H80Hunter

Alright everyone,

So, I realize there are no "easy" solutions, but here's the situation I'm in. My hunting property (grandparents land) is pretty solid deer hunting. Its 80 acres, 35 are planted in corn/soybeans and the rest is wooded to some degree. Only one smallish patch is a grass field and thats maybe 2 acres?

So there's really no "easy" spot to plant a food plot, and the grass area is almost entirely surrounded by corn and alfalfa so it seems pointless to work that into a food plot with the equiptment we have. Basically just a small tractor, rototiller, lawnmower and chainsaw.

So I've sort of ruled out foodplots. I've considered trying to establish some switchgrass for cover, but even that seems like it more work than any value it would add to the hunting.

Any other suggestions? Maintenance is an issue since I can't be up every weekend over the summer.

Anything that can be grown "no-till" style that will actually add anything? Even a switchgrass type grass that can catch on easily? In theory, I'd like to mow down an area and plant it in something easy.

ANy thoughts or easy habitat improvement type things you can do?

habitat

Maybe opening up the existing cover to provide more browse,hinge cutting will provide more cover and browse.What kind of trees and plants do you have

H80Hunter

It's mostly Oak and pines. There's a ridge with some medium height thick stuff thats a mixture of scrub oak and something else I'm not sure what it is where the deer bed. There's some open hardwoods with little underbrush in sections, as well as a few acres of open jack pines with little cover underneath. The main area the deer seem to travel through it your typical oak woods with modest underbrush as the deer travel through the property.

GTOHunter

I would take a small disc behind a tractor or even a 4-wheeler with an ATV disc and break up the soil along the field edges and even some logging roads and plant some white clover to help draw the Deer in.Some times its best to mow the grass down then lightly disc the area for clover,its better to plow up a nice area then disc but as mentioned your limited on where to do that.If you could find a nice tight corner where You could plow and disc up a small food plot and plant some brassicas,rape and say turnips and/or sugar beets that would help a lot too or even disc up a corner and put out some Thro & Grow to get a little Honey Hole started.

I have planted clover down the small roads and field edges we have on our Farm where we keep mowed,for the past several years I would go out in the early Spring in late Feb or early march and frost-seed clover just by throwing it out by hand while walking,now I have red and white clover started all along those area's and I can set up a climbing stand or ladder stand and have good open shooting lanes during Bow or Rifle Season.