Aldeer.com Forums Alabama Deer Talk Aldeer General Forum New property

CNC, that second pic with the coral red bloom is cypress vine and it is an ipomoea species(morning glories).

I think too many people, where wildlife foodplots are concerned, get too hung up only having “highly rated” deer browse and nothing else. Forgetting that there are hundreds of species of all types that benefit from each other in surprising ways and having enough for everything leads to a much healthier ecosystem overall. And learning to tolerate a few “pest” plants that may be present will not only benefit wildlife that isn’t front of mind but has the added advantage of costing ourselves less time, energy and money.

UncleHuck, do you have open ground on your new property or will you be clearing timber for plots? The soil should have a seed bank full of valuable native forbs just waiting to be disturbed and get some sunlight. Unless your plot location has been farmed hard you should have most of what you’d want already present. Just a light discing, a little fire, or even just removing the trees if it’s heavily wooded, is all you need to jumpstart a plot of natives.
To the point of what you can buy, seed wise, which are native AND great browse I’d be looking at partridge pea, joint vetch(not really a vetch) and a few other vetches. Don’t overlook goldenrod. It’s more difficult to source common ragweed (ambrosia artemisiifolia) and other natives like beggarticks and certain mints or sunflowers. I’d suggest spending some time looking around the area of the new property and see what is already present on roadsides and field edges for what is thriving without help, what is being browsed, and identify those plants. You may consider collecting seed yourself from such locations with permission where applicable.

I agree………and if you’re managing for turkeys then there isnt a much better “food plot” than one that sounds like its buzzing with electricity due to so many bugs and insects……I actually think that sound may be a big cue for the hens…….In order to have a vibrant insect food web though you need to have a diverse plant community and rich soil with lots of organic matter……Those are the food components that support those bug and insects……Just like you said, everything isnt about just what deer eat…….The rich soil full of OM is the one many folks pay no attention to even though it’s the most important part……Some plants only grow in certain soil conditions.

Property was last logged about 30 years ago, but was not clear cut. Completely covered in trees of various ages and a patch of 2-3" diameter bamboo that's about 2 acres. Would not have chosen bamboo, but it sure is a nice noise/privacy screen, and in the right place on the property.

Matt - Many thanks, and I'll call you later today when I'm done with meetings.

The neighbors have some nice martin gourds. In the evening the Martin's will swarm my little 2 acre forb field that I mange it with disc and fire. They have.a bahia feild next door, but the martins love the forb field. . I've seen cottontails, flushed quail, hen turkeys, gopher tortises to name a few this year. .


In our front field the barn swallows come from the bridge and put on a show some evenings. Yesterday 2 bucks growing there first set of horns were out there. Ive watched them for a year. I even seen a bald eagle overlooking the field a couple months ago. All this in a half acre 50 yards off my front porch
Ive never gotten the wildlife diversity on the fields Ive planted,. Ive evn quit planting green fields, I dont need them, plus I havent found any seed not full of rye grass.
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Hummingbird Hawk Moth.