2009 Plot

[NYBuckhunter]

I am starting to get ready to work on my plot for this year, I sent the soil sample to BioLogic today. My plot grew pretty good last year with minimal prep, so this year I am going to lime it and fertilize, so hopefully it will be even better than it was last year. I am going to plant a mix of peas and clover for the spring/summer and then till it under mid to late summer and put in Brassicas and clover for the fall/winter. I am going to use the Whitetail Institute Winter Greens, as Ive heard good things about it up here. I am also going to do some major work in the apple trees to get rid of dead wood and thin things out to let more light get down to the plot. It should help with apple production this year as well. Also, I have gone through and planted a bunch of crab apple trees in the hedgerows and have ordered 10 Bur-English Oaks to fill some open space in the hedgerows as well. Supposedly, this variety of oaks starts producing acorns in 7ish years, but we will see. If all goes well, within 10 years this area should be a smorgasbord for deer with plenty of variety. There should be something there for them through the entire season as well.

[Bowhunters]

Sounds outstanding.

Just something to consider if you have access to a bush hog or sickle hay mower is to plant a split plot of peas and clover and the other half in the Winter Greens Brassica blend in the spring.

About mid - late june mow the plant tops with the bush hog or mower and the regrowth will be more tender and the deer, turkeys, etc. will really like that and it doesn't hurt them to be mowed as long as you don't go too low to the ground.

Less time in the field and you'll use less fuel as you'll only have to till the ground once and plant in the spring and then a quick mow job later in mid to late june.

Just a thought really, what you have planned sounds very nice.

[NYBuckhunter]

My plot is just a little honey hole plot that I am using to learn with as well as help to pull deer closer to my stand. It only takes an hour or two with the garden tiller to do, so Im not that worried about it. The brassicas and clover in the mix I used last year worked good and the deer tore them up, so I want them there for the season this year. The peas are an experiment.

[Bowhunters]

Ahhh cool, it sounds great.

[NYBuckhunter]

I got my soil sample back from BioLogic today, and it was better than I expected. No lime needed, just a little fertilizer, 2.7lbs of 34-0-0 per 1000 sqft. Time to buy fertilizer and get to tillin!

[NYBuckhunter]

I forgot to let you guys know that I tilled the plot up a couple of weeks ago and fertilized it. I also planted it with Tecomate Deer Peas mix last weekend. I am going to swing by and check it tonight to see if I have anything sprouting up yet. I was hoping for some rain this week, but no such luck. The ground was soaked when I planted though, so hopefully that will be enough to get it going. Once I start seeing growth, I am putting the trail cam back up on its post to see what, if anything comes through. I have seen bucks with pretty good starts on antlers in the last few weeks around here. Also been seeing alot of fawns.

[Bowhunters]

Cool.

[NYBuckhunter]

After talking to a few guys about the plot, they suggested that I cordon it off for a while to give it time to get started , so I stopped at the hardware store today and picked up string, fiberglass posts and then went to the dollar store and got a couple of packs of Irish Spring Bar soap. I went to the plot, put up the posts about every 15 feet and tied the string to each post. I then cut the soap in halves, stabbed a hole through it and tied it to the strings in between each of the posts. There are a ton of sprouts in the plot and a bunch of deer tracks, so hopefully the soap will keep them out for a while and the plot can get a good start without the deer eating it up too soon. I figure 4 weeks should give it a good start.

[Bowhunters]

I've never heard of anyone using bar soap, does it work really well compaired to the plot repellants?

[NYBuckhunter]

I dunno, guess Ill find out though.

[NYBuckhunter]

Oh, and the bar soap worked great, problem was, once I took it down, it took 3 good soaking rains before the soap went away enough for them to start coming back, so next time Ill take it down sooner.

[DouglasSpear]

I've never heard of the soap thing either, I will have to try that next time I make a plot.

[Tenpoint]

Hey NY,

So what did you learn from your food plot last year. Will you be making it bigger or changing the seed mix?

Tenpoint