Vet Judy

Have you read about using native grasses as part of your deer food plot strategy? A friend of mine and I recently had a discussion about the use of this native grass for whitetail deer food plots. Here are some thoughts:

It makes for excellent escape and bedding cover - Native grass stands like switchgrass, or plantings with more diversity, big bluestem, indiangrass etc, are excellent ideas for land managers improving wildlife cover for deer habitat. But I would use these types of plantings as stand alone habitat improvement projects - the larger the better.

I could see where these strips of switchgrass and brush, evergreens could break up a paddock enough to create a situation where a buck would need to investigate things a bit more. I can also see it on a site where it’s a large open area where these strips would add more diversity, edge and cover. But most paddocks sites, acre or so in size - I don’t see much value to it.  Large sites, yeah I can see it, but the plantings of switch
and trees would be more of a habitat improvement plan than a “hunting” thing. 

A person could structure the strips to converge at a tree stand area, as when they do become established they will create travel lanes.  I don’t see ten or twenty foot wide strips doing it though - more like 50′ plus. 

Also, you would want to plan a tall variety of switchgrass - there are several different varieties out there.    It may take, and usually does take three years for it to establish.These warm season grasses need good sun to soil contact for the grasses to come and they grow well from late June through August.  

Some people have recommended clover with it. However, I would not plant anything with it.    clover would already be up and would shade the ground and would certainly set-back growth of your switchgrass.   

If you manage your food plots well ie mowing, spraying and tillage I don’t see the switchgrass spreading much - so that wouldn’t concern me.  I do see a place for it if you have a large food plot area.  The best place for this type of an approach would be a larger area where dedicating both food plots and additional cover interspressed together. 

Say you have a fallow field of twenty acres or so, here you would really only need about five acres of food plot - which can be a lot to manage depending upon the equipment you have.  If you created cover areas, with native grass, evergreens and shrubs and spread the paddocks out in the area it would add a lot of diversity, edge and habitat. 

Trees, shrubs do take quite awhile to estiblish, as you well know, and the switchgrass, native grass planting does come much faster and is some really nice cover.  I really don’t see a 10 foot wide strip of swithcgrass creating much cover, or something deer would really use all that much.  The thing is though - there are sites where creating a corridor of grass cover may really help “dictate” deer travel.

So I can see some value to it depending on the site - sites would have to be large enough where the site demands both both food plot and habitat improvement “cover” together.   Most food plots are small, and if they are too big to cover from one stand, you likely would want different stand locations at the food plot anyway to address varying wind directions.

Native grass - switchgrass can be an awesome habitat improvement tool - I just don’t see small narrow strips of grass really doing much.  Now, a strip of natives, say fifty feet wide or so with some evergreens planted with it…. You may have something there!

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            Be sure not to neglect the biggest nutrient requirement for you deer this fall: water.

            The availability of water is crucial both when designing and maintaining your food plot.  You always want to be careful to retain natural sources of water.  There are plenty of examples of poor wildlife habitat management where wetlands or other natural water sources were removed—at the later expense of providing natural wildlife water sources.

            Adequate access to water is especially important for whitetail deer in the fall months.  These are the months when deer are making the transition to shrubby vegetation after the fall frosts kill off the more succulent summer forage.  In dry years, some ponds that provide water for deer may also dry up, leaving them dependent on permanent streams for water.

            If you’re doing fall tillage or planting, be sure to leave access to water along natural trails and runs used by deer.  In fact, access to water should be just an important consideration in your land management scheme as access to cover.  This again illustrates the value of advance planning: it allows you to maximize the deer habitat requirements.

            If you’re in an area that has been particularly dry this year, providing supplemental water near your deer food plot may be an option that you wish to consider.  Livestock watering troughs are an easy option for providing supplemental water for the deer on your property.  Be sure that, when you are maintaining water troughs, you are filling them up at times that deer are not likely to be grazing the food plot.

 For more information on deer food plots feel free to visit our website:

 http://www.diydeerfoodplots.com/

Controlled burning is an effective wildlife habitat management tool.  It can help create the effective cover and transition between cover that your deer prefer.  It may also be a way to manage land areas adjacent to your deer food plots.  And fall is the time to prepare for controlled burns that you may use in the late winter or early spring.

First off, remember: controlled burns are not for rookies.  If or when you choose to use this form of habitat management, be sure to rely on professional advice and follow all local guidelines and restrictions on controlled burns.  Large landowners often find it useful to employ a land management specialist who is experienced in conducting large area burns.  These professionals will ensure that your land is taken care of and that the fire is properly contained.

            But no matter how large an area you’re planning to burn, fall is the time to get ready for the actual burning that may occur in the late winter or early spring.  You may choose to use a disk or other tillage implement to create firebreaks in the fall that will help contain the larger burn later on.  Be careful not to assume that your work in creating firebreaks in the fall is over when you put the tractor in the shed for the winter.  Especially near heavily wooded areas, firebreaks that you create with a disk may accumulate leaves or other flammable debris by spring.

            Also take care that your activity creating firebreaks does not disturb the feeding patterns of the deer in the habitat that you’re managing.

            Like most other aspects of deer food plot management, controlled burning takes careful planning and management.  But when the native habitat springs up after the early spring burn, creating the natural cover and forage that deer and other wildlife crave, you’ll be glad you took the time in the fall to do things right.

For more information on deer food Plots: please visit our website @ www.diydeerfoodplots.com/

corn

            corn harvest is right around the corner in most places.  corn is a common crop in many deer food plot plantings and habitat management—both as a crop planted specifically for deer, and as a row crop that is planted on farms and ranches for grain.  Take time this fall to remember a few things about managing corn stands.

            First of all, the extent that deer utilize corn grain for food is heavily influenced by the acorn crop.  If your area is experiencing a normal to heavy acorn drop, standing corn may not be as critical for a food supply later on.  The strips that you plan to leave standing around the cornfields could possibly be reduced in width.  However, if you planned to leave strips of standing corn on field edges during the winter, it’s still a good idea to leave them.  They provided valuable cover and field borders for winter deer habitat.

            Second, the state of the local corn crop can help you judge the overall deer forage situation.  Dry or cool conditions that may have hampered the heat-loving corn plant’s growth (remember, corn is a grass!) in the summer may also have affected other warm-season grasses on your property.  That’s important to keep in mind for next year’s management and planting.

            On many of our landscapes, corn is such an important crop that it has become part of the annual landscape.  Be sure that you treat it and manage it as such in your fall food plot mix.

See our article http://www.diydeerfoodplots.com/articles/8-steps-to-successful-food-plots.html  for tips on successful food plot strategies and other free resources.

Wondering what to do with fall planting annuals: visit our website and look at article: http://www.diydeerfoodplots.com/articles/annual-forages.html

1. Crops:  Some crops that deer seem to love are soybeans, clover, alfalfa, rye, corn and oats. Standing corn is used for both food and shelter. This is the category that food plot plants fall into. For more plant information please feel free to check out our free resources at www.diydeerfoodplots.com/

2. Forbs: These are herbaceous plants (other than grasses) generally seen growing out in open areas.  Deer eat these and hide in them too.

3. Shrubs: Known as bushes. The deer also eat these and use for cover.

4. Trees:

Mast-bearing hardwoods: Oak, beech, hickory, chestnut are the ones that deer prefer.

White oak group is preferred over red due to more bitter taste of the red. White group examples are post oak, white oak, chinquapin, and chestnut oak. These trees generally produce acorns every year.

Red oak examples are red oak, black oak, pin oak, willow oak, and water oak. Most of these bear mast every two years.

Beech trees seem to be inconsistent with mast production but deer do love these.

Fruit-bearing hardwoods: Apple, pears, cherry, persimmons( all time favorite), and plum trees are the most common. The deer eat the fruit and the leaves. Deer hunters love these trees, especially whenthey are ripening at hunting time. Other wild fruit loved by deer include: wild grapes, scuppermongs, muscadines, mulberries, and sumac, osage orange fruit,maypops,paw-paws and honey locust.

General Hard Woods: Maple, birch,ashes, elms, and gum trees are notable here and provide cover and food depending on conditions and area.

Soft Woods: Pine, spruce, cedar, hemlock, firs and junipers also important for food and cover pending conditions.

As part of your food plot location strategy you may consider the fruit and mast bearing trees are excellent drawing features in deer habitat.