Best Spot To Plant A Food Plot
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- čas přidán 17. 02. 2020
- The best spot to plant a food plot has a whole lot more to it than good soil. Great food plot locations should keep deer on your land, off of your neighbors during daylight and should establish both doe bedding and enough depth of cover to house bucks on your land. Also, great food plot locations allow you to access your land without spooking deer on the food plot. Are you setting yourself up for food plot success or your neighbor? Here is an in depth look at the best food plot locations that you can take advantage of to control a deer herd during the daylight, instead of LOSE a deer herd during the daylight.
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I like these videos with the visuals of the property, helps connect the dots. Thanks for all the content Jeff!
WOW. What a huge informational packed video Jeff!
I'm enjoying the visuals on you recent videos. It really makes the material relatable
Another great overall management plan video, thanks man appreciate it
Wow wow wow. This video pulls a big question of mine together with high pressure neighbor hunting and how to entice/hold the deer. Thanks Jeff!!!!
Great video Jeff, Out of all the videos I have watched of yours this one really clicks with me. Its giving me some ideas to try on my property
Nice...that is great to hear! I love hearing when the videos hit home for folks ..good luck with the land!
Wow I really enjoyed this video, would love if you did more of these
Great video, like always. We started our channel of what we do on our land based off things we learn from you and a few others. The hunting community benefits a lot from you guys. Thanks.
Great video! The setup of this property is very relatable to the land I hunt.
Thanks a lot Marcus that is great to hear! I figure if I show enough of these setups someone will be able to relate to each one of them ☺️ Although the concepts are still the same...
Ty Jeff value your guidance 10 fold also just can’t wait for your direction on the no till buckwheat when the time comes
I can't believe that I haven't seen this video yet. This is my life. I have 40 acres that is 700 feet wide by 1/2 mile deep with ag fields on both sides. It's a tuff property to hunt.
Same here. I just bought a 45 acre tract, same size. Working to figure it out and improve
Great video Jeff!!!!
Thank you very much 👍
Great info sir
This plan will work better for my lease yeah I can see it this is what I’m goin to do like this thanks brother for sharing your knowledge with us I’ll put it to use if it ever quits raining lollllll GOD BLESS
I'm so excited to put your knowledge to use on my property. Thanks for every video! Glad I found your channel👍
Have you ever done any travelling up north, in like boreal forest type habitat? Would love to see a video on dense forest hunting.
This is a very helpful video. Extremely helpful. If you haven't already made a video about it could you make a video describing the differences between morning and afternoon and evening stands and what makes then different and why you should pick one over the other. This would help a lot, thanks.
Great video, can’t wait for the old field conversion video.
Phil he posted the old field conversion a few days ago. It's worth going back and watching!
Thanks Phil...and I sure did Jared ☺️
Here you go Phil...hope you like it!
czcams.com/video/vMEa8buhhqs/video.html
Thank you for this video, it really helps me with my parcel of the same caliber. Your videos have really changed the way I view my property. What app are you using when you design the property layouts?
Thanks for the video Jeff. I was wondering if switch grass grows ok in pretty wet areas?
You're helping a lot of small owners a lot, thanks a ton great stuff.
Do you ever speak at any sporting seminars in North Eastern Ohio
Would like to meet you sometime
I have watched your videos on topography and am still trying to grasp some knowledge of wind and travel corridors. If time ever permits, the whiteboard school of topography would be nice. Thanks for great insights!!
Great video Jeff. Thank you.
Do you mow in trails in the switchgrass bed area pockets, or do deer find the way through it
Great video! We are looking to purchase some ground in the next few years in Indiana. Watching your videos are really helping us on how to design the best hunting property around when we buy the property we want. What app/website do you use to create you're drawings over the parcel?
Once again good stuff Jeff! When establishing your early successional pockets with say red osier dogwood or other wildlife shrubs do you recommend fencing those new plantings to let them take hold? If so how long do you keep the fences up?
Thanks Mark and great question! Definately bif s shrub like red Osier...but really only for 2-3 years. After they establish successful growth and root structure, they can really take a beating.
Thanks for the video's Jeff. Off topic:
I am not sure if your familiar with strip jobs/mountain removal in Eastern Ky or West Virginia but if you are could you please do a video explaining how you would hunt that kind of land. Thanks again.
I really like these videos with more of a visual. Helps put things into perspective for sure. This parcel is semi similar to the one I hunt. Although mine is all wooded even up to the house.
Thanks Alexander...really hope that they hit home! At least you can apply the same concepts 👍 I like long parcels a lot more than square, typically.
So similar to my property running north to south with food on Northside state land on Southside and heavy hunting pressure on East and West sides of hardwood
Any advice
Will you or have you ever done a video on how to setup an inside out property on land that has been clearcut?
This property has a lot of the same issues as the piece I have. Thanks for the video.
That's great to hear...you are very welcome! Really hope it helps you out ☺️
Jeff, thank you! How large are the main feed plots? I just bought 45 acres that’s long and narrow that connects two large timber tracks . I’m going to replicate this plan exactly.
Great Video Jeff! I know others (myself included) are enjoying hearing your thought process when you break down a property plan. Any chance we could witness the same on a larger parcel? 160-200 acres? do your same principles apply?
I second that... one with two base cover types in different corners would be interesting to see.
Also going to definitely need your help comes time for spraying chemicals simizine/glyphosate 4-2d never used any of this stuff before
Hey Jeff, we are loving the recent property design videos. What program do you use on your tablet for designing properties? Also, we are probably going to plant some switchgrass on our property in the upcoming years. Our property is near Wadena, MN and we are wondering if there is a specific variety of switchgrass that we should be planting for that region. Thanks! - Jayson
Did you plant anything? I would start by looking up what's native to your area and going from there. If not your area, there is some native to Michigan
Our land will have alfalfa (7 acres) and corn(14 acres) this year rented (out of 70) Is it worth switch grassing the borders of that much ag? We have a few houses next door. This is my first season watching your stuff and I can’t wait to get started with your programs!
What map system is that, pretty cool how you can create as you go.
Hi Jeff.. Can you recommend a good backpack sprayer and hand seeder?
what strategies do you recommend for properties with the house dead smack in the middle
Do you expect the deer to bed within the switchgrass or in the diversity pockets?
Also, what are the black dots on your client map shown on the tablet?
Great video! Thanks Jeff
Jeff, how well does switchgrass hold up to frequent flooding? I hunt an area in southern Illinois along the Mississippi which can be underwater once or twice a year. Will swtchgrass rebound from that?
For early successional growth pockets, would you plant the pockets (fence to let establish?) or just not plant switchgrass in the pockets then till up the pockets to wake up the seed bank then spray with clethodim to stop any grasses from coming in?
What brand of switchgrass do you recommend and where can you get It? Thanks Jeff.. Always love watching your informative vids.
Mark Meyer he usually recommends Cave in Rock which you can buy a lot of places - preferably near you to cut on shipping. Northwoods whitetails that sells his brassica seed to him sells 50 # for about 12$/# but no idea on their shipping fee for that. Try local first is my suggestion. The best variety is the one that will stand tallest and strongest in your area - CIR is that in upland settings for top half of Midwest.
I’m a huge fan of this channel. Jeff, if you could buy 100 to 200 acres anywhere in the country for a hunting parcel, where would it be?
I just bought 40 acres in Alabama. I am still trying to learn what the deer are doing. I would love to get your advice on how to maximize the hunting on this property.
Will cutting out pockets in eastern white pine stands produce sufficient daytime browse? Or will I need to plant browse such as dog wood.
Jeff. Do you have problems when planting new switchgrass, and have Soybean next to the newly planted grass, when spraying the beans, does it kill the grass at its young State from wind drift? Thanks in advance.
Jeff. I know that deer will browse on briars. But will deer and specifically bucks bed in them?
Michigan man here, is this I75 south of Bay City?
Do you recommend/know of good places to purchase native shrubs or trees that deer like to eat to plant in bedding areas??
Will bucks bed that close to a major roadway, provided there is adequate cover?
So sometimes it’s better to not put stands on plots then get them coming and going to the plots makes great sense
Hey Jeff, not sure if you’ll see this post, but got a quick question.
I want to create a food plot 25’ wide by 400’ long, to move deer from bedding to a larger food plot. Would I still split the 25’ width in half and do brassica one side and bean, peas and oats the other side? Would it not be too narrow to split?
I noticed no waterholes. You mentioned a river to the back of the bedding, is the rest of the parcel dry? Curious why design didn't call for waterholes (or maybe just not shown)? Maybe lines of movement are strong enough without... Thanks
That makes so much sense. Simple.But effective .Switch grass seems to be your main ingredient in your recipes??
Thanks D! It is if it fits...no need to wait decades for trees or shrubs, when switch can accomplish the same goals and often better...in 2 growing seasons or less. Just depends on the conditions...but never any other grass than switch. Ideally someone would already have a field of Autumn olive, red cedar, mixed upland, etc.
Morning Jeff with the planting of switchgrass you say a good plot is a hidden plot so in order to hide my plot completely I’d have to almost make a horse arena but that’s not what I want just gonna do the backside by the cemetery will definitely block them from seeing me also may cut down the noise from one of the county roads
That's perfect Paul! May just have to cut down a few trails to insure enough sunlight to get to the switch. And definite hidden from your approach is by far the most important
I have a 100 acre cow paster in north central WV. It is open woods and brushy edges with 60 percent open pasture. Can you do a video on this? I could send a map.
Starting to feel like a stalker Jeff everyday I'm sending you a reply the successional planting is a really great idea I love the idea the bedding around the little groups of plantings thanks for the great information as always
Do you ever come to Ontario
How do I go about requesting a property design on 80 acres? Thanks
How far do u recommend a food plot being from your house?
Do you have any plans on doing a video on properties that are mostly pine trees. My family purchased 16 acers of old paper mill land in Wisconsin and were are looking for some ideas for improvements that we can do to the land.Thanks for all of the free content you have on your CZcams channel and your website.
Thanks James! I touch on that with my video this Sunday about improving monoculture deer habitat. Think of those lines as one big field of Switchgrass...
You brought up phragmite. I have a 10 acre +/- area of it on one part of farm surrounded by woods. Should I consider that bedding. Seems to thick in spots.
It really depends Patrick...some areas are too thick for sure. Incredible screening tho and in some locations Dee have a network of trails and bedding pockets within. Also, some is invasive...some native.
Jeff, awesome video. You speak of doe and buck bedding a lot. When working on these properties, do you actually construct the doe and buck beds? Or do you just make sure that there is the proper distance for comfort for these does and bucks to create their own bedding within the provided habitat?
It really depends on the habitat. If good habitat front to back...they will self align. There is nothing you can do to the actual bedding area to determine buck or doe, other than proximity to food and stress. Does will take any adequate bedding over close to food and can tolerate stress. Bucks behind them...so you have to have enough depth of cover
Whitetail Habitat Solutions thank you! That’s what I figured. You see a lot of videos out there about building the beds specifically and it sure seems like our time is better spent on the habitat as a whole so that they can make their beds in the locations we are planning for them.
Hey Jeff, what was the goal in mind when adding the micro plots towards the back of cover/movement?
Just small, pass thru plots that were existing, for buck hunting plots..."kill plots". Low use, but very effective for defining that long, north/south movement
What do you suggest planting in them? Im assuming the greens/brassica split in your west main 2 plots but the trail plot and the back (east) 2 don’t look big enough to split effectively
How long? How wide? In yards.
Gonna be going up last week in February as you may imagine we have some snow don’t know exactly how much especially by the plot you always say make sure the seed makes contact with the soil should I move some of the snow away to make sure there is soil exposed or I’m looking to much into it
You can throw right on the snow. Less snow is better for sure ..no snow even better. You should be OK. You just don't want frozen ground and s lot of rain that pushes seed into small ponds or puddles with spring melt. Your plots is fairly level so should be ok. And a lot better to see where the seed is spread!
Tom I have same problems
Off topic but if you're opening up a lot of mature hardwoods do you need to remove mess of logs or just make sure deer can move around within them?
Hi Jared... definately need to make sure they can move around and through them...without a doubt. Try to have zero dead ends of movement...
Good question! Very important not to block...
Where online is a good place to purchase switchgrass seed? My parcel is 650’wide x 2500’long, so this makes me feel good about the improvements I’ve been implementing.
Brendan Fergus local seed sellers or coops/grain mills should be able to get it. Also will know your area better than you (most likely) so they will know the best variety for your area. If you just want Cave in Rock and don’t care about cost: Northwoods Whitetails will ship you seed anywhere.
‘Hammer Time’🤣🤣🤣
Hey Jeff, How wide are your food plot trails? What do you plant in those trails?
Hi Chase! It depends on the amount of space and purpose. But pure large feeding plots, 60-100' wide. This is what I recommend a lot, but it depends on the area and planting resources...
czcams.com/video/2sXngrC4-z0/video.html
Hey Jeff, great video! About how many acres is the switchgrass/diversity pockets area between food and timber?... trying to have perspective on the scale of this area. Thanks!
Hi Sam! I would guess fully including food plot area, diversity pockets and switch...roughly 20 acres total
@@whitetailhabitatsolutions9751 Thank you!
Hey brother I’m late as usual doctor appointments today I’ve tore something up in my right shoulder oh boy and turkey season coming up next month I’ll shoot left handed I’ve done it before
With a long narrow tract, it seems impossible to access the the back of it without spooking deer. I guess if you get the switch thick enough, but what if it's completely wooded and switch can't get light to grow?
I have the same issue. I put my food plot right up front on my land. I used conifers to screen it. With the east end really thick with conifers. I then used conifers and a chain saw on my east line to make a walking path all the way to the back. I made bedding on the back side of the food plot and all along my west line. With the back of the property few being really great bedding (wet land marsh/ shrubs). I then access along the east line along the conifers and slip to the west 30 40 yards to mock scrapes, water holes, and travel corridors going back into the buck bedding. It has worked great for killing deer. Still working on trying to improve the age structure in the area. Property isn't big enough to hold bucks all hunting season. And neighbors loving killing 2 year olds over bait piles (illegally)😢.
I like the idea of hunting the perimeter of small parcels. Accessing and hunting the property with wind and time of day considerations. Letting deer spend the night off property for the night time hours. But.....When a deer has ultimately been shot or wounded on those particular times when the "herd" should be on property, does blood trailing and deer recovery affect the future hunting, long term?
Hi Steve...that's definitely the celebration time ☺️ I mostly go after dark and leave the machine running. If the temps are decent. The deer herd shouldn't be on a small parcel too much after dark anyways...so really good timing if you can swing it. Again...I just drive right in. Mostly with the truck. I also only shoot does early...and then mostly late in the season.
Do you wait for dark on a good shot, morning buck then?
That’s one problem we have here is no ag fields much at all here
What is your experience with Reeds Canary grass say for instance in a sloped swale prone to erosion?
Often the only thing that will grow? BUT, by dragging trees into it with branches, the Reed canary grass will grow within and stand most of the winter. This is a common practice anywhere with RCG...of dry you can replace it!
He’s gonna have a helleva time getting back to those buck bedding stands without spooking them. I suppose he could take the highway and wade across the river to the back of the property.
This video is exactly like my property only difference is the hunting pressure is north instead of South and the AG is on the south not the north.
I really see no benefit in planting switchgrass why not kill all the non benificial trees and let native grasses and forbs grow somthing they would actually like to eat and is somewhat nutritional and just keep it in early sucession growth would be better for turkey nesting and for fawn laying while providing good bedding and browse switch grass really isnt worth it unless its just for a buffer other than that i would prefer native grasses and forbs do a late winter burn so it doesnt get to hot to do any damage to trees you want to keep or the soil and it will help native forbs and grasses boom within months u will have a nice stand way more beneficial than switchgrass
No cover...no wildlife. Your "method", is what keeps me in business as the #1 wildlife and whitetail consultant in the country. I suggest you hang out on the channel and learn...better yourself for both wildlife and for your own knowledge.
@@whitetailhabitatsolutions9751 i have planted switchgrass before was in crp program deer wouldnt bed in it soon as i turned it into an early sucession growth cutover type habitat with native grasses and forbs the deer that stay on my property now probably tripled the same thing doesnt work on every property in every area good luck with that people that dont know anything keep you in business strictly switchgrass doesnt serve much of a purpose the deer down here in the south i have noticed over the years would bed and feed in the fresh cutovers and only move through the switchgrass to get to other places nothing in there for them when there is a fresh cutover with so much fresh green up in so many different species of native forbs amd grasses deer would much prefer variety over a monoculture of switchgrass which is basically useless to them yea maybe in wide open country it can serve a purpose where there isnt much cover but not down here in the south where cover is everywhere
Trey, go back and watch the video, and comprehend the concept before going off on a tangent. Yes everyone is entitled to an opinion, but those opinions should be formulated after the concept is fully understood, not beforehand.
Concept cliff notes.
Switchgrass is the base cover, not the base bedding.
Base cover + diversity pockets + adjacent food = preferred doe bedding.
Adjacent food + doe bedding close by =available space, once occupied by does, for buck bedding.
Base cover - diversity pockets = Spook free access for hunters.
And off these added together equals the knowledge of where deer are and where deer aren't.
It's understood that deer don't eat nor bed in pure switchgrass
@@SuperWhitetail1 doesnt make sense to even waste time and money on any kind of switchgrass when you can promote the growth of native grasses and forbs for free which will do the exact same thing and you can use for the exact same concept and will be more benificial it will provide cover and more tons of forage on your property the more tons you can get the more deer you can hold to each his own but i know what works down south on my property and every other property i have been on i wont be wasting any land on somthing that will only provide cover when i can have somthi g that provides cover bedding nesting and forage which you can then make pockets in that if thats what you want im all about getting the most i can out of a property and holding as many deer as i can and manage the herd for what i want maybe its a northern thing with the harsh winters and the switchgrass will stay standing when other things wont but down south we dont have that issue our native grasses and forbs will stand all wimter for the most part while still providing good food
@@thesouthernlife4061 Once again, noone is disputing the need and benefits of briers, forbs, early successional growth, hardwood regeneration, ect. Nor the fact that southern properties aren't affected by snowfall and maintain much of their height all year, depending on moisture content. Now... Tell me where the deer are and where they aren't??? In a pure reclaim, as you're referring too, theirs no way of knowing if a deer is bedded 5 yards, 50 yards, or 500 yards away from your stand or access. That's what the switch does. Pure switch is a bedding free zone, therefore you know that access in and out can be performed without spooking deer, and let's face it, no amount of habitat manipulation can out weigh the negative effects of spooking deer. The diversity pockets establish, define, and compartmentalize doe bedding, allowing quick cover while the diversity grows and separates family groups for less social pressure. If do right, you can access stands and exit stands, using the wind, with confidence that you're not spooking deer because you have some certainty in knowing the general area of where the deer are, and where they are not.