Food and Bedding Plots Are In

[Big_Holla]

This is the Old Saw food plot location. It's a small field tucked back in a corner behind a bigger agricultural field, not sure what they are planting there yet. The field is separated from that big field with a thin strip of brush and trees, very secluded. Here we planted Whitetail Select Infinity Clover.

This is what it looked like 2 weeks ago right after spraying.

Here we are spreading the lime....heck I can still taste it!

The final results........

 

[Big_Holla]

The next plot we did was the Sanctuary Stand food plot. Here we also planted the same clover but one extra thing we did was to plant a wide strip of sorghum to separate the food plot from the rest of the field and sanctuary. We did this to give it a more secluded feel, just hope it works.

Left to right, the stand is in the second picture if you can spot it.

 

[Big_Holla]

The last 3 plots all are in our sanctuary. We have never been satisfied with how well the sanctuary has held deer over the years but an agreement with my uncle on our land contract was to only keep the main field in grasses or a crop, and to not to let trees grow other than the crab apple, etc. that are already there. So, here we decided to plant some switch grass for bedding and one strip in sorghum and soybeans.

Here is Ed putting the final touches on these plots with the brush hog.

Pictures of the 3 strips are from left to right. The left most strip is all switch grass.

The middle strip kind of joins the left most and here I planted mostly sorghum on the left side of the strip and soybeans on the right side. Seed did overlap and will be interesting to see how it grows. We realize the beans will be eaten fast and likely will not grow much. That is OK if it keeps the browse down on the clover plot by the treestand. Also, if we have open ground by September we will go over it with a brassica mix.

The right most strip runs parallel to the middle strip and has a section of grass between the two. Here I planted all switch grass.

This sanctuary bedding is within sight of the stand we have where we planted the clover. Will be interesting to see how they utilize the whole area. Our plan for next year will be to add more strips of switch grass, provided it works like we are hoping.

 

[Gordo]

Lookin great. All that time and energy is going to pay off. Keep it up

 

[Fullbore]

Awesome work Fellas!

 

[bowhunter1023]

Good stuff Chuck! Hope they grow well!!!

 

[Curran]

Man that looks great Chuck!

 

[Johnch]

Looks good

I can tell you that deer will bed in the switch grass
As our club has 3 large feilds of it for pheasant and chucker hunting

I have seen lots of deer in the switch grass
And 4 years ago I took a doe that was bedding in the switch grass just 50 yards from my duck blind

John

 

[hickslawns]

Hope it works out as you have envisioned it Chuck. Looks like you put a bunch of time into it.

 

[Huckleberry Finn]

On that first plot if the ag field isn't planted yet, I'd reckon it'd be winter wheat. A lil too late to plant corn or beans.

Your plots look awesome.

 

[jagermeister]

Man Chuck you guys did a great job prepping and planting those fields. A few timely rains and I think you're going to really like the results. What type of Sorghum did you plant? Was it milo or something taller like sudangrass? Sudangrass is pretty awesome stuff when it comes to providing cover, as it grows so damn tall. Only bad thing is how easily it breaks over late in the season.

Looking forward to some more pics!

 

[Big_Holla]

Looks good

I can tell you that deer will bed in the switch grass
As our club has 3 large feilds of it for pheasant and chucker hunting

I have seen lots of deer in the switch grass
And 4 years ago I took a doe that was bedding in the switch grass just 50 yards from my duck blind

John

Thanks John, that's exactly why we planted it there. My buddy was out in Iowa a couple years back pheasant hunting and they went through a big patch of it and he couldn't believe the beds. We had heard it was good but his eyes confirmed it. Hope it works as good as we are thinking.

On that first plot if the ag field isn't planted yet, I'd reckon it'd be winter wheat. A lil too late to plant corn or beans.

Your plots look awesome.

Thanks, one thing is for sure this farmer isn't like most when it comes to planting so who knows what he's planning LOL. Will know in a short amount of time though I hope.

Man Chuck you guys did a great job prepping and planting those fields. A few timely rains and I think you're going to really like the results. What type of Sorghum did you plant? Was it milo or something taller like sudangrass? Sudangrass is pretty awesome stuff when it comes to providing cover, as it grows so damn tall. Only bad thing is how easily it breaks over late in the season.

Looking forward to some more pics!

The sorghum was the taller variety my buddy said, the sudangrass. We planted it up here in Mich. a couple years ago as a border on a plot up where we hunt and the stuff had to have been 8-9 ft. tall. Turkeys absolutely loved walking in and out of it and the deer seemed to love feeding along the edges. Last year we didn't plant it and the deer were more nocturnal, letting us know we screwed up. Can't wait to get back and see how it looks in a month or two.

 

[qdmman]

If the area you speak of truly is a "sanctuary" you should not even be in it. Sanctuaries are just that, free of human disturbances 365 days a year. If you have to work in them, do it in late winter/early spring. Also, I don't know how smart it is to put a food plot right in the middle of your so called sanctuary. Will there even be a need for them to leave the sanctuary? Think about it.. if they have food, cover and water= no need to leave except to chase tail. You would be better off to have your sanctuary in the middle of your property and your plots towards the perimeter and catch them coming and going.

Also, try planting clover in the fall with a cereal grains...you'll have much better luck. Get the clethodim ready...you'll have weed issues undoubtetly.

 

[Big_Holla]

If the area you speak of truly is a "sanctuary" you should not even be in it. Sanctuaries are just that, free of human disturbances 365 days a year. If you have to work in them, do it in late winter/early spring. Also, I don't know how smart it is to put a food plot right in the middle of your so called sanctuary. Will there even be a need for them to leave the sanctuary? Think about it.. if they have food, cover and water= no need to leave except to chase tail. You would be better off to have your sanctuary in the middle of your property and your plots towards the perimeter and catch them coming and going.

Also, try planting clover in the fall with a cereal grains...you'll have much better luck. Get the clethodim ready...you'll have weed issues undoubtetly.

LOL yeah I think I know why a sanctuary is called that. The reason we dared to step foot in it was because we wanted to enhance the bedding since for the last 5-6 years we didn't step foot in it and it still wasn't holding deer like we had hoped. Actually the area we tilled and planted technically wasn't part of the past sanctuary until we decided to include it this year. The reason we put food in it is because we know most of it won't be there come fall. Even so, it makes complete sense to have food where they don't have to leave simply because it will help hold the deer on the property longer. Some people create plots that they never hunt simply to give deer the opportunity to feed without being molested by hunters and often those plots never get hunted.

Also yeah yeah we could have waited and planted the clover like you would prefer but we decided to do it this way.

 

[Boone]

Chuck those plots look great. I like the before and after pictures that show how much work you had to put into it. Keep us posted!

 

[bowhunter1023]

Chuck, how did you guys go about removing all the growth once you mowed it down? All of my plots are covered in chest high weeds, so when we mow them down, we are left with a tremendous amount of "matting" as I call it. I'm searching for the most effective way of removing that stuff...

 

[Boone]

Chuck, how did you guys go about removing all the growth once you mowed it down? All of my plots are covered in chest high weeds, so when we mow them down, we are left with a tremendous amount of "matting" as I call it. I'm searching for the most effective way of removing that stuff...

If it's chest high, I would mow it first, spray what comes back up with gly a week or two before you want to plant, and then till or disk it in when you plant. We did this last year with a virgin plot and it worked great.

 

[qdmman]

Chuck, how did you guys go about removing all the growth once you mowed it down? All of my plots are covered in chest high weeds, so when we mow them down, we are left with a tremendous amount of "matting" as I call it. I'm searching for the most effective way of removing that stuff...

Start spraying early u won't have weed issues. I spray my clover plots right aftrr turk season.

 

[bowhunter1023]

Little late for that...

 

[cotty16]

Hope all your hard work pays off Chuck. Looks like a great setup.