LCH's Property - Design and Hunting Strategy
Aug 5, 2022 20:55:15 GMT -5
Woody Williams, robwalker, and 5 more like this
Post by lawrencecountyhunter on Aug 5, 2022 20:55:15 GMT -5
We've had our new place for two years now.
This is the first year I'll be making a legitimate attempt at the food plot, as I didn't get it cleared until late last August and just threw some rye down. The rye did OK, but wasn't really a major draw. This year I have soil test results and a full growing season to try and make things happen. I applied about 3300 pounds of lime in the spring, and have fertilizer recommendations for my chosen fall plantings. I currently have some buckwheat in the plot that is doing OK in some spots, pretty poorly in others, I think due to the late June / early July drought period we had. Hopefully around the middle of this month we get some good moisture, and I'm going to broadcast perennial clover from Whitetail Institute into the standing buckwheat. I'm also going to broadcast a brassica mix from the same company to act as a nurse crop, and hopefully provide forage for this fall while the clover is just getting started. Then I'll roll down the buckwheat with my cultipacker and spray with glyphosate. In September, I'll try to fill in any bare spots with rye.
Two of my water holes are plastic stock tanks, and the third is an ornamental pond like you'd have in a flower garden. I've put each one below ground level. I only had two of the three out last year, and they did get used a little bit, but I'm hoping more deer find them this year.
I've tried to place my stands around the edges of my property, where I can access easily off of the roads and not leave much ground scent on my land. Most of the stands are in pretty safe locations, and I'm trying to improve access to a few this year by cutting in narrow, screened off trails where I don't have a road to use to get close.
Most of the cover is already quite thick, but there are a few areas towards the south end of the property where it's pretty open at ground level. I plan to open up the canopy in those spots to let more sun to the ground and improve some areas for browse and bedding.
This is the first year I'll be making a legitimate attempt at the food plot, as I didn't get it cleared until late last August and just threw some rye down. The rye did OK, but wasn't really a major draw. This year I have soil test results and a full growing season to try and make things happen. I applied about 3300 pounds of lime in the spring, and have fertilizer recommendations for my chosen fall plantings. I currently have some buckwheat in the plot that is doing OK in some spots, pretty poorly in others, I think due to the late June / early July drought period we had. Hopefully around the middle of this month we get some good moisture, and I'm going to broadcast perennial clover from Whitetail Institute into the standing buckwheat. I'm also going to broadcast a brassica mix from the same company to act as a nurse crop, and hopefully provide forage for this fall while the clover is just getting started. Then I'll roll down the buckwheat with my cultipacker and spray with glyphosate. In September, I'll try to fill in any bare spots with rye.
Two of my water holes are plastic stock tanks, and the third is an ornamental pond like you'd have in a flower garden. I've put each one below ground level. I only had two of the three out last year, and they did get used a little bit, but I'm hoping more deer find them this year.
I've tried to place my stands around the edges of my property, where I can access easily off of the roads and not leave much ground scent on my land. Most of the stands are in pretty safe locations, and I'm trying to improve access to a few this year by cutting in narrow, screened off trails where I don't have a road to use to get close.
Most of the cover is already quite thick, but there are a few areas towards the south end of the property where it's pretty open at ground level. I plan to open up the canopy in those spots to let more sun to the ground and improve some areas for browse and bedding.
