I am new to the business of food plots, but as a new member of a three generation family hunting club, On Lake Ozonia in Upstate New York, myself and some of the other "younger" members have decided to try bringing it into the 21st century. As many of you may know, the deer population in the northern Adirondacks has never been lavish, in recent years it has diminished greatly. The agriculture present and past in the Saint Lawrence river valley nearby has created a much more hospitable habitat and it seems that is where the greater concentrations are. That being said, we want to foster and improve what herd is present. Along these lines, we are thinking food plots. On our property is an old logging landing that is open and could be cleared, tilled and planted. It's size is roughly an acre. It is on a slight west facing slope at about 1500 feet elevation surrounded by mature hardwoods. The soil has not been tested yet (we will in the spring). The Hardiness Zone is 2a. Would you plot experts recommend trying this and if so, what type of plants would you use? heavy equipment is not available, so a rotor-tiller, and muscle power will be employed. I am open to any and all suggestions.

Welcome.

An acre is a pretty good size parcel when doing it by hand alone. If it was square, you are looking at about 70yds x 70yds. Generally, planting log roads alone does not do much except offer snacks - limited sunlight limits forage growth - hopefully the landing area is more open.

You need to do the soil test, it will give you a place to start. You are likely going to find it Acidic (low Ph) and very low in organic tilth - It could be high in nutrients however.

For a first time plot - I always reccomend a Fall planted (August in the North) Rye, or winter wheat plot - with alot of lime. You will have a great fall plot - and it is VERY forgiving on first time planters.

The soil Ph will not have to be perfect, you will get good organic buildup Early next summer (Rye roots especially) - At that time you can till it under again (or spray & mow) Then you can plant a clover - which will offer more forage all year and higher protein levels.

Rarely would I reccomend clover for a first time - woodland plot.

Good luck.

farm hunter,
Thanks for the welcome, and your thoughts. Your idea of a fall plot interests me, as the landing has a growth of underbrush that will take a number of weekends to clear away. The landing is roughly oval in shape, and seems to get a pretty good dose of sun daily. For some reason the long gone loggers, left a small stand of trees right near the center that creates a little island. Talk about good ambush point! I can't wait for spring! Though the black flies up there probably can't wait for me to arive either.

First things first... You need to measure the area so we know how to calculate for lime and fertilizer, if they are needed.
Next you must do soil samples, without them you are working in the dark.
Now you may start spraying with a non lingering broad spectrum herbicide. If the weeds/grasses are higher than 12 inches you will want to mow the area to a height of about 3-6 inches. This will allow the herbicide to penetrate the canopy and reach lower growth. After the time for the herbicide is past, about 10 days to 2 weeks go bak and inspect for new growth. If there is any green you will want to re spray.
Next, if possible/legal, you will want to do a burn off. You will want to check local fire marshall/governing agencies for directions. This burn off will do away with needless growth and return some phosphrous to the soil.
By this time you soil samples should be back and you will have the needed info to further ready your soil for proper planting practices.
Just don't be in a hurry to fail... I tmay take time to get the soil ready to plant and you may have limitations as to what may be successfully planted.... Stay in touch and you will be exposed to much free and good info on this site.

Dependant upon the amount of land you have at your club there may also be many other options beyond food plots in order to increase the amount of deer present on your land. You might also want to consider doing some selective, browse and clear cuts (dependant on who owns the land) to foster growth of forbes and native weed species. A one acre plot is great but will only produce about 10 tons of food anually (supporting about 10 deer) Whatsmore, you could add to that 10 tons by offering more tonage in browse as roughly 60% or a deers diet is browse. Are there any mast bearing trees in your area? (ie oak apple, pear, etc) I know there are areas in the ADK region where oaks are few and far between which makes things pretty hard as well. But if you were to fertalize and or prune the forenamed trees they will also provide some additional food sources too. Hope this helps a little. Good luck. TGK

Thanks for the replies folks. I will do a soil test before we begin. The work required to prep the area, is one reason why the fall plot for our first try intrigued me. I reckon it may take several weeks to get down to bare soil, or at least clear enough to mow/herbicide. My brother and I will be going up as soon as the snow leaves, and the ground thaws to collect a soil sample. As you asked we will conduct some more specific measurements of the area's size. A burn off would likely be a bad idea due to it's remote location, besides the fact is is probably illegal. Funny you mentioned browse cutting, that was what my brother and I were just talking about. We will be doing some of this over the summer. There are some oaks, but there are no fruit trees. Is there fertilizer for oaks? We did talk one time about planting some apple trees. We wondered how well they would do if we clear cut a little patch, and planted a few trees. Could we keep the deer off them long enough for them to grow?

By the sound of it th area you are planning to plant has a good amount of cover and browse in it. Maybe it might be better to keep it the way it is and find another spot for your food plot. ( I am just guessing though) As some words of encouragment... sometimes it seems like it is going to be a lot harder to clear than it really is. A lot can be said for a "weed eater" and a chain saw!

You can use fertalizer to encourage your oaks but I am not sure what number... I supose there are better folks to answer that question. However, at least you have some oaks.. that's a step in the right direction. If there are many competing trees or damaged trees around that compete for nutrients you may want to "harvest" some of them. Oaks produce a lot of food so you really want to keep them healthy and around. When fertalizing be sure to fertalize around the "drip line"

As far as fruit trees are concerned. I am pretty sure apple trees are rather tolorant of a myriad of soils. You can keep the deer away from them by using chicken wire or any other type of fencing to make a type of boundry til the are more mature. I would also try to take a look for some wild trees and trim any space around them for 20 or more yards on each side. There are things called apple sticks or something like that which you can use to fertalize apple trees too.

Good luck with whatever you do. It's really fun to do habitat improvements especailly when you get to watch a food plot or tree grow. It's a very gratifying experience, I only wish I had more time and land to do it. TGK