots is the most obvious and overlooked problem in many cases. It becomes a bigger problem the bigger the food plot. Deer (especially mature bucks) feel more secure when they don't feel like they're out in the open (think about it from a prey's perspective and it makes sense). One of our food plots is only an acre but we didn't make it oddly shaped enough and felt it to be to open, this coming season we intend to do one of two things, either plant some bushes down the center to provide more sight blocking and security cover or plant a strip of forage sorghum (reaches 6-12 feet). Being smart with your seed, surrounding or atleast keeping security cover in mind, and hunting plots can be a deadly set up...if you think it through properly. Good luck! Keep us posted on progress love seeing new food plots take form!
an idea for cover in the middle of the plot is to plant a couple rows of corn(6-8ft wide) if it will grow for you...you will prob'ly need to lime and fertilize, but the corn provides good cover and food...we have many deer bed down in the corn in the middle of our biggest plot...the corn is surrounded by clover,kale,turnips,beets,rape etc, and all are fertilized and rotated yr. to yr...size is about fifteen acres...an old abandoned field/cow pasture.
That does work, but you are talking a huge (14acres is bigger than my property I hunt primarily haha, but still harvest awesome bucks) plot, if OP has a large spot I agree 100%! However, like you stated corn is trickier to grow unless you have the money and equipment to go about it right and it's soil picky (but even that depends on type of seed). The forage sorghum is great because it's not nearly as picky, easy to grow, and even if you get a less than stellar stalk you're still talking 5-6 feet growth. Corn is the trick though, if you figure it out and can do it in a small "kill or secluded" plot type setup it's killer (albeit that raccoons can destroy it)! However I'm also a firm believer in not trying to battle the destination food plots with my own, I want to give the deer something they will want to visit before setting off to plots in the evenings and linger at throughout the day as they get up and down from their beds periodically. just my .02 though.
Tynimiller, what do you think about Biologic green patch plus? I planted it back in early September. It grew great. I didn't have deer hitting it hard until a couple days after the season ended though. I really liked how well it came up. It has Brassicas, Clover and supposed to have white oats but, I never saw any evidence of the wheat and oats unless thats supposed to grow later. WHat do you think of the pre mixed seed mixes ingeneral? I feel like it is a good starting point for those of us just starting in the food plot projects.
Let me tackle Biologic question first. I was unfamilar with the exact seed in Green Patch Plus so went to their website and this is what they use to describe it: "NUTRITION. ATTRACTION. PRODUCTION. VENISON. Green Patch Plus is a fall planting that combines the proven attractiveness of transitional grains with the nutrition and attraction of genuine New Zealand brassicas and clovers. The result is an economical forage blend that establishes quickly and provides an irresistible food plot from germination through the end of hunting season. Green Patch Plus will deliver scientifically proven performance in large food plots." I'm a fan of brassicas, if given proper nitrogen (made that mistake far too many times!), and clover is a good overall seed. However, they don't state red or white or anything more specific beyond clover. I know to some that wouldn't seem like a huge deal, and it's not terrible, but each have proven very different in what they provide protein, nitrogen and re-growth wise. Overall the mix seems fine, better than doing nothing for sure! My only concern is that I've learned sometimes cramming so many things into one seed mixture can almost choke out some things. Which is why I'm a huge fan of seperate plantings or minimal blending (but there are some GREAT mixes out there for sure!). Seed mixtures by the manufacturers are great, poor, awesome, mediocre, good....get my drift? haha :D Good is most definitely out there and almost all the major manufactures put out atleast a couple great mixtures. (All of this IMO of course) The one thing I'd say to people wanting to start some small food plot projects (size is a whole other convo, but bigger isn't always better for food plots) is to focus on getting your soil right and ready for what you want to plant! It will do you no good to spend big bucks on some of the best seed if it doesn't produce. I've been there, why just this year we learned a lot from our first real attempt at a 100% brassica planting...didn't get the soil ready as far as nitrogen levels were concerned. Get the PH good first above all else, then figure out what you want to plant and what the soil will need to have to benefit your planting the best. A great source of knowledge is going to be your local seed or farmer supply store, they'll most likely be able to do or send off soil samples for testings, give solid advice on what can help the soil, and are often overlooked for purchasing seed from. Finally, to what seed to choose and is buying a blend from company a good idea? Yes, it is and it's a great start for those who don't want to worry about trying to create that good blend. We (pops and I) have only ever had success with Whitetail Institute, doesn't mean others aren't good though. We've also ordered some seed from a couple smaller Michigan operations for this coming season too. Few of our favorites that have different uses from Whitetail Institute are Secret Spot, No-Plow, Fatal Attraction. I could honestly talk hours about food plots, seeds and design...so I'll just stop there. :D
