Big weekend.....the start to the Deer Meca

[Big E]

Gonna be doing some clover frost seeding this weekend on some plots that are getting old and over grown. I'm also turning my main plot into clover this yr to produce nitrogen and so I don't get the brassica disease which takes 10yrs to leave the soil. I'm hoping to find some sheds on this plot too. I had turnips the size of basketballs in there last yr and deer were still eating them as of last week.
 If we're able to burn our low swampy field we will this weekend and it will be the last time we do that. (kinda stinks cuz it's fun) We're turning it into a deer sanctuary. We're planting spruce, pine, seedless cottonwood, willow and dogwood in it. Also putting in a food plot in there as well.
 I'll be taking pics and video of the process over the yr to show everyone how fun and actually how simple it can be.

[HUNTER2]

I've never heard of a brassica disease. I am triing some rye grain in a couple plots this year and maybe try a mix of clover and alfalfa in my big plot that got over run by foxtail last year. Might have one plot with the brasicas also.

[boogityn]

  If you plan on doing any late season bow hunting, plant turnips. they don't become sweet until after the 3rd hard freeze, and the deer go mental for them.  Just trust me. My location is west central mn.

[Big E]

I've never heard of a brassica disease.

Planting Brassicas in the same plot yr after yr can result in a few diseases, pests and bacterias that can stay in your soil for up to 10 yrs. I've never had this happen but better safe than sorry. Decaying leaves and turnips help the soil a lot but also up the chances of getting these diseases. 3 yrs should be the max that you would want to plant brassicas in one plot. Rotating crops such as clover in these plots not only prevents this but it also puts Nitrogen back into the soil which brassicas need. Also puts organic matter back into the soil helping poor sandy soils hold moisture along with holding fertilizers and lime that you spread on your plots. It saves you time, money and headaches.

[HUNTER2]

Does everybody just use bag fertilizer from like Maynards and lime from Runnings? Or do you get it from somewhere else?

[Big E]

I buy all mine from feed stores/co-ops. It's cheaper there most of the time. Always shop your lime. It can vary in price from place to place.

[HUNTER2]

Do you bring in a soil sample to see what you need or do you just guess?

[Big E]

Soil tests most of the time. I always add lime if I haven't done a soil test. About 400lbs of pelatized lime an acre. Then depending on what I plant I put on triple 19 ferilizer.

[HUNTER2]

Thats a lot of lime. Do you use a spreader on a 4 wheeler?

[Big E]

I've used my bare hands more times than I care to remember but now we rent a spreader for the wheeler. Our ph is normally around 5.5 in the spots we haven't worked up. Yes it is a lot of lime but it's what has worked for us.

[Big E]

Well we were able to burn the low swampy area and get 250 white pines in the ground this weekend. We'll be planting another 250 this weekend in here. The deer do not use this area at all because of the driveway and road. At night they just walk up the driveway. So to get them using this and to turn it into a bedding sanctuary we are planting trees in there. I put some dogwood cuttings in there and ordered a few hybrid willow.
 It's a start but the hybrids will make a screen this yr and next yr I'll take a lot of cuttings off of them and plant them. So by next fall this will be completely screened off from the road.

[Big E]

Well it's coming around nicely. Deer never use this area so instead of letting it just sit there we're turning into a sanctuary. The Red Osier cuttings I planted are starting to grow. Here is some that I planted.

I started a few in the house this yr just to give them a head start.

The Norway Spruce we planted around the edge of the yard are putting on some serious growth for being planted on Easter this yr. We want them as a visual screen and a noise barrier from the house and yard so the deer feel more comfortable out there.

Here's a view from the yard. You can see where the food plot is going in.

The trail leading to the plot.

Just the one end of the plot. It's about 3 acres or more. We planted sugar beets in here after we sprayed it one last time this past weekend. We also spread a lot of Urea on here too.