Fall Food (for thought) Plot Thread2

Forest Grump

Senior Member
Fruit Tree Pruning video:

Lots of questions arise on here concerning pruning fruit trees. Bill Winke just put out a Midwest Whitetail episode where he had a guy go through & prune some neglected trees & explain as he went.

I prefer using a central leader form, whereas the video uses an open center, & with severe pruning like this you will get a flush of vegetative growth the next year that will need to be attended to. But he does a nice job of explaining the wheres & whys of what he is doing.

There was no share/embed code available, so I just copied the link:

http://www.midwestwhitetail.com/videos/fruit-plots-pruning-apple-trees-midwest-whitetail/






.
 

Canuck5

Food Plot advisor extraordinaire !
^^^^^^ Good info.!
 

Canuck5

Food Plot advisor extraordinaire !
Another interesting video

 

Triple C

Senior Member
Canuck...Hope this "sticky" thread never gets removed. Only problem with sticky's is that they don't get checked often enough...at least from me. I tend to overlook them until I think about them.

This entire thread is worth printing and binding as a future resource for all things related to deer habitat.
 

Canuck5

Food Plot advisor extraordinaire !
Thanks Triple C!
 

Canuck5

Food Plot advisor extraordinaire !
Looking at George Shu's clover thread, I think it shows another important thing that he eluded too and that the benefit it provides fawns. He leaves his bush hog and tractor in the barn and let's nature take it's course, while still feeding his herd!

http://forum.gon.com/showthread.php?t=919694

His medium red clover is yet to bloom and will max out it's nutritive value at about 50% bloom. That could be another month or more away, carrying him closer to the fall. In the meantime, he has created a lot of "structure" and "edge" on his property. (A 2 acre plot has more edge than a 1/4 acre plot)

This study tries to help explain something we probably all know about predation. https://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/pubs/ja/2017/ja_2017_kilgo_001.pdf Lots of structure gives lots of places for fawns to hide. More "edge" means more obstructed visibility for coyotes, but it also makes more non-deer food available to the coyotes and possibly takes the pressure off of their hunt for fawns. More food like blackberries ..... easier food for them.
 

Attachments

  • predation.JPG
    predation.JPG
    52.7 KB · Views: 41
  • predation1.JPG
    predation1.JPG
    34.5 KB · Views: 41
  • predation2.JPG
    predation2.JPG
    123.9 KB · Views: 41

Canuck5

Food Plot advisor extraordinaire !
 

shdw633

Senior Member
Great posts Canuck!!
 

Canuck5

Food Plot advisor extraordinaire !
Thanks! I copy and paste, well! :)
 

GeorgeShu

Senior Member
Canuck, about 2 weeks ago I got a trail cam vid of a neighborhood free ranging bulldog carrying a new fawn it had captured. This occurred on the far side of the property from the food plot in my clover thread, about 1/2 mile away. That area has no edge for hiding. It is clearcut land bordered by 20 year old pines with no edge growth between the two.

Anecdotal evidence does not prove anything but it does add credence to the proposition that edge may limit predation where as lack of edge does not help prevent predation.
 

Canuck5

Food Plot advisor extraordinaire !
Canuck, about 2 weeks ago I got a trail cam vid of a neighborhood free ranging bulldog carrying a new fawn it had captured. This occurred on the far side of the property from the food plot in my clover thread, about 1/2 mile away. That area has no edge for hiding. It is clearcut land bordered by 20 year old pines with no edge growth between the two.

Anecdotal evidence does not prove anything but it does add credence to the proposition that edge may limit predation where as lack of edge does not help prevent predation.

Sure makes sense to me, George! And you "lost" a fawn there, but may gain more fawns, where you have lots of edge. With some luck, you'll have more deer in that food plot area this year .... more deer, next year and so on and on. 50% of the fawns may be does and will produce another set of fawns the next year.
 

elfiii

Admin
Staff member
Looking at George Shu's clover thread, I think it shows another important thing that he eluded too and that the benefit it provides fawns. He leaves his bush hog and tractor in the barn and let's nature take it's course, while still feeding his herd!

http://forum.gon.com/showthread.php?t=919694

His medium red clover is yet to bloom and will max out it's nutritive value at about 50% bloom. That could be another month or more away, carrying him closer to the fall. In the meantime, he has created a lot of "structure" and "edge" on his property. (A 2 acre plot has more edge than a 1/4 acre plot)

This study tries to help explain something we probably all know about predation. https://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/pubs/ja/2017/ja_2017_kilgo_001.pdf Lots of structure gives lots of places for fawns to hide. More "edge" means more obstructed visibility for coyotes, but it also makes more non-deer food available to the coyotes and possibly takes the pressure off of their hunt for fawns. More food like blackberries ..... easier food for them.

Amen. This time of year I almost hate to mow plots mainly because it's so hot but also because I know I'm eliminating a lot of cover. My wheat is usually 5.5 feet tall and thick and it's matted down in places out in the middle where the deer have been bedding down.
 

davidhelmly

Senior Member
Hey Canuck, I’ve got a throw n mow question for you. If I were to overseed some cereal grain and brassica into some of my perennial clover plots early-mid Sep and then ran over them with a cultipacker or my big drag flipped over, do you think I would get enough seed to soil contact for decent germination? I’m going to try and not break any ground this year if I can help it.
 

Canuck5

Food Plot advisor extraordinaire !
I think you have couple of options, for your beautiful clover plots and what you want to accomplish.

Wheat or cereal rye will germinate in the back of your pickup truck, so if you just broadcast the seed, over top your clover, broadcasting it a little on the heavy side and take what you get. Brassicas might have a little more trouble germinating and growing, but you'll get enough.

The other thing you can do (I think you have a set of discs?) is run your discs 1/2"- 1" deep, through your clover and just leave some little grooves, then broadcast your cereal grain and brassica's and I think you'll be pleased with what you see. You don't have to do the entire plot, you could just do 20 foot strips through it, if you wanted. Your clover will be unharmed and come back gangbusters.

I think a cultipacker might not accomplish what you want to do and a drag might collect a lot of trash, that you'll spend time cleaning out. But you could certainly give it a try. Either way, I think you could get wheat and brassicas growing in your plots.
 

davidhelmly

Senior Member
Thanks for the input Canuck, I’m wanting one of the Woods minimal till planters in a bad way for this very reason, lightly disk, seed two sizes of seeds and cultipack all in one pass. It won’t happen this year but I’m going to try and make it happen before next!
 
Last edited:
Top