Getting the itch

Snow is gone, sun is beating on the ground melting the frost, deer are roaming the food plots…I’m sitting here in the early morning planning my plantings and expansion for 2021. My nephews and I plan on doubling our clover fields, they were over browsed last year, and getting our brassicas in earlier so as to obtain better maturity by fall. I, myself am increasing my fruit tree grove and installing electric fencing to keep the bears out. They got all but two of my peaches last year. I’m also planting a few chestnut trees. They are small and I wonder if I’ll live to see them produce nuts, ah but the next generation should reap their rewards.
The tractor is ready with new fluids and grease, and the attachments are staged. I need to get a few ton of lime for our expanded plots, luckily we sourced a bulk supplier only 30 miles away.
But for now, it’s time to sit back and take another sip of coffee and dream of spending time in the woods.

Our new grain drill and bush hawg were delivered yesterday. The loggers cut the perimeter of the woods to be logged so they can do that this summer. We are converting 35 acres of hay into CRP be planting new food plots, grass cover and about 2000 red pine. We should have some good things going in a few years once the woods thickens up.

We have a big summer ahead of this year. started a new contract that allows us to plant food plots and three rows of trees for wind block. Its 30 acres of crp and 7 of river bottom. I’m concerned with the deer eating my trees. I have looked at ways to keep them out but not sure how well they work.
I have got my seed I’m planting sorghum and turnups. This has been in crp for the at least the last 10 years so it will be a lot of work to get things started.
I can’t wait should be a fun summer.

fishingstar wrote:

I’m concerned with the deer eating my trees.

Definitely a challenge. The first five or so years on my tree planting was a nightmare with new growth every spring. In just a week we could see full trees being eaten back to almost nothing.

Our forester put together a plan that I thought was WAY too dense of trees. Thankfully, he knew more than me. After the loss he anticipated, we have a heck of a nice area going.

The Minnesota DNR published an article in 1997 on protection for pines at https://files.dnr.state.mn.us/forestry/ecssilviculture/tipsheets/tipsheet_6.pdf

I’m doing something different this year. I’m going to try some spring triticale for a spring-planted forage crop. We’ll see how the deer like this, hopefully, I can get it planted in April. I’ve been wanting to try triticale for quite a while now, so I’ll give it a shot as a cover crop this spring and see how it goes.

I plan to keep my 3 acres of soybeans in exactly the same plot and my 2.5 acres of brassicas in the same plot as last year. Both these annual crops are planted in sections of larger plots that contain perrianals like our Mega Clover Plus and AlfalfaMAX. Normally I rotate these 2 plots, but I really like where the soybeans are so I’m going to try them in the same spot again this year.

I was REALLY impressed with both the Real World and Eagle Forage Soybeans last year, but due to an early frost, the pod-bearing Real World beans paid off big time because the deer were all over the pods from September to late October when they finally found the last one. The Real World beans were just dynamite as far as pod production last year, I counted up to 70 pods on a single plant.

If you want to read how all our crops did at the Midwest Monster home farm, I put this season-end food plot wrapup on the blog.

I hope this year is like last year as far as the weather. It was almost perfect all last year. Early spring, not too wet, not too dry, not too hot, etc.

Good luck to all the food plotters out there.

fishingstar wrote:

I’m concerned with the deer eating my trees. I have looked at ways to keep them out but not sure how well they work.

Hardest and most expensive parts of planting trees on a wildlife property is keeping the wildlife from eating them. I found some really nice apple trees on clearance sale one summer for only $12 for 6 foot tall trees. I got 6 of them. Score! However…

No way would those trees last if I just planted them. So I spent hundreds of dollars on full wire cages 6 feet tall around each tree. So much for cheap apple trees. But at least this way if they keep up their present rate of growth I should have trees big enough to take the protection down by this time next year. Then I can start the process all over again.

Grouse