Paradise building your own wildlife Oasis

Habitat management – Whitetail Deer part 1

The love of nature is what drives our passion for habitat management. I went on this journey in my late 20’s while residing in Boonville, New York. A family member bought a beautiful piece of property totaling 180 acres.

When we manage the habitat its to improve the environment of a desired species. The reasons for doing this vary. Are we attempting to save a species from declining or extinction? Are we the outdoor sportsman that loves to hunt or fish. Are we a photographer that wants to increase species diversity and sightings.

I managed habitat to help the whitetail deer population on our family parcel. This area of the state just didn’t have the numbers of deer that other areas produced. We evaluated the property to see what was lacking.

Breaking Down Your Property. We need to assess what we have and Identify areas of improvement. We need to Identify our bedding areas, the water sources available, and available food sources both naturally and agricultural. Once we know what we have we can start improving or adding what we are missing.

Thermal Cover and Bedding

When adding thermal cover and bedding we need to take in consideration prevailing wind direction. When we hinge cut trees to add cover and allow successional growth that will create thick cover and wind blocking capabilities. We want to place these in areas that have natural ridges or topography changes already aiding in stopping a prevailing wind.

We can plant cedar and coniferous tress in tight area that will allow blocking of wind. These dark green trees tight to each other will hold heat in the colder months. They will also block sun and provide cool areas in the summer months. If it is native to your area honey suckle is good for adding cover and a food source on your property. Natural grasses that grow to 4-foot plus are great additions of cover. Deer will also utilize these thick tall grass areas as bedding areas as well.

Hinge cutting is the practice of cutting a tree ½ to ¾ of the way. Then using a wedge get the tree to tip over. Using this method will not kill certain tree species. These trees will just send up new shoots starting new trees along the trunk growing up towards the freshly open canopy. The newly added light will allow new under growth. This new growth will provide cover and variety of new food sources.

Checking your Soil

Before we plant our first food plot, we must check our soil. We will want to collect soil from all the areas we plan on planting our food plots. There are online kits you can order and do this yourself. Your local farmers or farmer co-ops can point you in the right direction for this process as well if they do not offer this service themselves.

Soil sampling is important. These samples will tell us what our soil has and what our soil is missing. It will let up know the PH of our soil. If our soil is acidic, we can lime to help lower the PH. It will let us know what nutrients we are missing or need to elevate for good growth. It will tell us if we need to add nutrients like potassium (k), phosphorus (p), and nitrogen (n). These are often shown by the periodic symbols N, P, K. These are the three main nutrients all plants need to have for high quality growth. Some other things to take into consideration is soil composition this will tell you how much moisture it will hold.

Soils with more clay will not hold as much moisture as loamy soils. Water will run off quickly. Sandy soils will drain quickly as well and loose moisture quickly. A soil with a mix of loam, clay and sand can be some of the best soil to plant in it allows water to permeate at a slower rate holding moisture longer.

Picking the spot to plant

When planting your food plots here is what I look for when choosing its location. First off, I’m going to figure out the natural travel corridors on my property that the wildlife is already using. From there I will pick areas that meet a couple criteria. First, I need to be able to get in and out of the area undetected. This means that my way in and out will not affect the wildlife natural bedding or travel on my property. I do not want to leave them scent to know of my presence.

Second, I will want to be able to position tree-stands with ability to hunt multiple wind directions. This will also keep me undetected and my opportunities higher. Being able to get this all-in-one food plot will be near impossible. So, we will put in several food plots for varying wind directions that allow us undetected access and do not blow our scent into bedding or staging areas.

We want to have plenty of cover allowing the wildlife to access the food plots comfortably as well. Keep in mind the direction your plots face and how the sun will be not only for growing your plot but also for your advantage when hunting. You don’t want to be shadowing allot or have it in your eyes. Some of this can be corrected with stand placement.

What do I Plant

There are allot of great options for this. First, I would consult with a regional expert on what type or strands of plants grow best in your area. Mainly you want to add as much diversity as possible, that give abundant food for the entire year not just the hunting season. You want options for spring, summer, fall, and winter. Different plants offer different benefits in health for your deer as well. So, planting fruit trees, nut trees, and cedar trees with offer different vitamins and nutrients. Planting fruit bushes like raspberry and black berry. Big cover crops like corn, alfalfa, soybeans have many benefits for wildlife. Planting sugar beets, turnips, and other root vegetables.

The possibility is endless. Talk to other habitat managers in your area. They will gladly tell you what works and what dose not. I will provide some links below for reference material. As always thank you for reading.

Plantbiologic

https://www.plantbiologic.com/

Realtree

https://www.realtree.com/food-plots-and-land-management/galleries/best-backwoods-attraction-food-plot-seed-blends

Native Nurseries by mossy oak

https://www.nativnurseries.com/

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