Project 2012: Trees+chainsaws= food plots!

[Bocefus78]

I'm in the begining stages of putting in some food plots for whitetails and turkey. In the process, I'll be taking down a bunch of wood. Here you can see the right of way I cleared. This was approx. 200' x 20' or a tenth of an acre. Its getting planted in red and white clover along with some **** and turnips. This is only half the right of way. The other half will be done this weekend and both will be planted.

The 4th pic is currently where the camper sits. I dont have any after pics of this area. Here I took out a small ironwood, a white oak, a sycamore, and a bunch of other scraggly ones I didnt ID. This is getting white clover only.

I'm also putting another 1/4 acre plot in the timber. (last pic) An old beech fell and opened up the canopy a good bit. Im gonna help it out some more. Trees on the hitlist include mostly hard (sugar) maples, a couple beech, and a walnut that screams barberchair due to its 25 degree lean.

I'm gonna have more wood that I need for a long time and hopefully grow some deer too!

 

[smokinj]

You need an areator and plug the crap out of it then plant your seed.

 

[Bocefus78]

Ive planted alot of these things for people in the past. From my experience, disturbing the soil only adds to weed competition from new seed germination....which means lots of spraying with selectives. These seeds are so small, a lil soil contact goes a long way. The turnips could use a seed bed, but Im not going for yield....just the vegetation. Very high sugar content in 'em and the deer hit it like a crack pipe in the hood! They usually dont last long enough to produce a bulb unless you have acres of 'em.

Jay, question for ya....Ive got a couple small trees that the tips of the branches are grown into those power lines and only gonna get worse. How the heck do I get em down? Am I gonna get killed (shocked) the minute I touch that tree? Or is it a rope and pull job? Were talking 8" dbh.....small crap.

 

[smokinj]

Ive planted alot of these things for people in the past. From my experience, disturbing the soil only adds to weed competition from new seed germination....which means lots of spraying with selectives. These seeds are so small, a lil soil contact goes a long way. The turnips could use a seed bed, but Im not going for yield....just the vegetation. Very high sugar content in 'em and the deer hit it like a crack pipe in the hood! They usually dont last long enough to produce a bulb unless you have acres of 'em.

Jay, question for ya....Ive got a couple small trees that the tips of the branches are grown into those power lines and only gonna get worse. How the heck do I get em down? Am I gonna get killed (shocked) the minute I touch that tree? Or is it a rope and pull job? Were talking 8" dbh.....small crap.

I would rope it. You dont have to get the rope very high on 8inch tree. Cut about half way through and pull it down (Truck or in this case by hand would probally work. Just dont touch the line. I think you know that. (Oh I have 3 deer guns now) ;-) On the leaner just take a small wedge and the cut on the sides it will help with the baber chair.

 

[JustWood]

Trefoil is probably your best bet for those conditions. Buckwheat and soybeans might also work well but sunlight may also be an issue. I use turnips on newly turned ground. The growth rate usually kills off the weeds. Turnpis won't work well in that ground as it looks like part of the road bed.
Good luck.

 

[clemsonfor]

I dont think he is talking planting the road but the shoulders maybe?

When i have planted my woods roads or small patches in the turnarounds, i mean small
they dont grow worth a darn to to lack of light. Rye grass which isnt all that desirable barely seems to grow.

 

[Bocefus78]

Road faces sw....its got good light. The timber plot is gonna be iffy.

 

[JustWood]

I dont think he is talking planting the road but the shoulders maybe?

Naawwww,,,,,,, realLEE,,,, I thought he wood till/plant his driveway and then drive around on the cleared off shoulder !! ;-P

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Do the deer hit the turnips before hard freeze? I planted some only one time and they did not hit them until late November.

That first picture looks like you need to keep the brush down a bit. That is a never ending project in the woods with lanes. Also, have you considered winter wheat in the lanes? You could plant wheat and then the following spring seed it with the clover. That usually gets great results.

 

[Bocefus78]

Do the deer hit the turnips before hard freeze? I planted some only one time and they did not hit them until late November.

That first picture looks like you need to keep the brush down a bit. That is a never ending project in the woods with lanes. Also, have you considered winter wheat in the lanes? You could plant wheat and then the following spring seed it with the clover. That usually gets great results.

Just depends on where you are. Some places, they dont touch em until the freeze. Supposedly, thats when the sugar content is highest. Everytime I have planted them, they get hammered way before. Usually planted in April, completley destroyed by August, and then replanted in early September for bow season. I've never planted them more than twice in a row. My fall planting is usually mixed w/ white clover that takes over the next year.

 

[Bocefus78]

Update: After 1 week of 70 degree temps and a quarter inch of rain, we have germination! Surprisingly, it's even growing up in the woods since the trees dont have leaves yet. This weekend, a tulip and and sycamore met their demise for being to close to the power lines. No pics of the cutting, I was in a hurry to start the post cutting festivities....aka drinking beer! It's not great wood, but it'll burn in the fire pit just fine.

I just bought this property last fall. One of the neighbors stopped by and informed me that the area i originally wanted to put my camper or cabin is prone to rising water. The other neighbors I talked to said it wasnt. To be on the safe side, I decided its going to have to go up the hill and into the timber which means more felling and If I dont hurry, I'm going to have leaves to deal with too

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Ya, it doesn't take those long to show up after being planted. Good luck with them.