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Corn plots are in

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Corn plots are in

Postby foxvalley » 06 05, 2015 •  [Post 1]

I have half my food plots in now,all my corn, and the second half of my plots will go in the end of july,consisting of rape,kale,forage oats,turnips,beets, and beans.Deer love variety,and getting a mouthfull of this, a mouthfull of that,an apple here,a corn cob there, not only keeps them on my farm, but pulls them in from the neighbors,especcially after all the farm crops are off.
Just got done spraying the corn with roundup,next i will top dress the plots with 60-0-0,then i am done with the corn plots.
Also,my apple orchards,of which I have 4, consisting of about 75 trees look to be on track for a bumper crop this year.
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Re: Corn plots are in

Postby GobbleFarmer » 06 05, 2015 •  [Post 2]

Are those corn plots mainly for wildlife, or are they to be harvested via combine for people, and while there the deer can eat as much as they want until harvested? Those apple trees are looking good 8-) ! Do you get a lot of apples from the tree plots, if the various wildlife doesn't eat em all :?: . clearly all of those crops are attractive to the deer, so you hunt over them, right? Or do you complain to a WDC officer and get a night hunting with lights, permit... :lol:
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Re: Corn plots are in

Postby foxvalley » 06 05, 2015 •  [Post 3]

Hey Gobble,
No, it's all for my babies(deer)I should have about 7 acres of corn for them,and I leave it all up all winter,however most of it will be eaten by them by jan.or feb. The other plots that i put in will last till jan. also with the exeption of the turnips/beets, they will dig those out all winter if the snow doesn't get to deep.
We have 5 different apple varieties,the first will get ripe in aug,and the last will get ripe in oct.,and this variety will hold lots of it's apple well into dec.and jan.,perfect for late season bow hunting! The deer will make it's way to one of the orchards on average once every day or two,and will take a bite, or an apple or two, them leave for a different treat.As long as there are apples on the tree, the deer will check for windfalls all winter long.
I am trying to save up now for a fruit press to make cider with some of the apples,and we also dehydrate lots of them.Some people spend big $$$ on golf clubs,I spend it feeding my babies...LOL. :)
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Re: Corn plots are in

Postby wawhitey » 06 07, 2015 •  [Post 4]

Man thats awesome. Food plots and orchards just seem like so much work. Ive decided to just plant the hell out of the better native browse in my area. With a bit of emphasis on ceanothus for more winter food source. I figure if i just do a bunch of native plants that the deer like best, in theory i shouldnt need to do any maintenance. Going to thin a lot of my timber and cut down a lot of the less desirable bushes to be replaced with better types. Wont have the drawing power of real food plots but should be hands off once im done
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Re: Corn plots are in

Postby archery bum » 06 07, 2015 •  [Post 5]

Man, looking good! You are a lucky man to have land of your own to be able to do that. I'm not quite that lucky but am fortunate enough to have a couple great friends that own land. They let me plant a couple of small food plots on their land. I let them feed the deer with corn,beans and hay. Then I plant the late season stuff, turnips, pumpkins, clover and this year trying some diakon radishes. Good luck on the big boy coming in this year.
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Re: Corn plots are in

Postby foxvalley » 06 07, 2015 •  [Post 6]

Thanks wawhitey and archery bum!
Wawhitey,it is a lot of work,especially the fruit trees.First they have to be caged and the trunk wrapped on the bottom, so the deer and the mice don't destroy them.Then they have to be pruned,and the limbs have to come out of the trunk at close to a 90 degree angle so they can handle all the fruit once they produce.The list goes on,and on and on......However, it is worth it as this is one of the main draws that every deer will come to.
It's good to hear that you are taking steps to enhance your erea with the native stuff,and any effort put in now will pay dividends down the road,if a guy can do just a little every year to improve the land,and give em what they like.
Same also archery bum,putting in a food plot or two,even a small one is a great draw,and all the deer seem to know about it.I have always had good luck with the radishes,turnips/tubers in general,as they seem to last longer into the season after all the forage on top is gone.I had a white radish or turnip that i planted last year,not sure which, but it looked like a carrot,and half of it stuck out of the ground,the deer sucked em down like candy. I also plant lots of buck forage oats,(not the regular oats),as they can take heavy browsing, and also last well into late fall early winter.



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Re: Corn plots are in

Postby wawhitey » 06 08, 2015 •  [Post 7]

Which state is your property in?
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Re: Corn plots are in

Postby foxvalley » 06 09, 2015 •  [Post 8]

I'm in WI, about 2 hours south of Green Bay.

Here is the average size of my turnips last year, had a bumper crop of them.


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Re: Corn plots are in

Postby GobbleFarmer » 06 11, 2015 •  [Post 9]

Hey, Foxvalley, or anyone else just chime in, could anyone recommend a deer food plot for here in NC. I have a good family friend that's asking me, yea me, what to plant??? He really just wants it for an attractant, but the healthier for the deer, the better! He said that he is willing to plant anything, except cotton, so whatever can attract the deer during the season is A-OK. Here with archery, muzzleloader and rifle, the seasons stretch from: mid September to January 1st, he is looking mainly mid November to Jan 1st (rifle season). He is eager to start planting something, so what can be planted sometime this month and yield deer food in the early season, mid, Sept to Nov 1st. And some time between now and then plant something extra to be ready for the late season? I have heard nothing but good about EagleSeeds line of products. Should I/he be looking at their soybeans, wheat or oats :?: just thow whatever ya think might work at me and I will look into it. :!: I am stuck here guys, help me out, please. :D
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Re: Corn plots are in

Postby foxvalley » 06 12, 2015 •  [Post 10]

Most everything geared for deer should work for you. Mostly to get anything to grow, you need to first ammend the soil, ie,soil test, lime ,fertilizer etc. I have'nt found, or heard of any bad seed products out there,especially in your state,things should grow good.
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Re: Corn plots are in

Postby timberland » 06 12, 2015 •  [Post 11]

GobbleFarmer wrote:Hey, Foxvalley, or anyone else just chime in, could anyone recommend a deer food plot for here in NC. I have a good family friend that's asking me, yea me, what to plant??? He really just wants it for an attractant, but the healthier for the deer, the better! He said that he is willing to plant anything, except cotton, so whatever can attract the deer during the season is A-OK. Here with archery, muzzleloader and rifle, the seasons stretch from: mid September to January 1st, he is looking mainly mid November to Jan 1st (rifle season). He is eager to start planting something, so what can be planted sometime this month and yield deer food in the early season, mid, Sept to Nov 1st. And some time between now and then plant something extra to be ready for the late season? I have heard nothing but good about EagleSeeds line of products. Should I/he be looking at their soybeans, wheat or oats :?: just thow whatever ya think might work at me and I will look into it. :!: I am stuck here guys, help me out, please. :D


Go to the QDMA forum. Lots of great info and resources there on all aspects of habitat management for deer.
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Re: Corn plots are in

Postby foxvalley » 06 13, 2015 •  [Post 12]

starting to get a few pics of bucks,and lots of little guys running around(fawns)Normally don't get a lot of big buck pics untill sept.,lots of crop fields on neighboring properties where they like to summer......and leave my food plots alone till fall.

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Re: Corn plots are in

Postby foxvalley » 06 27, 2015 •  [Post 13]

corn is all fertilized, and weeds are killed. Should be about chest high by the forth of july. Lots of good food for em this fall,lots of apples too.
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Re: Corn plots are in

Postby GobbleFarmer » 06 28, 2015 •  [Post 14]

Cool 8-) . did you get that cider press yet?
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Re: Corn plots are in

Postby foxvalley » 06 29, 2015 •  [Post 15]

My argo business is really picking up,so I think I'm going to kill two birds with this,and get it for my wife before I leave for my hunt. It's a shot right in the rocks, however, for a good one 1K.
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Re: Corn plots are in

Postby GobbleFarmer » 06 29, 2015 •  [Post 16]

:o
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Re: Corn plots are in

Postby foxvalley » 07 21, 2015 •  [Post 17]

GobbleFarmer wrote:Cool 8-) . did you get that cider press yet?



Hey Gobble,
Yes, just recieved the press last week,I had to stain and seal all the wood with epoxy,but just got done putting it together. Should work great for all the apples and grapes we have to do. Ill post a pic.

The corn plots are doing well, corn is tasseling out, and starting to develop ears,the deer didnt eat to much as it was growing, should have tons of corn for them to eat this fall/winter. Also, worked up my three other plots,about 5 acres, and going to plant them the first week in Aug.
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