planted the plot
05-13-2015, 08:04 PM
#1
Nontypical Buck
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: WI
Posts: 1,089
planted the plot
Got it worked up, limed & planted with White Dutch Clover in the main part, then off to the side i have 3 area's with Rutabaga in one and Beets and rape in the other 2. My Grandpa and Pa used to work up virgin ground in the woods every spring to plant rutabaggys for our consumption, the deer would go crazy for it. I'm hoping they leave me a few meals of baggys.
05-14-2015, 08:12 AM
#2
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location:
Posts: 2,186
Where I hunt, planting crops such as rape or kale or turnips (I suspect rutabeggas as well) this time of year is a waste. These will not do well in the heat and drought of our typical summer. It is altready hitting 90+ and has been bone dry for aobut 3 weeks.
Certain perennial clovers do good year round. In fact there are about 12 acres of three different varieties of perennial clover going great now in our food plots.
Come fall, turnips go into the mix of what we plant. Once the frost hits the turnips and the roots start to sweeten up, deer bomb them. Never tried rutabeggas or beets. We just finished planting about 15 more acres in summer stuff .... mostly sunn hemp. Some Quail Haven, some Chufas and some red hemp. Got about 1 acre left to do. We are trying Tiosente' there. Just as an experiment to see how it does.
Certain perennial clovers do good year round. In fact there are about 12 acres of three different varieties of perennial clover going great now in our food plots.
Come fall, turnips go into the mix of what we plant. Once the frost hits the turnips and the roots start to sweeten up, deer bomb them. Never tried rutabeggas or beets. We just finished planting about 15 more acres in summer stuff .... mostly sunn hemp. Some Quail Haven, some Chufas and some red hemp. Got about 1 acre left to do. We are trying Tiosente' there. Just as an experiment to see how it does.
05-14-2015, 05:27 PM
#3
Nontypical Buck
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: WI
Posts: 1,089
Sounds like you have some nice food plots, with a good variety Mojotex, are you located in Texas? We had a high of 46 the day b-4 last and the low was 28. This is about the right time for planting hardy plants in this area. Rutabaga has a lot longer growing season then Turnips, they're a cross of a turnip & cabbage i believe. I plant rape every year as seeds are cheap and once the deer tasted it they love it. Anyway my plot is pretty small but i love planting it and helping a neighbor with his, good times.
05-18-2015, 08:27 AM
#5
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location:
Posts: 2,186
gjersey .... I am in Alabama. Where I hunt is a piece of privatley owned land located in the SE part of the state that 15 of us lease from the owner. We have just over 3000 acres on which we can hunt. Most of it is in planted pines, the oldest tract being about 30 years old. Most of the pines are aobut 15-20 years old. There are some very nice, long and rather wide SMZ along the creek beds that are loaded with oaks of several varieties. Chief among these are Chestnut, White, Water and Chestnut oaks.
Thinning of the pines started in earnest this past fall with about 1000 being thinned for chip. The loggers just moved out. Interrupted both our fall/winter deer season and the spring turkey season as well. We had a fine deer season but turkey season was the worst in 15 years. We are hoping the logging gear being in some of the traditional prime areas had a lot to do with tha lack of birds being found.
The areas thinned last fall are now loaded with browse. What little bit of scouting I have done in the thinned area indicates the deer are hitting this fresh stuff.
Unfortunately a tornado (samll thankfully) touched down on the property a few weeks ago. Dead nutted a stretch of one of the SMZ's and dropped countless oaks. Cut a swath about 100 yards wide and probably about 1000 yards long. Timber manager is hoping to get these hardwoods salvaged. I am not certain that anyone is willing to move in and try to haul out this tangled up mess. Took out no telling how many fine acorn bearing white oaks. Left a bunch ... so after all settels down it may work out OK. But right now it is a mess in there.
Thinning of the pines started in earnest this past fall with about 1000 being thinned for chip. The loggers just moved out. Interrupted both our fall/winter deer season and the spring turkey season as well. We had a fine deer season but turkey season was the worst in 15 years. We are hoping the logging gear being in some of the traditional prime areas had a lot to do with tha lack of birds being found.
The areas thinned last fall are now loaded with browse. What little bit of scouting I have done in the thinned area indicates the deer are hitting this fresh stuff.
Unfortunately a tornado (samll thankfully) touched down on the property a few weeks ago. Dead nutted a stretch of one of the SMZ's and dropped countless oaks. Cut a swath about 100 yards wide and probably about 1000 yards long. Timber manager is hoping to get these hardwoods salvaged. I am not certain that anyone is willing to move in and try to haul out this tangled up mess. Took out no telling how many fine acorn bearing white oaks. Left a bunch ... so after all settels down it may work out OK. But right now it is a mess in there.
