thanks guys! we have a solid 2' of snow on the ground still, and another 10" coming in tonight...nothing can get done..ugh!!!
Try to add some food sources.. Fruit trees.. food plots... shrubs... hinge cutting. If you don't have a good fall-winter bedding area on your property, make one! Lots of ways to do so.
I was gone all weekend, but apparently it was in the low 60's yesterday and foggy!! looks like we had a good melt, and it might be maneuverable in the woods again! cant wait to get going again!
55 degrees today, decided to fire up the chainsaw and pick up where I left off.....I think this is someone's way of saying, enjoy the beautiful day I created for you with your family.... [video=youtube_share;GHoVIBdJr8Y]http://youtu.be/GHoVIBdJr8Y[/video]
Finally able to get out and get some trees down today! I dropped 5 more, cleaned up 2 of them before I got tired! felt good to be out there working again!
Making some great progress. I may have missed it, but how far away from your home is this property? Seems like you get out there quite a bit! Which is awesome.
Here's a picture of it while I'm sitting at the breakfast nook where my laptop is, where I'm always on the forum! Edit: it's about 100 yards out Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Here's a picture of one of the four pinch point entry ways to the field Here's a picture of the brush barricades/view blocks that line the edges of the field. Nothing is getting through there!! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
This the area I'm thinking of attempting to put a trial run food plot in. It's not to big, but big enough for me to get my early September buck. As far as the undergrowth goes, I have 0$$ to spend on renting a brush hog, so machete it is. I will be borrowing a roto tiller from a neighbor. Will the tiller go through the small stubs n stumps from the undergrowth? Or do I need to yank those out by hand? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Keep the stuff killed back and expect tilling to be rough for the first few years...it'll bounce around and over tons of roots and such, but slowly they will die after each year more and more and it will get easier....but be ready to stop tiller or lift up quick on some roots. The important thing is getting rid of all vegetation as best you can and if you have to till shallow in a few spots due to roots so be it. We had one plot that until about year 4 was a pain in the "you know" till the roots finally were dead or dying enough to rip up easy.
So with the leaves falling, my mind has been wandering to offseason work!!! I plan on hiring a bulldozer to scrape the first 6 inches or so off, taking up all the roots and most of the stumps. I plan on keeping a few of the stumps that are cluttered together in a few spots for the small tress and brush to grow so it's not a wide open field, to make the deer feel somewhat safe. I figure if i put these in a few spots, and hinge a few bigger trees into the field it will break up long sight lines. I'm going to be putting in 3 older apple trees, and 5 younger ones, all different kinds for cross pollination. I'd like to plant a first year plot, but I'm not expecting great results. the soil quality will most likely be poor, but will get plenty of sunshine. Of course I want it all, I want the deer there eating in the summer, early fall, and digging for turnips or whatever in the winter. What are some suggestions for a first year plot?
I would recommend doing a spring/summer plot than for multiple reasons. It will allow you to get the ground worked and begin incorporating green matter back into the soil. Obviously do a soil test, you may have to lime a ton but worth it. As for what to plant the first planting I'd go with things that grow well anywhere "within reason". Buckwheat is an awesome seed choice for spring/summer plantings and has a high germination rate even on less than perfect soils. Oats, peas and even rye will grow in the spring and on into the summer some. Again most will germinate even if soils are not perfect. This first fall I would play it safe, and go with a planting of Winter Rye/Oats primarily. If you want I would just mix in some brassicas but would focus on rye/oats due to their ability to germinate on dang near rocky paths. I would even think about doing a overseeding of winter rye than later after first planting similar to how Jeff Sturgis does with great success. We did this this year due to poor germination of brassicas and poor thickening of clover at the homestead property this year...threw down a lot of Rye/Oats in late September and have great growth coming on right now and the deer are hitting them.
