# Food plots



## Cowboy Billy (Dec 17, 2010)

One of my dreams came true this year. I made my first deer food plots. In 2006 my Dad and brother bought 80 acres in Michigan's eastern UP that adjoins a 40 my Dad bought 15 years ago. It also adjoins 240 acres of my uncles and 80 of my cousins. It starts 1/4 mile past the end of a dead end road and I had to make a road across 1/4 mile of my uncles property just to get to it. Its all wooded mainly soft woods but about 10 acres of maple. And rises in elevation 100' from the lowest point to the highest with four lime stone ledges. 

   Developing this property has really brought our whole family together. I spend the most time up there but both my brothers come up and help out and my sister, BIL and their two kids come up several times a year for a vacation. Its off grid with the nearest power about 1/2 mile away. We have a home built diesel generator and a forklift batter and 5000 watt power inverter for power. I usually run there days on the battery then fire up the generator for 5-6 hrs to charge the battery back up and hope to have two small windgenerators up next year. We have a 26' travel with a 12x20 bunk house hooked to it to stay in.

   Now to the plots. Finally got past gotta get this and that done just to stay up there. And got my first plots in. I plowed up 2.5 acres at my cousins just over 1/4 mile from the trailer. And about a acre where my Dad hunts 1/2 mile from the trailer. Starting in may I started clearing the brush and small trees from a acre across from the trailer.

  Here's what the new field looked like April 5th before I started working on it. The area I cleared is to the right of the loader.







   I cleared half of it burnt it then cleared the other half. The property was all woods when we got it and I had to make all my clearings roads and trails (I am still working on the trails) I have a fire hose pump and fire hose. And pushed out a little pond for a fire reservoir. So if I had the fire get away I could put it out. I also have a 500 gal tank on a wagon that I can pull around if I need it. 

Here's my first brush pile.






Dad and I infront of the little fire






A lot of people use a rake to stir up there fire I use a JD 450g dozer






My field grew the best where I burnt and spread the ashes. It was also noticeably taller under the trees I left. Charcoal is very good to put in the ground. Benefits of charcoal (biochar) 





> Reduces nutrient leeching from soils by binding nutrients.Improves soil health by providing surfaces for beneficial bacteria and fungi to live on.


And here it is July 31st just after I got done seeding it.











It was pretty rocky and there was some sand there. I had to plow it with the dozer and dig up a bunch of boulders and push them away. And even after two days of picking rock and half day of using a rock rake there are a lot of stones left. 






There was a sharp sand and running it over with the tractor compacted it badly. And there were roots and rocks sticking up everywhere and I did not expect it to grow. 

Billy


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## Cowboy Billy (Dec 17, 2010)

8-18 when I made it up next it was up 4-5 inches and I was shocked. It turned out to be the best of the three fields I planted. I didn't even put any fertilizer on any of the fields until it was 8" high then I only put 150 lbs of 19-19-19 on it. Latter the **** plants showed it was potassium deficient.












10-2 it was really up. You can't see the brassicas in there but there was a lot but the deer were really knocking them down. For some reason the deer barley touched the oats WW and rye. As of nov 30 it was headed out and turning brown and they still weren't touching it. I have no idea why. I was going to mow some strips through it so some of it would stay green but my friends talked me out of it now I wish I would have.











I planted a brassica mix I got from the co-op. Along with trapper peas, winter wheat, rye and oats. Even though I didn't know to use it I used my crows foot cultipacker first spread my seed, drug a bedspring over and ran the cultipacker back over it.

Now to Dad's spot. He hunts on the lowest level in a small one acre field in the middle of our property's. It is just to the east of some natural springs and to the north of him are cedar swamps. We haven't seen any big bucks up there for 15 years. My uncle bought his property in 1965 and its about 10 miles from our original homestead. For the first 15-20 years they were getting 8pt's and seeing some bigger. But as the years went by they keep getting smaller. When my uncle bought there had been recent logging behind our property. And my feeling is that there was just less feed and lesser quality feed since the woods have thickened and grown up. My uncles think I am wrong and that their are as many as before but we just don't see them. I feel my food plots will prove my point and we will see bigger bucks. But time will tell. 

We have also had a lot of problems with wolves the last 7 years. Last year we had a doe and two fawns. Christmas the wolves killed the doe 200 feet from our trailer just before we came up then came back our first nite there and finished eating what they left the nite before. Then they killed a deer behind our pole barn and one on a trail half way between the trailer and where Dad hunts. And those are just the ones I found.

When I plowed Dad's up it was almost all heavy red clay with maybe 1 1/2 inch of topsoil. I did put 350 lbs of lime on it. And the same seed mix I used in the other two. I feel the lime really helped while the other field took off better. This one caught up and the planting looked healthier even though it was grazed a lot heavier. With 6-10 deer a day there where as the other field. Had mostly the two that were fawns last year and there mom was killed by wolves Christmas and another doe and fawn that would show up time to time. It was great watching the yearlings  in the plot across from the trailer they were in there eating 2-3 times a day happily eating. We would be in front of the trailer with a bonfire and radio playing and they would be 150 feet away just eating and were so used to us I could drive the fourwheeler 40' from them and they would just watch me. The twins ended up being a doe and three inch spike. 

Here's Dad's spot. I plowed disk and rototilled with a 265 massy and used my 1957 farmall 130 the 14' brillon crows foot cultipacker. Its a nice unit as it has two hitches one you pull with for working it. The other for when you drop the wheels and transport it from the side. Which is a good thing as it would not fit down my  trails otherwise.






I do need to get some drag harrows to help level out the field. But I was able to use the blade on the 130 to help level the field it has down pressure on the blade and that really helped.







July 30th its in.






August 18th its up and growing good.






Billy


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## Uper (Dec 17, 2010)

Looks like a lot of work and fun Billy.  What did you seed it with?  Did you do any soil testing?  pH?

Okay, I got your second post while I was writing up my first.  **** seed is a good idea.  Real nice looking property.  Love the outcropping rock.


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## Cowboy Billy (Dec 17, 2010)

You can see the water tank on the hay wagon behind the utv. That I have for fire suppression if I need it. When I burnt the brush pile in that field it wasn't opened up to the springs yet so I hauled water in.






Oct 3rd it looks even better






Its hard to tell but you can kinda see how the trail drops 30' down into the field Dad hunts in.






And this is one of the four rock ledges.






Aug 28th I opened Dad's field up to the springs but it rained 3" while I was doing it and I made a muddy mess and the seed got burried too deep and didn't do well.






Dad had four mini strokes nov 1st 1008 and hadn't hunted the two years before from being sick (colds/flu) 2009 he hunted and did not see anything worth taking. This year at 77 he got his 33 buck a nice sized 6" spike.


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## Cowboy Billy (Dec 17, 2010)

Thanks Uper

   For me work is fun. I seeded it with electric cyclone broadcast spreader on my fourwheeler. But for some reason it was spinning too fast and throwing seed 30' off each side of the fourwheeler. We are planing on getting one of those small plot seed drills for the tractor. My cousin said get it in now or it will be too late. So I put it in without testing the soil. One of the farmers near by has his own test rig and we are going to have him test the soil this spring. 

Billy


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## loon (Dec 17, 2010)

WOW Cowboy that looks great   

i plant a little 1/4 acre plot out back and i do have cheap labour  ;-P 












and good for your dad in the hunt eh   

loon


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## Cowboy Billy (Dec 17, 2010)

Cool Loon!

  Do you think you can teach my horse to drive my tractor? I don't hunt but I have Dad setup. I hooked up a wood stove for him. One evening I went to pick him up and he was in his shorts and all the windows open. My cousin said it better because the wood smoke is natural and the stove draws the human sent through it and burns it up.

Billy


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## loon (Dec 17, 2010)

Cowboy Billy said:
			
		

> I have Dad setup. I hooked up a wood stove for him. One evening I went to pick him up and he was in his shorts and all the windows open. Billy



bet that woulda been a funny picture!!  :cheese:


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## davmor (Dec 17, 2010)

Nice pictures nothing in the world like the U.P. of Michigan. I am in awe what you have there. Dave.


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## smokinj (Dec 17, 2010)

Awesome as Always!


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## Jags (Dec 17, 2010)

Billy - your having too much fun to call it work.  Looks like a beautiful place you guys have there.


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## thewoodlands (Dec 18, 2010)

Billy it looks great, we have a small area by the brook we would like to do something like that so maybe next year.


zap


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## Cowboy Billy (Dec 18, 2010)

Thanks Guy's

  I have learned a lot in the last few days. Didn't know the difference between a forge plot and hunting plot. That there are cool and warm season foods to plant and what plants to plant for the best year round feed.


  Here's a great site for learning what the deer need and when they need it.

http://www.whitetailstewards.com/articlesonsite/mainarticlepages/deerhabitatmanagementarticles.htm

   Information on brassicas planting and crop rotation and year round nutrition.

http://www.outreachoutdoors.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=566


   Different grasses and their benefits.

http://www.qdma.com/forums/showthread.php?t=25851


I had a great time plowing planting and watching the fields grow and what gets eaten. And it really made me feel good watching a deer eating lift its head and seeing green stuff sticking out both sides of its mouth!

Ya can just barley see one deer in this picture.






My niece Lauren in "her cave" at the farm







Billy


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## loon (Dec 18, 2010)

the payoff is nice eh billy   

i bet you and your dad would have fun with one of these..

i just picked this kind up for $100..






but like the plot, they are endless in the kind you can get  ;-P 

loon


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## Cowboy Billy (Dec 18, 2010)

Sure is Loon

I was looking for reviews on trail cameras when I came across the links for making food plots. I'm not sure if I am going to go with a trail cam or a plot cam. I am kinda liking the plot cam. 

Billy


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## SolarAndWood (Dec 18, 2010)

Looks great Billy.  Your meadows blend nicely with the forest.


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## loon (Dec 18, 2010)

i hooked up this and had fun with it but then my wife was getting a little ticked as i kept changing the tv channel to the camera  :cheese: 

could also tape with it but havent got back to putting it up again?  i imagine they have cordless now for a decent $ but this one i had to run about 250ft of wire..


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## Backwoods Savage (Dec 18, 2010)

Billy, just a little hint here. I think you planted your oats/rye way too early. For sure when it heads out, you know you planted too early. I have planted as early as Aug. 10 but usually planted at the end of the month or at least by Labor Day and the stuff is younger, more tender and the deer love it. This works great through October. It still will be good here in early November but up there might be done around Nov. 1.

So what to do with the ground before you plant the oats/rye? Simple. Your ground up there is poor ground for farming. So, plant buckwheat. It will help the ground. However, wait until the frosts are done for the spring and I know it can be late there. I usually plant buckwheat around June 10 or thereabouts. It grows fast (if you can keep the turkeys from digging up the seed) as it matures in about 6 weeks.

Regardless of the date the buckwheat is planted, I usually work the ground in early August and I like to wait then 2 weeks, work it again and plant it to the oat/rye mix and I use a 50/50 mix.


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## Cowboy Billy (Dec 19, 2010)

Thanks S&W

Loon we aren't inside much and can see anything near by. Any where I would want a camera would be a long ways away. But its great it works for you.

Outside






Inside







Not a whole lot of room in there. But I don't want to make it too comfortable or I won't get anything done!

Thanks Dennis

  On my uncle's 1/2 mile away they were eating the oats/wheat/rye as it came up so it never got tall or went to seed. I was going to mow the seed heads off but my friend said not to as they would eat the seed off or the stems. I found out that rye is an nitrogen fixer and will be using it a lot.


> A rye cover crop and manure applications are mutually beneficial. Manure nutrients aid in decomposition of the rye, offsetting any potential yield drag, and rye captures and recycles the manure nutrients effectively to the future corn crop, reducing commercial fertilizer needs.
> 
> Rye is one of the best scavengers of nitrogen and reduces leaching losses on both sandy soils and tile-drained land. The fast growing, fibrous root system can capture 25 to 100 pounds of soil nitrogen per acre.
> 
> ...



Billy


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## loon (Dec 19, 2010)

Beauty spot for sure billy   

terry


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