My husband and i have 48 acres, about half of which is wooded. We just bought another 17 acres and it is going to be some fantastic hunting because there's a lot of honeysuckle and brush. We're having a great time blazing 4-wheeler trails through there.

My husband is just excited about making the trails. I, however, have great plans to plant a variety of fruit trees to provide abundant fruit for the deer and other wildlife. So far i have planted: 2 hybrid persimmons that will produce in 3 years, 2 pear trees, 2 apple trees, 2 mulberry trees.... I guess that's it. Except for those 25 persimmons on our old property.

Our old property has lot of oak trees that should provide tons of acorns. But when the acorns don't do so good, the deer don't have much to eat in late fall. The fruit trees should fill the gap.

I also got a bunch of seed for a food plot, but it's been too wet to till the ground.

Plinker

SOunds like a well balanced diet for the deer. I live in KY and have around 830 acres that I use exclusively for family hunting. I plant a variety of food plots and have done quite well over the past several years. Note my bucks in the Trophy Pictures section of the forums under 2004 Buck or something similar to that.

I have found that planting a wide variety of food sources for deer is the best way to guarantee a healthy balance. I have several apple, cherry, and other fruit bearing trees scattered throughout, as well as several herb or vegetable based food sources. I would highly recommend Brassica as a possible additive to your deer's diet. It is very high in protein and emits an oil that attracts deer to your area. I also find buckweat, alfalfa, clover, and sugar beets to be a very good source for 'growing' healthy bucks. Also, you might consider a salt block or two on your land. All animals need salt and it will help to maintain their diet. They are very inexpensive and can literally be thrown on the ground anywhere and deer will hunt them down. If you need anymore advice on food plots, feel free to ask.

Thanks for the reply KyMtMan. Here's a question for you. I'm thinking about planting the food plot in the orchard. All the trees are protected by growing tubes so i don't think the deer will hurt the trees and there should be enough sunlight for the clover. There's some brassica in this mix, but only about 8%. Do you think it would be okay to plant the clover mix in the orchard? There's not much choice for this year as it takes a lot of time and effort to clear land and it is getting late in the planting season and the orchard area is already cleared.

Something odd about the salt. I do have a salt block and a mineral block. Both are behind the corn feeder, but in view of the game cam. I had the cam set up in same spot for couple months. Never ONCE got a picture of the deer going to the salt or minerals. So, maybe they get that someplace else or it is too early and they hit that more in the summer.

Plinker

Still haven't seen any deer going after the salt block.

Five or six of the 25 persimmon trees are getting leaves. The others may make it, if you scratch the bark it is green underneath.

Have been clearing meadow down by the creek for a clover patch about an acre in size. Not much cooperation from the weather. It doesn't drain well so it takes long time to dry off enough to get the tractor in, then it rains again and another long period of waiting for it to dry again. Having to cut down a bunch of scraggly trees and burn them.

Most undesirable trees IMO: Box elder, silver maple, buckeye.

Desirable trees: Any oak and any nut or fruit trees. dogwood and redbud trees. Black cherry and walnut trees because the make beautiful lumber



Plinker

Update on total trees planted:
27 persimmon
15 crabapple (i lost one someplace)
10 plum
4 pear
4 mulberry
2 apple
62....Total

Thats a lot of holes to dig. Plus, rather than use the original soil, i filled each hole with amended potting soil. That means i took a cheap 40 lb bag of Walmart soil, added peat, vermiculite and plant food. One bag would do two trees. Then toted water and mulch. Cut oak stakes and drove one beside each tree along with a tree protector. That all adds up to a lot of work.

But, it is my hope that all the work will pay off by having more plentiful and well fed deer in the years ahead. If anyone reading this has similar ambitions, i can only say, the sooner you get started the sooner you can sit back and see the results. That's what i'm looking forward to. My efforts may not produce any big deers to bragg about, or if it does, my neighbor probably get the big one, not me. But i AM going to enjoy seeing all those crab apple trees blooming. I've heard they are one of the best flowering trees and these ones in particular have red blooms.

Plinker

Geej Penny, thats a lot of work. Did the old man help at all? derf

quote:

Originally posted by derf:
Geej Penny, thats a lot of work. Did the old man help at all? derf

Guess my writing gives impression my "old man" not much help? He has a full time job in addition to helping with our rental business. If he has a fault it is that he works TOO much. He didn't help much with planting trees because i won't impinge on his time if i can do it myself. He does things like cut big trees or electrical or plumbing.... i consider him the "skilled" help. But, when it comes to shooting either the bow or the gun...i can kick his ass, anytime any day

Plinker