Don't Overlook Openings Between Pine Rows For Planting

[davidhelmly]

We plant several strips in between our pine rows like we've seen Jim Boyd post in the past, they usually aren't but about 20' wide, some are only 30-40 yards long and others are several hundred yards long but it's one of Cindy's and my favorite places to hunt. The abundance of pine needles falling in these plots eventually can be a hindrance but the filtered shade the tall pines make sure helps in our long, hot, dry summers!
I put some time lapse cameras out on some of our bigger clover plots during turkey season to see how the deer were using them, I also put one on the end of one of our clover strips in the pines. I had it set to do TL from 6:00PM - 8:00PM everyday and it would also trigger if it detected motion, I left it out for a little over a month and was shocked at the number of deer on camera in that little strip when I pulled it last Friday. There were too many pictures with deer in them to post (around 800) so I made a TL out of it but they scroll thru so quick it's really hard to tell anything about the deer.
Morale of the post, if you have some logging roads or other clearings in your mature pines it is definitely worth your effort to plant them in my opinion.

 

[XJfire75]

Killer man!

Definitely will be trying to find a few spots like that on my new place!

Did it take a ton of lime and fertilizer to get the clover established in there?

 

[davidhelmly]

Killer man!

Definitely will be trying to find a few spots like that on my new place!

Did it take a ton of lime and fertilizer to get the clover established in there?

For the first several years we didn't lime them at all, just fertilized when we planted but last year we relimed a bunch of our plots and I had all of the strips done too.

 

[Jim Boyd]

Great work David.

Just finished cutting in about an acre or maybe even 1.5 acres this weekend.

Three areas.....

35’ x 600’
40’ x 300’
20’ x 750’

I will come back with my GPS which has an acreage calculator and figure the exact acreage. Will then know how much lime to add. We can basically figure 2 tons per acre for new areas.

Got the lime and the spreader at the barn, just need more hours in the day.

These areas have thick bedding, blackberry thickets ands water oaks adjacent - and they all connect at one end. Creek is only about 200 yards from where they all adjoin.

Very hard on a disk the first year or two though.

Good luck to all!

 

[elfiii]

Morale of the post, if you have some logging roads or other clearings in your mature pines it is definitely worth your effort to plant them in my opinion.

Definitely and a great video too David.