Food plot and managment help

[tony716]

I just got 85 acres in western NY.  There is about 30 acres of field that is planted every year by a local farmer and 50+ acres of hardwoods.  The 50+ acres are adjoined to hundreds of acres of posted hardwoods.  Across the street from my land at the bottom of the hill is a big swamp.  I do not have have any major farm equipment to do big food plots and as i mentioned before a local farmer plants the 30 acres of field every year.  What im looking to do is create some small food plots in the hard woods.  I've never planted any food plots before and only know what i've read.  Any good ideas on how to approach this along with stand placement to the plots? 

I was also thinking of starting some mineral licks this spring.  Any good recommendations?

And finaly, I will be posting my land, what are some good tactics to keeping deer on my property? 

Thanks for any info!!

[SHKYBoonie]

Tony, usually oats, rye and wheat blends do well in small wooded plots. They need very little prep work and usually fertilize with 15-15-15 at about 100 pounds to the acre works well. Other than that, there are several seed blends out on the market for this type of application. I haven't seen any of these that work any better than buying the seeds mentioned above and making your own blend and this usually cost less in the long run to.
 
As for the mineral sites, I have had great results from Trophy Rocks. They are trace mineral rocks that are mined out of a natural deposit. The trace mineral you can buy at the livestock supply stores work well if you dig a hole and mix it into the dirt. The rocks I just place on an old stump and let the rain wash them into the wood. The deer will actually eat the wood from the stump after the rock is gone.
 
I don't know how to keep 100% of the deer on a piece of property 100% of the time but you can do things to increase the time they do spend on your property. They need cover (thickets), food and water.
 
If you have thick areas on this land that the deer will feel secure bedding in, they will. You need to use these areas a sanctuary's and never go into these to hunt. Leave the deer alone in these areas and they will use them often.
 
If the farmer is growing crops that the deer will use as food, then you have an ace in your hand. Then you need to start looking at what natural brows you have on this land as far as hard and soft mast and native vegetation. You can do alot just by helping some of these plants and trees thrive.
 
Now you can think about what you would like to put in as Winter food. Maybe the oats, rye and wheat I talked about before would be enough or you may want to consider some of the Winter green type seed blends they have out now. I know whatever you decide to plant, invests in soil test and get that right. This is probably more important than what you plant. If it doesn't grow right, it will not do you any good anyway.
 
Hope this helps to get you started! Also, this is just my opinion and may only be a starting point. Nothing works for everyone across the board.

[msbadger]

Well I like to make long winding plots as well as the round or square ones I do...depending on the amount of sun....and soil requirements ....jumbo clover....chicory...burnette...and as annual buckwheat spring /summer and turnips late summer /fall

As far as minerals being from NY you already know that's illegal...and the DEC has been fineing big time on those and bate piles as well as feeders....so I wouldn't  be talking about it(outdoor News ...great info on what they're doing around the state)....went to the tax assessor to get taxes on new land lowered(didn't work...yet!) ...but he was quick to pull up a satellite image of our place....Well that was an eye opener!...lets just say I may have to build a couple of well placed out houses[>:]

[ranwin33]

What type of equipment do you have - chainsaw, weedeater, hand tools, ATV, backpack sprayer?

Try to find some natural clearings in the hardwoods - those will be easiest to convert over and may only require a good spraying with Roundup and then some handwork with a rake to create a decent sized plot. 

Plan your plot to be around 30 yards by 30 yards or a little larger, that way no matter where you set up your stand you'll be able to shoot it from edge to edge if you're bow hunting.  Plus anything smaller may not last into your season.

We like to put our hunting plots near the tops or on the tops of our ridge line, from a moisture perspective this isn't ideal, but it seems to be where our deer like to travel and we usually get enough rain as to not have a problem with drought.

No matter what you plant, put clover in the mix.  This will give your plot some perennial plants and make the follow-up years a little less work.
 
As for mineral licks, get one started using a salt block.  Once deer are hitting the lick, add red mineral salts to it, or just get a 50# block of mineral salt and put it into a depression you dig out near where deer travel.  That's about as simple as you can get.

[tony716]

Thanks for the info.  I think there will be a lot of trial and error.  Hopefully not too much error.  MSBADGER, the lick or only illegal during hunting season in ny.  Outside of hunting season you can have them year round. 

Like i mentioned before there is about 50 acres of hard woods, i was thinking of putting 2, 1/2 acre plots.  Do you guys think that would be suffecint or should i try to do more.  The land isn't huge.  I was also thinking of doing some hinge cutting to try and create a bedding area on a 1 acre section.  Anyone have any experience with that? 

Thanks for any info!

[msbadger]

This is copied direct from the DEC web site......

Q: What types of attractants are legal for deer hunting?
A: You may use cover scents and lures, such as doe urine, for deer hunting. However, it is illegal to place a salt block or mineral lick on lands inhabited by deer at any time of year. It is also illegal to feed deer. Some attractants that are marketed for deer are liquids or dissolving powders which deer may not directly consume, but the attractants may entice deer to feed on the material which absorbed the attractant. These types of produces would not be legal.
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[msbadger]

tony716....please correct me if I some how read that wrong...but thank you.... ...for in looking that up...again...I discovered that electronic deer calls are legal ...when I thought them not to be....looks like I'll be shopping[;)]

[hookset6969]

TONY, great idea to post your land as I have just discovered in NY people can wonder where ever they want if sign's are not put up everywhere and maintained just right, Good luck on your plot's and keep your eye's open for the illegal's so they don't ruin all your hard work.

[tony716]

Badger, i never knew that.  I used salt licks a bunch of times and pulled them before season.  I wonder if the laws have changed in the past few years?  Now the last part about the the liquids or dissolving powders, would deer cain or c mer deer fall under that category?   

Hookset,  im so pumped to have a piece of land to myself!  Even if its only 85 acres.  Im so sick of people hunting on top of me.  I only go to hunt 3 times during archery last year.  The first day i got out i was so excited to finaly be in the woods.  Went right to my favorite stand.  Within an hour i had a nice 8 pt.  within range.  I get drawn back and here comes this guy thats been hunting out of my stands for the past 8 years.  He spooks off the deer and then i find out he put a stand 20 yards from mine!!!  Needless to say i wasnt to happy[:@][:@]!!  The good part is the 200 acres next to me is posted as well. 

[ZEEK]

First of all congrats on your purchase. If it were me I would hire a forester or someone that specializes in land improvements for wildlife. It will probably cost a couple hundred $ but it's worth it for an expert to walk your land with you and show you first hand. It will pay for itself in the money you will waste doing it wrong the first time.