Upstate NY what food plot should i do?

[Hunter_Smurf]

hello all,

me and my brothers have a friend that has hunting land we can use and we are looking to add some patches of food plot here and there through out the 30 acres.  without putting a lot of money into them. 

if anyone reads my post i sound cheap.. lol I'm really not I'm thrifty because a medical situation has left me in that position ...lol

the area has a lot of really thick brush 10 ft tall and almost imposable to get threw. while other areas are golden rod / weed fields 100 - 200 ft in odd shapes.  it is more of a pass threw with nice heavy cover .  there are signs of bedding areas but not a lot

WEST SIDE has the main road going north to south ,
NORTH SIDE is basically the same kind of land ,
EAST SIDE borders a big area that is the same kind of thick cover brush then opens to a back field with a creek then farm land corn / hay depends on what they do that year with it.
SOUTH SIDE is a fenced in sheep pasture which is emptied in the fall so it is just a brushy field / pasture with a heavy cover area on our border

we were thinking of small spots of food sources to try to keep them more local and not just wonder threw.
i was thinking of just getting a bunch of odd and end seed packets and spreading them in a tilled area of 15 x 15 feet areas.
 corn, melon, pees, ex, ex.  also i was thinking about trying to mow some area to get more green than weeds

what would grow well in this area that might be better.? 

any help would be great... thanks..  season goes from Oct.1 threw Dec. 7 on average for bow gun and muzzle loader ...



first pic is our area and surrounding land, second pic is close up of our land.

YELLOW IS NO HUNTING / HOUSE AND ROAD AREA, BLUE IS WHERE WE PARK,  RED IS BORDER LINES.
H1 USES A 4 WHEELER TO GET IN TO HIS TREE STAND FROM HOUSE THEN FACES TOWARDS THE PURPLE FROM TEAL.
H2 SHE WALKS FROM PARKING AREA TO HER STAND AND FACES PURPLE FROM TEAL.
H3 IS MINE I WALK FROM PARKING AREA TO H2 HELP HER UP (65 YEAR OLD MOTHER) AND GO TO MY TREE STAND FROM HERS. I FACE PURPLE FROM THE TEAL CONNECTED CIRCLE.

PIC1

PIC 2

[Land_Owner]

I am a hunter/land manager for wildlife from the deep South and I will try my best to find seed info that is right for your area.  I don't believe that 15' x 15' food plots will survive deer browsing if left open to them 100% of the time during germination.

What type of equipment is available to you?  What type of soil is characteristic of this ground?  What costs are you prepared to incur in seed, labor, and soil amendments?  How much labor are you prepared to inject into this transformation?

It is first recommended to take several soil samples from each plot to the local Ag Agent for analysis.  They will need to know the crop that you intend to plant.  They will tell you which fertilizer and soil amendments are necessary by percentage and/or weight that will aid your plants to maximum yield.  Each soil sample analysis is typically very cheap and prevents you from wasting money on labor and soil amendments with no apparent value for your plants.  Soil analysis is very good and cheap "insurance"; but not against total crop failure from say insect infestation, deer decimation, or lack of rain (i.e. Mother Nature).

My own experience has been in the planting of iron clay peas and soy beans across 4 acres.  The deer decimate the new seedlings and kill the plots; usually within 20 days of germination.  The deer get real thick bodied real quick though and taste wonderful.  So don't be discouraged.

[Land_Owner]

I've borrowed a number of posts from another board (www.QDMA.com) and condensed that info here:

Nursery
http://www.morsenursery.com/
- Seedway dealer
- Pennington Seed
- Biologic
- Eagle seed

Planting some bushes around the edges (to create travel corridors)
-dwarf chinquapin oak grows into southern Ontario. It is a bush variety of oak in the white oak family and produces acorns in about 5 years
-Bicolor Lespedeza
-Red Osier dogwood and the Highbush Cranberry
-any native dogwood will work well. have a red twig variety and grey dogwood that get hit by deer and rabbits almost year round. Wild plum, service berry, high bush cranberry, crab apples, will all need some type of protection to get established. By far, the heaviest hit by deer is the elderberry bushes.

Plants
Brassicas (Upstate NY)
- 40% Dwarf Essex Rape
- 15% Hobson Forage Rape
- 15% Interval Forage Rape
- 09% Hunter Forage Rape
- 09% Appin Turnip
- 06% Keeper Forage Kale
- 06% Caledonia Kale

Beans
- RR Soy Beans

Clover
- Imperial Clover from WI
- Durana clover
- alyceclover (is a warm season annual legume. Not really a "clover".)

Miscellaneous (but recommended)
- sunflowers (need lots of sun)
- sugar beets
- Winter Greens
- lab lab

Blends
- Rackmaster Elite from Pennington Seeds
- Full Draw from Biologic

Frost Seeding
- Patriot
- Chicory

Advice
- stick with perennials that can take a serious whoopin from graze pressure
- If you want late season shooting go with grains and brassica for annuals and a clover/chicory perennial
- if you can get your ph above 6 you should be able to plant soybean's

[Mikey]

Hunter_Smurf:  Landowner has given you some great ideas.  I have used packages of stuff from Cabelas and other places that include a lot fo rape, clover and other stuff.  That seems to work wellwith the whitetail here. 

Also, if you have natural fruit trees, apples or pear, prune them and open the area around them for better sunlight.  Fertilize them with a fertilizer spike for added production.  Fruit will draw the deer into you area and grazing foods keep them there.  Just analyze your area,as per Landowner's advice, to see what will grow and stay best in your area. 

Overgrown fields can be cut back, either with a brush hog or a sidebar mower if available. Areas cut back will produce more browse for the animals.  10' tall trees are beyond their reach and may not provide much food. 

Those areas in front of your stands should be cut back - shooting lanes, wider trails, etc., as these will also then produce more browse when the sunlight gets in there and will give you clear areas to shoot. 

You can also plant sunflowers and other seed plants as they are a good source of nutrition for deer and other wildlife. 

If you decide to plant trees - apples and or pear, protect the seedlings for the first couple of years with large enough wire cages to keep the deer and rabbits from browsing them down.

HTH.  Mikey.

[kiddekop]

Hunter_Smurf:  Landowner has given you some great ideas.  I have used packages of stuff from Cabelas and other places that include a lot fo rape, clover and other stuff.  That seems to work wellwith the whitetail here. 

Also, if you have natural fruit trees, apples or pear, prune them and open the area around them for better sunlight.  Fertilize them with a fertilizer spike for added production.  Fruit will draw the deer into you area and grazing foods keep them there.  Just analyze your area,as per Landowner's advice, to see what will grow and stay best in your area. 

Overgrown fields can be cut back, either with a brush hog or a sidebar mower if available. Areas cut back will produce more browse for the animals.  10' tall trees are beyond their reach and may not provide much food. 

Those areas in front of your stands should be cut back - shooting lanes, wider trails, etc., as these will also then produce more browse when the sunlight gets in there and will give you clear areas to shoot. 

You can also plant sunflowers and other seed plants as they are a good source of nutrition for deer and other wildlife. 

If you decide to plant trees - apples and or pear, protect the seedlings for the first couple of years with large enough wire cages to keep the deer and rabbits from browsing them down.

HTH.  Mikey.

When I was a student in wildlife mgt at the univ of az our professor emphasized buying American Wildlife & Plants A Guide To Wildlife Food Habits by martin,zim & nelson .I've lent this & my other tech manuals to many of my hunting friends to enhance their knowledge & improve their success.It's out of print and sources don't list any used copies. for nys ithaca region for white-tailed deer: maple,witch-hazel,sumac,aspen,birch,dogwood,virburnum,oak,ash,willow,basswood,wild cherry,hornbeam,apple,blackberry,serviceberry,hawthorn,bush honeysuckle,beech,sweetfern,hop-hornbeam,white pine,sassafras,meadowsweet,hemlock,elm,blueberry.maybe this will help go to universities, state & fed dept of agriculture for handouts on wildlife foods.I kept all of my food habit pamphlets for the usa even though I never was employed as a wildlife mgt biologist instead I had a career in law enforcement dealing with 2 legged game.