Food plot too long?
Contributors to this thread:Whitetail Deer
From: wildwilderness
27-Feb-22
Corners marked 186 acres
Corners marked 186 acres
This property has two long foot plots on either sides of a creek. The property is about 186 acres, based on mapping the plots are about 6 and 4 acres each.
To make the plots more bow hunter friendly would it be beneficial to break them up? Maybe plant switch grass? If so What size would you recommend making each new section?
From: wildwilderness
27-Feb-22
Zoomed out
Zoomed out
Here is a picture of the area further out. The house is marked in blue dot
From: wildwilderness
27-Feb-22
Looking back at the house
Looking back at the house
Out the house window
Out the house window
Here are a couple more views- you can see the house from about midway down the plot, and from the house second floor looking out can see down to the end of the plot
This is the longer plot on the west side of the creek
From: t-roy
27-Feb-22
Definitely wouldn’t hurt to break them up a little. Switchgrass would work. You could use Egyptian wheat as well. I would suggest planting a couple of rows of cedars and/or wild plums or something similar, in strategic spots for a thicker and taller edge cover. That would do a couple of things. Help you to potentially be able to get in and out undetected, plus help to possibly create a new travel corridor past a stand site. They seem to like to travel edges, which you would have plenty of.
From: scentman
27-Feb-22
6 acre plot split into thirds, 4 acre , in half... I think those plots are the ultimate shape for archery, nice!
From: WI Shedhead
27-Feb-22
The deer on my property stand at the edge of huge plots and stare, many times til after shooting hours before entering because of the pressure in my areas on fields. When I started breaking them up they came right in. I don’t know if it’s the tight quarters or what. My recommendation- get some northwoods whitetail inc., foodplot screen hd and try a few different areas with breaks in your plots. The screen will grow a thick els teen over twelve feet high. The narrow plots are a good thing as long as you can shoot across them. Don Higgins really promotes these on properties he sets up. Once you figure out exactly where you want the breaks- start planting permanent screening.
From: Hancock West
27-Feb-22
Break it up with chinese chestnut trees. More food the better.
From: wildwilderness
27-Feb-22
Can I start with a fast growing screen while adding more permanent cover for breaks?
If so what would the order and timeframe be? I hopefully close on this deal in about a month.
From: Huntiam
27-Feb-22
sun hemp for cover and deer love it.. it’s a annual thing tho
From: WI Shedhead
27-Feb-22
Yes I actually do that with the plot screen. It’s actually a pretty good soilbuilder if its light and needs organic matter. Then put the permanent cover in its place until you get the density you want. Before investing the work and money into the permanent fix I would see how the deer relate to it and adjust as needed
From: wildwilderness
28-Feb-22
For the recommendations to plant annual screening, when is the time to plant? What month?
From: wisconsinteacher
28-Feb-22
Crazy idea but maybe a fence across them in spots with an opening for the deer to funnel through while you wait for things to grow and thicken up?
From: t-roy
28-Feb-22
What state? Kansas, I’m assuming. You could plant Egyptian wheat from April clear up into mid June, and still get plenty of growth, if you get the moisture. EW is a grass, so it loves nitrogen.
From: wildwilderness
28-Feb-22
Yes north central Kansas
From: Hancock West
28-Feb-22
Hancock West's Link
Check out real world products. Don Higgins has killed 5 whitetail bucks averaging 201". Three were over 200". They have 4 options for you
From: WI Shedhead
28-Feb-22
East central wisconsin I plant 3rd week in May to memorial day
From: wildwilderness
01-Mar-22
Does it make a difference to use seed from local sources or to order online? Also with trees?
From: wildwilderness
02-Mar-22
Also with trees- Are local options better than mail order? Was thinking of possible Perssimons, chestnuts, and Pears and/or Apples
From: Hancock West
02-Mar-22
We have dozens of apple trees, a few persimmons & a couple pears. The trees were great and then the japanese beetles arrived and that changed everything. If you have beetles you might as well plan on spraying every 3-4weeks if you want to keep them healthy. Otherwise theyll eat the leaves off almost every year and they don't seem to produce as well without leaves. The persimmons work better for later season because they hang on the tree longer & don't ripen as fast. Plus the deer seem to let them ripen on the ground awhile before they eat them. The pears ive always heard they like but they always go to the apples first. We have the dwarf trees which are good for pruning but they tend to blow over easier in strong winds. Im not saying fruits trees arent worth it but they are alot of work if you have beetles.
From: wildwilderness
03-Mar-22
Are the beetles a problem everywhere? I would not be able to spray on a regular basis. Would that make it not worth planting fruit trees?
Do Chinese Chestnuts need to be sprayed?
From: Hancock West
03-Mar-22
I think its still worth it but it just adds more work. They just won't be as healthy & pretty. We don't spray our trees anymore because its just too much work on top of everything else. If the apples are just for the deer than you're not out alot if they don't produce 100% of what they should. We have the beetles bad in our area but i'm not sure about your area. Have you seen any trees where all the leaves will all be attached but the centers of the leaves in between the veins will all be ate out? They literally look like skeleton leaves. They love maple trees and other as well as corn & beans and any fruit bearing plants or trees. I'm not sure about the Chinese chestnuts. We are going to plant some of those this fall so i hope not. I've been told deer like the chinese chestnuts better because than the american ones because they produce bigger chestnuts.
From: wildwilderness
04-Mar-22
This will be a new area for me.
Maybe some of the other Kansas folk know if there are beetle issue in North Central KS?
From: Hancock West
04-Mar-22
They will definitely know. Alot of farmers have to spray for them to keep them off the grain. I'd call a nearby co-op and check. You'll want to try and get a later blooming tree as well as male & female trees. If i was going to do it again i'd try and get full size trees but alot of times you can't get those in the bigger sizes. When we bought ours 15years ago we bought the dwarf or maybe semi-dwarf and they were 5' tall & produced the first year.
