Just thinking here...so are the small plots these annual bags suggest doing more harm to the soil?
Well, I wouldn't think that is necessarily the case. I think that some root growth is surely better than bare dirt. I also think that small plots, often referred to as "kill plots", should be removed from your measurements when considering harvest quotas, when basing said quota on browse pressure.
Most Bucks ON BAG (BOB) seed mixes are flat bullshit. Sorry to be blunt but they are overhyped seeds, with major profit margin built-in, heavy coatings, and fancy names for seeds that can be bought at a seed co-op like Meritt. These mixes almost always are lacking a component that would make them FAR more attractive and better for the deer and soil. Often they use a fancy plant name like "sugar beets" and then promote it being seeded in the fall. Well, Sugar beets take 90 days to mature, so often they don't make sense in a fall plot as they will not even be able to get halfway through maturity before frost/snow comes.
With all of this stuff, we need to align our goals with realistic abilities to achieve said goals. So for me, if a plot is small - do I worry about the soil health? Sure I do, but I don't judge my harvesting metrics based on that plot's browse pressure. I will also try to adjust my plant mix the following year to give the deer a more browse tolerant species to eat on. I continue to tweak and adjust my plans based on several factors and this is one more metric I will add to my overall assessment on the farm. One thing I plan to do this year is seed my small plots with fall mixes early, I then plan to seed them heavily again with rye grain and a clover mix. This will be done after my brassicas are established, so as not to choke them out. This will help me to get more "gaps" filled, roots in the soil, and deer-fed quality nutrition.
Thank you for listening to my ramblings and following along. Hope this at-least as clear as mud!! HAHA.
AT.
