 |
|
A
standard garden rototiller is the perfect piece of equipment for breaking
up compacted soil. |
35-acre Site Yields Outstanding Results
By Tom Fegely
|
|
|
A
standard garden rototiller is the perfect piece of equipment for breaking
up compacted soil. |
The food plot phenomenon is no more.
“Phenomenon” implies “any extremely unusual or extraordinary thing or occurrence,” according to Webster.
Thanks to an ever-growing interest in attracting deer, turkeys and other wildlife with nutrition-rich plantings – largely credited to Ray Scott and the Imperial Whitetail Clover he created nearly 20 years ago – wildlife food plots are no longer “unusual,” although many are “extraordinary.” Their popularity among hunters today is big business, although not everyone has the time, money, acreage, equipment or knowledge to plant and maintain several acres in Imperial Clover and other nutritious deer and turkey foods. Those of us who occasionally hunt on large, commercial holdings with greenfields carpeted in Imperial Clover, Alfa-Rack or Extreme and other offerings are often intimidated by the size and cost of such habitat enhancements. Add to that the need for specialized seeds, motorized farm equipment, soil testing, liming, fertilizing and regular maintenance and you’re really scared.
So food plotting for some hunters is but a far-off fantasy.
That, at least, was our impression when my wife Betty Lou and I purchased a 35-acre patch of woodland in southeastern Pennsylvania’s farm-and-woodlot country upon which we built a house. But instead of throwing up our hands and giving up the hope of a food plot or two, we decided to ignore much of what we’d read about field-size food plots and do things “our way.”
Our plan was to think small.
Except for a quarter-acre opening, which was cleared many years back for a house that never materialized the remainder of the woodlot holds tulip trees, red and white oaks, maples, a stand of beech and a streamside grove of hemlocks and white pines. The cyclical dropping of acorns and beechnuts and other natural forage brought deer and turkeys to the woods, but we wanted something more. Deer wandered through our holding across the four seasons on their ways to feast on farm crops on nearby properties. Our land was a crossroads of sorts─ a natural passageway needing a bit of embellishment.
After carefully analyzing our situation, we decided to experiment with a “fast food” or “snack” service of sorts. We had no intention of holding deer, drawing them from a neighbor’s land or fooling ourselves into believing does would all be fat and bucks would grow humongous antlers after sampling our food plot fare. Rather, we approached it as a “remodeling” of our woodlot to assure that deer would regularly use our 35-acres and, perhaps, take a few bites of the groceries growing here and there as they passed through. The project, we decided, would begin by carving a few small clearings into the woods.
Then came the remnants of September 1999’s Hurricane Floyd and a blessing in disguise. Wind sheers toppled more than 100 trees and, in a couple sites, created small clearings which, after an exhaustive clean-up with chainsaws and a neighbor’s tractor, provided a jump-start for the mini-clearcuts. We determined via a focused evaluation of the hillside acreage and the oval, treeless clearing along the creek bottom, that our woodlot held greater food plot potential than we’d at first believed. Our habitat improvement project was designed to encourage deer and turkeys to travel predictable routes to and through the tiny plots, including portions of a quarter-mile ATV path we’d carved along the perimeter of our woods. In all, we established more than one acre of food plots scattered across eight individual tracts – some no bigger than a large-size living room – plus the ATV route.
Our surroundings include a neighbor’s field grown thick with sumac, raspberry, foxtail, autumn olive, goldenrod and other natural browse. Add to that a nearby wheat field, two large cornfields and a soybean field plus an 18-hole golf course just across the blacktop road, all within a half-mile. Our meager but scattered smorgasbord, we hoped, would simply encourage deer to pause for an appetizer on their regular rounds and while going to feed or bed.
Now, five years later, our work has paid off as deer trails lead from our neighbors’ property lines to and through our mini-food plots. Each year, six to eight deer are taken from our stands in the bow and gun seasons; and I’ve noted more turkeys feeding and nipping insects on the succulent clover than ever before. They, like the deer, don’t set up housekeeping; but they’re constant visitors across the four seasons, including roosting in our patch of conifers.
With a minimum of expense, labor and gear, our property took on a new life, including more groundhogs, cottontails and field mice along with the foxes, hawks and coyotes that pursue them.
Choosing potential plot sites was the first order of business. Open and relatively flat patches of ground with a minimal number of intrusive trees topped the list. In three instances, Hurricane Floyd did the initial work for us. Even the broad canopy of a lone, mature red maple or tulip-poplar in the midst of a small opening will block the much-needed sunlight from directly striking the ground. However, I prefer not to cut any mature trees even though a site may be ideal otherwise. The plot should offer at least a minimum three-hour daily “sunbath” to stimulate germination and aid later growth. Well-drained plots are preferred.
If plantings are made in late summer, the sun’s effect on a plot will be obvious. If planting occurs in spring, however, the amount of sunshine on a plot will be deceiving. It may take only one large tree to shade and stunt the growth in an otherwise well-chosen plot site.
Once the locations are chosen, step two involves clearing the site of everything from grass and weeds to brush, briers and small saplings. A chainsaw – even a handsaw – will do the job of clearing woody growth as low as possible. A spraying of Round Up to kill weeds and grasses follows that. Applied with a garden- or backpack-type sprayer, the herbicide kills all grasses and weeds. The soil is ready to disc 8-10 days after application, by which time the vegetation has turned brown.
My initial error at the start of the project was failing to first take a soil test; a mandatory practice no matter what size your plots. We mistakenly presumed that the dark humus was rich enough in nutrients to do the job. We were mistaken.
Most soils, particularly woodland humus in northern areas, are acidic to varying degrees thanks to annual accumulation of decaying leaves. A soil test will indicate how much lime will be needed to bring the pH to or close to neutral. The addition of lime permits the plants to use the nutrients in the soil more efficiently. Advice on the use of fertilizer is also included in the test report. Test kits are available at most county extension service offices, state universities, farm stores and the Whitetail Institute.
On large food plots lime is often applied by truck. On small tracts like mine, 50-pound bags are purchased and the pulverized lime is distributed by hand (don’t plan on spreading the lime on windy days). A simple hand raking to get the lime into the soil follows that.
Of course, raking dead leaves from the plot is necessary before doing any soil preparation.
Other than an ATV to transport the lime to the plot sites, all other gear needed to work a plot is of the backyard garden variety – rototiller, leaf rake, garden rake, long-handled trimmer and shoulder-held seed spreader. Use the rototiller (or simply rake) the soil to provide a smooth bed.
On my single “larger” plot, I use the ATV to drag a rectangle of chain-link fence upon which a few rocks are placed, to loosen and level the soil. The ATV’s turning radius makes it useless on the mini-plots, however.
If possible, time the spreading of seeds a day or two in advance of weather forecasts predicting rain. You’re now partnering with Mother Nature. Nothing is worse than a planted seed bed reduced to stunted growth because of faulty germination, which occurred on two of my plantings last summer.
As to what type of cultivars to grow, strong consideration must be given to shade tolerance and quick germination. Another of my initial mistakes was to sow rye, buckwheat and farm-store clover. Even though three hours of sunlight bathed the plot on most days, growth was minimal.
I asked Steve Scott of the Whitetail Institute which products he suggests for best growth under partially shaded woodland conditions.
“I recommend either our No-Plow or Secret Spot,” he quickly offered. “Plant it in late summer and early fall – from about Aug. 1 to Sept. 15 or so in the North.”
Scott also advised to stick with annuals, such as No-Plow, which are cold tolerant and heat and disease resistant. The high-protein cultivar can be sown spring or fall and is arguably the best seed blend for the job as it germinates quickly and needs a minimum of three hours of sunlight to grow. It requires no tillage, although raking the seed slightly below the soil line is recommended.
So too is Secret Spot, another quick-germinating woodland planting perfect for small plots. It’s a blend of over a dozen varieties of annual forages created for use in remote areas. It’s promoted as a “treestand” planting as it’s often used to cover a small area – perhaps inaccessible to any motorized equipment. Four pounds of Secret Spot will cover 4,500 square feet. This blend is also suggested for field edges within easy shooting distance of a stand or blind.
One of the first duties at hand upon moving onto the property was to widen a walking path, created by the previous landowner, to accommodate an ATV trail. The additional sunlight shining upon the trail created new browse, although not necessarily anything that would draw more than a casual interest from deer. Here we planted a mixed blend of Imperial Whitetail Clover and No-Plow after my farmer-friend scraped the brush, wood debris and grasses from each side of the pathway wherever the sun penetrated for more than three to four hours per day. The heavily shaded sites were left untouched.
The fact that most of the trail, measuring nearly a quarter-mile, runs northeast to southwest west was a welcome bonus as it provided more direct sunlight from morning to midday than on the eastern and western sides of the property. The freshly-scraped trail-edges nearly doubled the square footage of our offerings. The same simple gear and planting techniques were employed, save for rototilling, which wasn’t necessary as my friend’s tractor did the job of loosening the soil.
Following planting and raking a smooth seedbed, I firmed up the soil on the plots and the trail by running my ATV back and forth over it. Better yet is a small lawn roller that will compact the bed before and after.
Finishing Touches
Topping off the project was the placement of treestands, all within bow-shooting range of the food plots. All but two of the eight stands and a lone blind on my somewhat meager acreage have been relocated a time or two. When choosing a site, keep in mind that the lack of brush and trees permits you to see and aim without obstruction because the deer are in a clearing. But deer will also see you if the treestand is too close to the plot.
If the plot has a well-traveled path leading to it, setting a stand just off the deer trail is preferable. Give yourself the advantage of not being readily seen by using other trees or shrubs as a buffer between you and the planted greenery.
One of my wife’s jobs was to create new, meandering paths from the plots through a couple sizable thickets. Keep them trimmed and the deer will use them, we discovered. Besides, it’s the perfect place for a trail camera to keep tabs on what’s using your mini-plots.
Three paths – one visible from the house – are also embellished with mineral sites and liquid or granular attractants from after the hunting season into summer. Their heaviest use comes from later winter into the spring fawning season. The Whitetail Institute’s 4-Play Break-A-Way Block and/or liquid Magnet Mix are recommended. Be aware of the legality of such “licks” throughout the year. In my home state of Pennsylvania, such sites or its remnants may not be in place during the hunting seasons.
If you’re like us and don’t have the use of fields such as those upon which most food plots are cultivated, refocus on what’s available in your patch of woods and be creative. It’s not only fun and satisfying, it also fills the need to focus attention on deer and deer hunting throughout the year.
That’s how we do it.