Aldeer.com Forums Alabama Deer Talk Serious Deer Talk Forum keeping deer

Alright I need ya'lls ideas to keep deer. THIS NOT A QDMA DISPUTE!! I want to keep the deer on my property longer. I only have hundred acres on the city limit of a small town. I have planted wheat, oats, and brassicas for the last two years. This year I did the whole soil test thing. I added two tons of lime and 400 pounds of triple 13 on two and half acres of food plots. The rest of the property was farmed for cotton and wooded( two white oaks on the property but several pin oaks).
Okay my question: what and when to plant next to carry deer through until next season? I have twelve pounds of NWTF clover mix and leftover brassica. My surface soil texture is a sandy loam them becoming a sandy clay loam.

On 100 acres, you need cover more than food.

You definately need a Clorox stump, some clearcut, some burned pines, CRP, a powerline, a creek with a beaver dam, a hillbilly holler, and a water waste treatment plant.

A fence

Clover and lots of it along with some standing corn!

This^^^^ Cover and quite.

Nailed it.

limit your pressure and use minimum activity during prime feeding hours. Leaving some RR forage soybeans standing ive found to be as good as corn too.

yep

Summer plots will do several things that you want. I'd braodcast corn,vining varietys of soybeans and iron clay peas.Maybe throw in some sunflowers. Plant them in as many places as you can. When they get up they'll form very thick cover as well as forage. The vining variety grows to three ft and falls over and turns into climbing vines. They will climb the corn and sunflowers. The deer will move in and bed in the plot. I'd spread that clover in any other area besides plot. Clover can handle wetter soil. If you have briars or honey suckle fertilize them too. I'd plant the summer plotsaround april. Don't put brassicas out in hot weather. THey stink,plus the sugar only leaves the roots and goes to the leaves after a frost.

How about I come over and show you where the deer are for a small fee and teach you how to hunt.

cover with some satelite food plots I mean like 1/4 acre size 4-5 of em

It is not easy to hold deer on 100 acres, but you can bring them there to feed if you have better food than your neighbors and there is little or no human activity.

Create a few stands of jungle forage like Perch suggested with corn, forage beans and anything else, and be judicious with any entry.

if the land belongs to you have someone come in and do a timber harvest on about 15/20 acres,let it grow up and stay out of there,plant your clover,maintain your food plots,and let your property rest as much as possible.

Nock1 I will give you a reduced fee for teaching you how to hunt. I'm always looking for charity work. First thing I would do is get rid of that box stand in the pines. It has to many mosquitoes in it.

^ This + cover. Like perchjerker said, if you've got some briars try to help them out with some fertilizer.

Summer plots aren't a bad idea, I'd go with perchjerker's recommendation on what to plant if you want to go that route. Having summer plots will hopefully increase year-round deer use on your land. You'll want to minimize pressure as much as you can, tread lightly.

If you want to consider a timber harvest, consider it very carefully. I would have a forester mark a small plot for a select cut. Stress to him your interest in wildlife, obviously you want to retain as many mast-producing species as possible. It may be difficult to get a crew to cut a small area on 100 ac. Clearcutting can be pretty beneficial in creating forage and cover, but understand it's a process and won't happen immediately. I would leave your timber alone and focus on what is already there.

I think the biggest thing is assessing your costs versus benefit. The best thing you can do is minimize activity on your property throughout the year. Also talk to your neighbors, try to get an idea of what they're doing on their land.