My Quandary

[bowhunter1023]

I mentioned in 88’s thread about having trouble dealing with North American Whitetail Institute, and the fact I refuse to deal with Biologic now. So, I will turn to my brethren here at OS.com following Milo’s offer to help.

I doctored up the aerial to help me, and now you guys, visualize the property. The topo will reveal the lay of the land, which is crucial in dictating the movement on our property. (Ignore the lines and crap Dad has on there :irked: )

Right now my food plot is about 1/8 acre. I planted Extreme by North American Whitetail Institute and it came up well. It seems the deer like it. But, the grain fields to the N sat empty this year. I have the ability, and plan on, expanding the plot to almost ¼ acre. I have 3 trees to drop that will dramatically increase the amount of sunlight reaching the ground.

This plot is smack in the middle of a staging area, i.e. acorn flat, and intersects a trail that traces the southern edge of the field. This is my hunting plot, and the goal is just to provide myself an area to get a shot. (The plot is surrounded by thousands of 5 year old saplings). I did that last year by opening up the logging road a little more. I only want to make it bigger so I have more available forage.

My question is this: Do I leave the Extreme until fall, just fertilize and mow it, and plant turnips or Tecomate Ultra Forage? Or, do I plow it under next month, and start new with a spring plating of something, then go to a fall attractant? Or, start fresh now, and plant a perennial that will make a good fall attractant? This is ridge-top soil. So its well drained, very fine soil that is somewhat acidic. I cannot get a tractor to this plot, so this all to be 4-wheeler and man-powered. I applied 400 lbs. of pelletized lime in August, along with 100 lbs. of 13-13-13 fertilizer.

Honestly, I open to whatever…I am having a hard time making up my mind, so I thought you guys could help me along since the actual seed companies don’t care about the little guy and never get back to you :( . Thanks for listening, and helping if you do.

http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q273/bowhunter1023/FoodPlotBreak-Down.jpg

http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q273/bowhunter1023/Topo-FoodPlotBreak-down.jpg

[Milo]

Okay what your going to need since the food is not readily available in your area is TONNAGE. I do not like to mix seeds. Why? cause there are some plants you can spray and take care of and will fair very well for many years depending on if they get a good start. Ladino Clover is cheap and easy but I have found will only be a kill plot early in the year. Oats may be your ticket to plant next to it. be sure to plant in rows or strips so you can manage each plant type.

Clover
advantages - easy to control and will last a long time if well taken care of
disadvantages - not a heavy attractant after the first month or 6 weeks depending on weather

Oats
advantages - good late season browse and if we get an early frost will provide you much more time to kill something nibbling on it.

disadvantage - if you have a bad year moisture wise the tonnage will go by the wayside.

One thing about food plots is you need to buy something that fits your bill. what that means is let your plot do what YOU need it to do. Deer only congregate heavily in these areas when the weather turns like it is now. this was a freak hunting season.

I mention these crops for the sole reason that ANYONE can get these at their local ag shop. no need to spend the big dollars on repackaged( and marketed) seeds.

Your your area bowhunter1023i suggest you increase your plot and hit it with 100 pounds of lime and hit it again in june once the plants have come up and again in late august. really load it up over the season. fertilize early and about 1 month before the first frost to give the plants time to benefit from the fertilizer before going dormant.
Looks like you have a nice area buy the creek that could use some enhancement too:D

[bowhunter1023]

Okay what your going to need since the food is not readily available in your area is TONNAGE.

Looks like you have a nice area buy the creek that could use some enhancement too:D


Milo, thanks and great info...But lack of food is not a problem this coming year. I talked to the farmer last weekend, and all that grain field will be planted in corn and/or beans. What I need is attraction. They will have 50 acres of corn and/or beans to chow on...I want something to coax them into the staging area well before dark.

Yea I would love to plant in the bottom, but I'm wasting my money. That is soon to be pasture. Once we get out herd out there, I will only have N of the creek to hunt. I may coax Dad into fencing around the bottoms of the hills which would add more to my hunting grounds.

[Milo]

Milo, thanks and great info...But lack of food is not a problem this coming year. I talked to the farmer last weekend, and all that grain field will be planted in corn and/or beans. What I need is attraction. They will have 50 acres of corn and/or beans to chow on...I want something to coax them into the staging area well before dark.
Well if your doing that then I would stick with clover and get it as neutral a PH as you can as it become more palatable. you can really tell when your clover is working. One key problem you will have is once that food source is gone, they will need somewhere else to sustain the herd size. thats where the oats or if we get a really cold snap ( beets or turnips) can really hit hard. I have yet to see anything compete with large scale corn and beans so you have a task ahead of you.

[Milo]

Milo, thanks and great info...But lack of food is not a problem this coming year. I talked to the farmer last weekend, and all that grain field will be planted in corn and/or beans. What I need is attraction. They will have 50 acres of corn and/or beans to chow on...I want something to coax them into the staging area well before dark.

Yea I would love to plant in the bottom, but I'm wasting my money. That is soon to be pasture. Once we get out herd out there, I will only have N of the creek to hunt. I may coax Dad into fencing around the bottoms of the hills which would add more to my hunting grounds.

just tell your dad you don't want the cows pooping in the creek. Tell him the EPA says so:D :D You actually might be able to get money from the state ag department if he does not allow the cows to destroy the creek habitat. might want to look into that. Stream buffers they call that to stop soil erosion.

[bowhunter1023]

Well if your doing that then I would stick with clover and get it as neutral a PH as you can as it become more palatable. you can really tell when your clover is working. One key problem you will have is once that food source is gone, they will need somewhere else to sustain the herd size. thats where the oats or if we get a really cold snap ( beets or turnips) can really hit hard. I have yet to see anything compete with large scale corn and beans so you have a task ahead of you.

Yea, I hear you there. The plot was already there, it just needed planted. The 1/8 acre opening that is there now, was the remainder of the old logging road that didn't grow over. I wanted a project, and this happend to be a great spot to hunt...So I figured what the hey, let's try a food plot. I am basically playing here, I just need something to do and I want to do it as right as I feel comfortable with doing.

just tell your dad you don't want the cows pooping in the creek. Tell him the EPA says so:D :D You actually might be able to get money from the state ag department if he does not allow the cows to destroy the creek habitat. might want to look into that. Stream buffers they call that to stop soil erosion.

At this point I'd tell him aliens would come if he ran cows down there if it meant I could hunt more ground...He could really care less about the hunting.

[Milo]

Yea, I hear you there. The plot was already there, it just needed planted. The 1/8 acre opening that is there now, was the remainder of the old logging road that didn't grow over. I wanted a project, and this happend to be a great spot to hunt...So I figured what the hey, let's try a food plot. I am basically playing here, I just need something to do and I want to do it as right as I feel comfortable with doing.



At this point I'd tell him aliens would come if he ran cows down there if it meant I could hunt more ground...He could really care less about the hunting.

maybe your should start offering guided fenced holstein hunts:D :D You need to get your dad a bow so he will care more:coolgleamA: :coolgleamA:

[OhioHunter88]

Clover would probably be your best bet, they will hit a good clover field all hours of the day, like milo said try to get your PH as close to 7 as possible...

[deerhunt45]

just tell your dad you don't want the cows pooping in the creek. Tell him the EPA says so:D :D You actually might be able to get money from the state ag department if he does not allow the cows to destroy the creek habitat. might want to look into that. Stream buffers they call that to stop soil erosion.

Good thread. Milo is right on here. Depending on your area and watershed, there may be incentives as he stated and there may even be regulations (in force or pending). Be sure and check it out.

Sounds as if you are off to a good start with your ranch. Your sweat equity will pay off some day. Good luck!

45

[LcHunter]

I have heard that clover will make the deer clot faster once shot any one else heard this or is it just another hunting myth

[Bawana]

First of all I would actually measure your plot area. If it's 1/8 of an acre it should be about 100 ft. by 55 ft. ( there are 43264 sq ft per acre) sometimes you can really get fooled by the actual size of the plot. I know you've had problems with Biologic but their soil tests are by far the easiest to read and use, they break it down as to how much lime and fertilizer you need per 1000 ft. You need to list on the soil test sheet what you are intending on planting. I would take soil samples from three or four spots in the field and mix them all together. Since you have a remote location that will require mostly hand and quad labor i would go with clover. I wouldn't use any major companies. I would go to your local farm co-op and ask them for a mix of one part alsike clover, one part white clover, one part trefoil and two parts red clover. I would ask them for the clovers that are used most by your local dairymen. They can guide you as to how many pounds of each you will need for the proper coverage. I use more red because it seems to do well here (New Philadelphia) and my co-op said they sell more of it than any other. One more thing to realize, clover does not need nitrogen as it fixes it's own. Giving it a shot of nitrogen fertilizer once it's planting can really damage it...........Good Luck:D My clover plots have been in for four years and are still doing great, I have a set up very similar to yours as far as lay of the land and crop fields.