deer plot/plots???

   / deer plot/plots??? #1  

Boeing

Platinum Member
Joined
Sep 14, 2010
Messages
615
Location
Botetourt, Va
Tractor
kubota L3010
Friends and fellow hunters....
I have about 3 acres on a mountain top that is a field. The rest of my land is woods. Surrounding properties are all forest too. There are about 3 small, grassy areas available. One borders a nice creek, another is the junction of 4 logging trails and the third is just below my mile long drive and gets it's runoff.
Here are the questions....the three acres on top is almost equally divided with clover on the west half and plain old rye grass on the east half. I get some deer on the clover side and occassionally turkeys buggin' in the rye grass. Should I "roundup" the rye side, plow, disk, lime and seed for deer? And what would I plant? The clover doesn't do that good on the mountain top....very little moisture. I read that chickory might do better with little moisture. a few rains, thunderstorms and dew is all it ever gets.

Those small grassy areas.....same questions, if it's growing grasses well; it SHOULD grow deer food.....but are these areas too small to be worth the trouble? (15yds X40 yds by the creek) (12ydsX 80 yds along the logging trails) and the adjacent to road area is about 20X20 yds. They have fairly moist soil as they are lower than the surrounding woods.
What would I plant? Clover again? How about DIFFERENT foods in the different spots? Turnips, Beans, Brassicas? Again, being so small, will they get wiped out before they even grow anything?

So far I've made trails, limed, seeded, mowed the top field and photographed all sorts of game but not taken the time to hunt at all. I'm the CARETAKER for the animals property.....:)
 
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   / deer plot/plots??? #2  
You could look at stock seed company they have a bunch of different wildlife food plot seeds mixes.
 
   / deer plot/plots???
  • Thread Starter
#3  
Thanks Jeff,
I like your hobby/shop link. Are you the Etsy shop "spinning top" guy too?
My main question about the food plots is concerning the three little pieces of land where the grasses are doing so well. Deer pretty much leave grass alone.....if I replaced the grasses with turnips or brassica or even clover are the plots too small to even get a chance to grow or will the deer wipe it out as it comes out of the ground?
 
   / deer plot/plots??? #4  
There is a way to keep them out of it. If you put in fiberglass posts and fishing line, it will keep them out. My plots are smaller plots that I put in that way due to the deer destruction. I would say they are 10' wide by 20' long. I put fishing line and then long streamers of flagging to remind the deer they are there. I then take it down when they are ready.
I have seen my neighbor try to put in a food plot and watched it eaten to the ground before it was up.
Smaller food plots will still bring them in. You do want to watch if you have a lot of turkeys, they will eat the seed before its in. I threw some straw down after i did a few plots.
For the clover I planted this year Its already coming up.
No I don't do any turning yet, I am still fine tuning my pole lathe, thanks for checking out the link.
 
   / deer plot/plots??? #5  
For small plots I've had the best luck with a mixture of turnips, kale and rape. Don't buy a food plot mix when you can go to the feed store and buy equal parts.

The small plots should do well with the brassicas above. I use a double electric fence to keep the deer out until I want them to have the plot. My double fence is constructed using poly rope type electric fence. The inside is two strands one at about 12 inches and one at about 36 inches. The outside fence is a single strand at about 24". The two fences are about 3 feet apart.

I first saw this fence used by Dr. Grant Wood, aka "the deer doctor". I use a 12 v battery charger for the fence. Not a single deer bothers my plots until I am ready for them to get them.

The double fence works because the deer have poor depth perception and won't jump it. The electricity keeps them from crawling under it or walking through it. Make sure you use a charger that is rated to contain a bovine bull and it will keep deer out.

Here is a photo of one of my plots last July. It was forage soybeans and they grew to 72" tall before I let the deer in.
 

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   / deer plot/plots??? #6  
My deer love my orchard.
Apples, Plums, etc.

They also seem to be pretty good at pruning some younger trees, and stripped the leaves from my grapes and raspberries.

I consider them as worm control in my orchard, so I don't mind them too much there, but I do try to use an electric fence around the stuff where I don't want them.
 
   / deer plot/plots??? #7  
The clover doesn't do that good on the mountain top....very little moisture. I read that chickory might do better with little moisture. a few rains, thunderstorms and dew is all it ever gets.


I have had great luck with a chickory/clover blend. Last year was very dry here. My plot is in the sun most of the day in the shadows in the am. The clover went dormant and the chickory looked great. Chickory has a deep tap root like a dandelion. I like that I don't have to replant every year also.
 
   / deer plot/plots??? #9  
Thanks. I keep the fence on the plot until about 10 days before bow season comes in.
 
   / deer plot/plots??? #10  
Ted, so you are using your plot to bait the deer for hunting? :confused:

I suppose I just allow the deer to share some of my property. A bit different concept. It might not be a bad idea to build a safe sanctuary during hunting season, but at least around here, the deer roam from place to place.
 
 
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