Stressless Farm Blog - Wildlife Habitat Improvements

[Stressless]

2023 first touch chores, sometime in early March. In no particular order.

Next work touch Apr during Turkey season.

- Buy light+ accessories for dock, fix and turn on
- stock three fishing ponds, Fishbowl, Figure 8 and Crescent
- spray simazine on switchgrass, if any green spray gly w 24d
-- Pipeline, Potato, FrontPad, Backpad
- spread remaining gypsum on new dirt turned last Aug
- harrow all plots prior to frost seed
- blow leaves off turkey hunting plots and where matted
-- 2", Greenbrier, backpad, edge, bottom?
- frost seed all plots
- soil sample all plots
- razorblade Rednecks glass
- Strap for top of Pinchpoint stand
- Spoil N stand. to the North about 20°
- Move Swamp stand to create new swamp
- Front stand to better overwatch FrontPad
- look at Pine for new stand locations
- move Spoil N cam N 30' with new licking branch
- create funnel into Greenbrier 25yds
- utilization cages all plots
- put up two new wood duck houses
-- E of beaver pond and W of Fishbowl
-- new bedding in 2 houses N of BackPad
- check deep woods opening cut 18 months ago, plan on when to revisit and cut around spruce and cedar planted 9 months ago
- check spruce screen on Greenbrier
- check cypress planting on Crescent
-- order replacement trees for all - Apr delivery

Plots are doing great , as Albert put up in No-till blog, the crops are growing everyday the soil temps get above 37° South facing slope plots obviously heat up and produce better in these cooler temps.

 

[gjs4]

Love this thread and your thorough sharing. It’s a great resource

 

[Stressless]

Thanks Garrett, much appreciated.

 

[Stressless]

Pine has been the best late draw for two years... good to see a healthy buck this late.

 

[Fletch]

Pine has been the best late draw for two years... good to see a healthy buck this late.
View attachment 171878

Pine... Looks like a very nice healthy buck with a lot of potential for 2023... Good Luck with him....

 

[Stressless]

Just getting everything setup to get the Jan/Feb/Mar chores done in a week at the farm here in a bit. Gonna be busy...

Minerals
Thickening 100yds around plots
Thickening around the bedding
Cut and spray invasives in bedding
Spray simazine on switchgrass areas < 2 yrs
Harrow plots
Blow leaves off some plots
Frost seeding mix and seed
Soil samples
Exclusion cages
Pulling some stands

Pine plot, my worst plot is doing well. No herbicides, no rye, just good soil via pH and NPK dialed in, mowing, and frost seeding legumes.

 

[gjs4]

I think BB Land Management Services should expand its area of coverage ...... that place is so dialed in the deer dont stand a chance.

 

[Stressless]

Spent a good week hard at it, many trials and some errors caused seemingly every task and chore to drag on and take longer than expected.

The weekend before the week in OH the Mrs and I drove up to my boys place and found us working hard trimming and grinding about 3 tons of limbs and two trees Fri and Sat.

Some tasks have priority due to the time of year, those got in front and done:

5 of 6 mineral licks in and going went kinda heavy this year and year 2 for adding dry molasses to the standard mix.

All new turned dirt from Sep last year got gypsum finally, 2450# on 4 plots. Snagged the soil samples and went with WTI - sent Fri and got them back already.

With the price of fertilizer not sure I'll be ademending in April as planned.

Had 2 duck boxes, poles, predator shield at the barn so got two more up. All 18 wood duck houses ready for occupancy.

Headed out to harrow the leaves in plots and of course a girdled tree fell into the center ... time suck..

Got it all cleaned up ..

Trying to see if I can draw turkey to this plot, had good pics last year

Got a couple other strutting plots cleaned off as well.

Hope to have three spots for the blind this year.

All the plots are looking very good with the mild winter the rye and legumes are both putting forage up whenever the soil gets a hint warmer. Utilization cages making it easy to see.

Had many issues with the cold coupled with thick simazine for on switchgrass, lost many hours fighting that but neighbor Cliff and I got it all down for premeergent weeds. Biggest issue was the in line filter on the 25gal Fimco sprayer. It never seems worth it until It works, 2y/o switchgrass is standing shoulder high.

Didn't get to the stands I wanted to get up but don't need them in until early Sep, plenty of time. Marked some trees while scouting the deep woods openings with Chris so all I need to do is put them up at this point.

Bottom line is, early March and the herd looks healthy.

And the plots are frost seeded and rolling for the '23 season.

 

[gjs4]

I love this thread, your passion and the fact you support us all with both. You're "the man" BB. Surprised Jeff hasn't hired you to be his Ohio guy.

 

[Stressless]

Smiles.

 

[Stressless]

Been getting some good turkey pics via cell cam and also able to see the plots rye regeneration with the warm wx the last couple weeks. This was fresh turned clay & shale in early Sep. Legumes, rye, lime and gypsum making good browsing. All the plots are drawing the target critters and helping all critters.

 

[Fletch]

Hmmm.... Turkey season looking good... Good Luck....

 

[Stressless]

One of the guys I've been learning from is Dr. Grant Woods, he gives a wavetop science review and his buddy gives a everyman review that is very enjoyable. The plots on the farm are finally in the soil building state and will only get better.

 

[Stressless]

Very happy with how well the plots are doing relative to the pressure they received Sep-Mar. Last year was rhe first year I had the same blend in every plot and it worked great. The plots broke even about mid-Apr in spring green-up, in that their growth outpaced the lessening browse pressure.

2inch, note that it was mostly bare dirt in early Sep '22.

Edge, again mostly bare dirt early Sep '22.

Spoil, established plot that was browsed to "chin high" about nid Dec but the rye kept producing in the those warm periods.

Backpad

Pine

I had planted Chestnut trees, they're one of those diluted Chinese Chestnut's with American Chestnut... after getting them behind browse guards they really responded and had good growth. The freeze nipped them fairly hard thou... other tree species that had bedded out didn't show anywhere near this level of burn.

I got the second application of lime down on the plot areas zi opened last Sep. Letting it cook over summer and test again this Sep to know where I'm at... put 1700# on the plots and 1150# in Crescent pond

The 160 buck Cliff shot last fall walked thru FrontPad and 150 Dutton the year prior walked almost the exact same place. Hung a stand, licking branch and dropped trees to funnel them where I might have an opportunity.

 

[Stressless]

Marked difference between the IMOX'd broadleaves and rye and those in the unsprayed strip. Hit it Apr 18 @6oz/acre, crop oil and AMS per 25gal tank.

 

[Stressless]

Greenbrier yesterday, IMOX'd in mid-April and not cut this year. Noticed stong, 6.0/oz acre IMOX sets the legumes growth back by at least 35-50% in the spring green-up but then they get going.

that's the 4.8pH shale and clay strip mined spoilbank area opened up summer 2021.

I am still working on the options to optimize soil health, crop attraction in Fall/winter, browse pressure and "plots" time on task with the herd outcome I desire but it's evident it's heading in the right direction.