What works best on logging trails?
 

I recently had some clear cutting done on some of my land and am wondering what the best bet would be to plant on the lane roads. I cut these trails once a year to keep them open. I have small food plots in other places, but want something for the deer who follow these trails.

I had my woods logged almost 1 years ago. They completed it in late August and my main objective was to reduce and hopefully eliminate erosion because of some steep slopes at either end of the logging trail. In that case, I choose rye because it is fast and the deer like it throughout the fall and on into the winter. It will be mowed as soon as it finishes seeding out this summer.

However, If I had had more time and didn't have the slope to contend with, I would have probably opted for clover with a brassica mix. Our state QDMA has a nice blend I have used before. Keep in mind that clover is more labor intensive though needing the right Ph and fertilizer to be at its best. And it is much slower to establish itself than some other choices. It would probably like a little more sun than rye as well. I was pretty aggressive in the logging so there would be sufficient sun in my case. If your trails are narrow and the surrounding canopy is pretty close to the logging trail, you might have more difficulty establshing a nice cover, but you'd probably still be successful with it for a while. And you have to keep it mowed periodically. But the benefits of clover far outweight the effort. In my other existing food plots, although deer love it through the season, they camp out next to it in late December. When the snow is covering the area, they are relentless to eat it pawing away at the patch like mad. There are probably plenty of other options people will tell you about for your consideration. I am most familiar with these option.

logging trails look great to plant on - because the soil is easily worked and weeds do not quickly take over (little in the seedbank, low sunlight conditions). Not usually the best choice for food plots that can make a difference to a deer herd - but a minor attraction, maybe a candy type plot.

Late summer planted Cereal Rye always worked best for me. Good soil erosion control - and a fall food soucre (but not tons of food) -depending on the severity of the logging - clover could be an option. Sometimes I just plant Grass to keep the logging road tree sprout free - and mow.