food plots

[Joe G.]

Thanks Eddie I am all over that site!!!!  I am like a sponge when it comes to this stuff!!!  I let 3 smaller bucks walk this season and the guys I used to hunt with thought I was nuts but I want to turn my land into a producer of big deer.  This is going to be a huge help.  [:D]

[reeper0697]

Msbadger,
 
I like hearing about what you have success with and plant. When you said "ie braccs" do you mean brassicas or something else? I was telling my uncle the other day about how you plant buck wheat in all your fields to start off due to the benifits you had mentioned. It turns out that buck wheat used to be in a field I planted alfalfa in (last year) a few years back but he stopped planting in that field since he let the neighbors horses graze in it.

[msbadger]

Yes reeper that is what I mean by braccs....I have used rape and turnips...appin/pajsa...I like both BUT...rape seed is one hard plant to kill!...I sprayed it 3x's last year and it still came back then tilled raked and seeded in a mixed perennial and STILL it grew... here and there ....I had to go and hand pull the plants before seed had a chance to develope![:@]....The deer like it in the fall and dig a little for it in the winter but the turnips have been just tore up...the paths that circle from plot to plot are LOADED with piles of deer droppings..but I have also been trimming branches and the sugar maples have a sweet taste to them....the populars and even oaks have had all the buds nipped off...The other thing I do before the Feb. thaw is to walk paths from plot and cutting are to plot and cutting area...the deer have an easier time getting around walking in my paths... this year I have found more bedding areas on the property than ever before...lets hope it stays that way [;)]...

[northernVT]

Hey everybody,
 
This is a great thread. Thanks Reeper for starting it. I love reading about this stuff. Between my VT and NY properties, I plant about a total of 20 acres in food plots. The largest being a 5 acre feeding plot and the smallest being 20x40 yards. I fell in love with this stuff about 6 years ago. My wife thinks I'm nuts for spending so much money on it, but it gives me a piece of mind. Small price to pay, I think. OK. Most of my seed comes from a local agricultural seed store (much cheaper that way). I plant a variety of clover, chicory and brassicas. There are also some grasses mixed in there as well with some of the clover and chicory. The brassicas are usually turnip, khale and a little rape seed. This year I bought about 4 bags (2 acres worth) of Antler King's Red Zone, which is a mix of soybean and peas. I have never tried these, but am excited to see how they do.
My five acre feeding plot is my test plot. I usually divide it into sections and plant things  seperately in those sections. This gives me a chance to see what deer prefer during what season the most. It is very interesting information. The one food plot that I realized I couldn't compete against was nature browse and mast.
 
Good luck this spring to everybody with this.
 
Take care.

[reeper0697]

Msbadger,
 
its funny how you mention deer walking in your paths, in hunting season we had snow here and I walk to my stand, the next day there would be deer tracks all in them from the deer using my path just teasing me[:@][:D]
 
I never knew rape was that hard to kill, I guess thats why they named it that. I have been meaning to ask you, how much is the Erase from agway? I went there they other day and they had a cheaper stuff called "weed b gone?" but I had forgotten what you said you had used so I had to come back and look it up, I havent been in there since so check. When you talking about trimming trees what kind of saw do you use? I cut wood for my house, uncle, and making maple syrup and use a Stihl 028 AV super and a MS250, they get the job done. Chainsaws are just another thing I like talking about with people who cut haha. Hope all is going well with your land deal.

[reeper0697]

northernVT,
 
I love hearing about what people use around here as well. I have always wondered about soybeans and peas, looking forward to how they work for you. Any information you have to share about anything I look forward to reading and if you have any questions about anything feel free to ask here as well
. I am addicted to this stuff as well the only thing that sucks for me is I buy all the stuff and do the work and there are like 7 other people who will hunt over it. I took a trip to Gander Mountain the other day and ended up buying 2 acrea of Shot Plot by Evolved Harvest and another 1/2 acre of Imperial clover. I bought some Provide by Evolved Harvest at Walmart b/c it was on clearance. I am looking forward to spring and getting out and planting!

[northernVT]

Yeah, this is the first year I am trying soybeans or peas. The farmer next door used to plant soybeans, but hasn't in a couple of years. I am going to use them as my summer forage plots. Give them some early nutrition and allow me to concentrate them for some photos as well.
If you have any larger fields on your property, I wold try putting out a variety of different plots in seperate sections. You will learn a lot from it. I could give you my information, but it depends a lot on a geographical location. What you have for browse and mast. What your farmers are planting around you, a number of things. Like around me, the deer don't really hit the brassicas late until the farmers cut the corn off the fields, where five miles down the road, the deer hit his brassicas early.
I know what you mean about putting up all the money and doing all the work. I hunt with two other people and they don't do very much at all. Last year, I ended up buying two my trail cams because they weren't going to do it. Kind of frustrating, but I still enjoy it.
 
Good luck this year and post some pictures of your progress.

[msbadger]

Sorry for the late reply ...I just went out ...dang cold out there!...and looked for bottle...Can't locate the Erase but I found an old bottle of Kleen up...if I remember correctly it was a little less than the other and worked well on everything but the curly dock we have....and the moss but bring up PH and  I use moss killer for that...no price tag on it but.... know I bought every thing last year before prices sky rocketed [>:]
 
Northern VT...I have a while before putting in my bigger fields....they are located at 1200ft of road frontage and the pines I planted years ago just aren't big enough yet...Certain parts I'm preparing for the future though...most of our land is in hard woods timber...some goat pasture a gully and pretty soon (knocking on wood ) hard woods...streams and swamp area....Down at camp....well just too steep for me to take the tractor down and Well Too much was allowed to go back to buckthorn and dogwood....and no one but I want to do any work....I am planning ..when things settle down and weather is at least barable going down to cut openings for the guys to shoot and prepare a few places for me to bow hunt out of...I will kill a bear there in the next 3 yrs...I almost have them figured out...The guys are 3wk worriors...I'm the family hunting nut...but our land at home keeps me so busy...I haven't hit camp very often save last year...so many deer there...It was fun to be able to pick and choose...verses holy cow a deer!....This area (home) is flooded with tags and every body and their kids hunt..bow...gun...muzzle...turkey....Camp our kids and I are the only 3 bow hunters....I'm usually the only one that bow hunts down there and usually first week of bow for bear...now they opened bear season here at home... 

[msbadger]

Reeper ..almost forgot....Mr. B. bought me the gas powered sthil pruning saw will a cultivator attachment as well as the saw...I also have a DR mower with the chain saw blade we bought years ago...I LOVE my DR and have worked it near death!...for very high and smaller branches I use my hand operated pole pruner and been known to cut down rather large diameter popular trees with my little bow saw...I am well very accident prone so the reg sthil I'm not allowed to use when alone...so you'd be amazed I what I've learned to down with the DR and pruner...[;)]  I'm not very good at waiting on others to get things done...must be the Irish /native american in me.....PS none of my accidents have been timber related....I'm more of slips and falls.... plowed down by animals..... attacked by dogs...widow makers...couple of impailments ..cellar steps...Ya know  dislocations ..spains ..breaks..one partial amputation of my pinky finger where the dog bit it off...and gas stuck on 4 wheeler causing a rollover...now that one was scarey I was home alone with a 4wheeler leaking gas upside down on me in the drive way!  But alls well that ends well..... that one just left a dent in my shine bone....lol

[reeper0697]

Msbadger,
 
jeeze sure seems like you are accident prone! lol I know exactly what you mean on waiting on other people, when I want to do something I usually like to do it then and there, not wait.
 
Im not so much accident prone as much as if something can break, it happens to me. I could fill pages on stuff that just breaks on me. The thing is, is that I usually dont beat on things and my uncle beats the crap out of equipment and yet it usually breaks when I use it.
 
 The other day I was falling some trees to open an area more for the apple trees I planted last year and to put a food plot in there, a big ol' popular tree was leaning some and I was like "Oh, I can get it to fall over here" (I'm usually not bad at getting them to land where I want) well didnt the tree go the opposite way I thought it would and snapped my biggest and best looking apple tree right in half[:@]
 
My uncle also has a DR trimmer, those things are very handy to have and yes I do put it through some abuse as well. Lately the chain has been falling off so we are going to have to look at it again before we go using it. It seems like the more you use the trimmer the smaller the bigger stuff looks and the next thing you know you're running it over lol