Food Plots Fields back to forest

[casjoker]

I own 50 acres in Niota. Out of the 50 acres, 7-8 are woods (old growth oaks mostly), 7ish is house/barn/outbuildings, and the rest is mostly a big hay field. Most of the properties around me are fields with 3, 50-100 acre tracks of woods within a mile. The deer and turkey mostly pass through my property. They put in a big subdivision about 300 yards from me and eliminated about 20 acres of woods. At this point, I don't want to recreate the 20 acres lost but thinking of maybe about ten. Is there a cheap way to accelerate turning the fields back to forest and providing cover? I thought about getting a bunch of small pine and letting them grow until other undergrowth really comes in and then thinning the pine in 8-10 years. Not sure 18 acres of woods would hold the animals in the area, so not sure if the project is worth it.

The focus is on turkey and deer.

 

[Boll Weevil]

Planted pine would do it; cheap fast growers that will give you lots of cover and some food until the canopy closes. Could also consider planting/caging some fruit trees around the perimeter of the planted pine so they have enough light to thrive.

 

[DoubleRidge]

Pine would help accelerate the process...but you may be able to designate the 18 acres and just run a disk over it and let nature do it's thing...most "old fields" in Tennessee will sprout cedar pretty quick when left unattended...cedar, weeds, native grasses, blackberry, honeysuckle, etc.....just run a disk over it and disturb the seed bank....and remember....a deers world, as far as cover goes, is 48" from the ground up.....some even say from the ground 36" up.... either way....you disk the 18 acres and let it go or let it release it's potential and then go from there....old fields are a great benefit for a variety of wildlife.

 

[BSK]

Pine would help accelerate the process...but you may be able to designate the 18 acres and just run a disk over it and let nature do it's thing...most "old fields" in Tennessee will sprout cedar pretty quick when left unattended...cedar, weeds, native grasses, blackberry, honeysuckle, etc.....just run a disk over it and disturb the seed bank....and remember....a deers world, as far as cover goes, is 48" from the ground up.....some even say from the ground 36" up.... either way....you disk the 18 acres and let it go or let it release it's potential and then go from there....old fields are a great benefit for a variety of wildlife.

What DoubleRidge said.

I was just going to say, "Don't do anything to it. Let it regrow naturally." But as DoubleRidge pointed out, running a disk over it (disturbing the soil) is the fastest way to get broadleaf weed and saplings started. It should be "cover" in three growing seasons.

 

[MickThompson]

I wouldn't rush it into forest. Deer can get woods just about anywhere. Native grass/ old fields should be given consideration too. You could use food plots for firebreaks too.

 

[DoubleRidge]

What DoubleRidge said.

I was just going to say, "Don't do anything to it. Let it regrow naturally." But as DoubleRidge pointed out, running a disk over it (disturbing the soil) is the fastest way to get broadleaf weed and saplings started. It should be "cover" in three growing seasons.

BSK....I completely agree on your statement of "three growing seasons"....I'm confident in this statement because I performed a small experiment...(by accident actually)....but the results were amazing.
So I have a long driveway and at the end of my driveway is 5 acres my dad purchased just as an investment. I keep it bush hogged for him and it's basically pasture land with a few big oaks....but on the other side of my driveway the neighbors have 20 acres of timber which the deer use... and occasionally we would see deer cross our driveway into the 5 acre pasture when the oaks we're dropping acorns (mostly after dark)..... well several years back I had some serious tractor repairs ($ injector pump issues $) and I got behind bush hogging multiple properties....and this 5 acres was last on the list...and honestly after seeing the benefits of letting it go I've purposely skipped it....but at three years...small saplings, waist high briars and thick grasses have taken over.....and it's truly unbelievable how the deer utilize this 5 acres....I literally see does and fawns daily in the tall weeds, briars and grass..... sadly now that hardwood saplings are encroaching I'm going to bush hog it before it gets to far gone where I can't do anything with it.... anyway....that was a long story to say it's amazing how old field growth will attract and hold deer... excellent fawning and nesting cover along with tons of forage at basically zero cost.

 

[DeerCamp]

If i had big woods, I'd be looking to turn them into field cover, not the other way around.

Year round Food & Security are most important, and big woods are neither.

 

[BSK]

If i had big woods, I'd be looking to turn them into field cover, not the other way around.

Year round Food & Security are most important, and big woods are neither.

His property description sounds like most of the property is pasture. If I had a lot of pasture, I would be turning it into thick cover for sure.

 

[MickThompson]

If i had big woods, I'd be looking to turn them into field cover, not the other way around.

Year round Food & Security are most important, and big woods are neither.

Me too. Pines would get some cover there but at the expense of basically any food value and huntability within 5 years. It would be year 15 or so before it opened up enough to see under, and then would still be void of food. Sure, you might be able to cut pines by year 25, but pines have pretty well always underperformed, even where markets exist in the Deep South.

Give them food and cover they can't get somewhere else and they won't go somewhere else looking for it.

 

[JCDEERMAN]

What DoubleRidge said.

I was just going to say, "Don't do anything to it. Let it regrow naturally." But as DoubleRidge pointed out, running a disk over it (disturbing the soil) is the fastest way to get broadleaf weed and saplings started. It should be "cover" in three growing seasons.

I was also going to say to not do a thing - just let it grow up. But as @DoubleRidge saidabout disking, absolutely would give you a much bigger variety of plant species

 

[MickThompson]

I was also going to say to not do a thing - just let it grow up. But as @DoubleRidge saidabout disking, absolutely would give you a much bigger variety of plant species

Kill the pasture grasses first

 

[BSK]

Kill the pasture grasses first

Great point.

 

[casjoker]

Thanks for the feedback. With the information provided above and some additional research, I will try a 5-acre kill-the-grass, light disking, and let it grow. Then a few one-acre strips with some pine or other faster-growing trees. Then do a few 1/2 acre food plot strips in between. I don't want to get crazy with bigger trees if I want to turn it back to fields. Not a huge fan of pine, so want to keep it limited. I just know it proliferates easily. I do want to add a few persimmons and chestnuts. Hoping to have some decent cover started by year 3. Maybe some fruit hitting the ground in 5. Any particular place to get fruit trees than another?

 

[Bucket]

Give them food and cover they can't get somewhere else and they won't go somewhere else looking for it.

Love this statement.

 

[BSK]

In a big woods, hardwood environment, patches of planted pine are a gold mine. They provide much more precipitation, visual and thermal cover for the deer than leafless hardwoods in late fall. Although planting pine where that species is common doesn't provide as much benefit.

Another benefit of planted pine is the "edge effect" they can produce when planted right up against mature hardwoods, or along the edge of a brushy field. The below picture is a long, narrow ridge where mature oaks were left standing on the spine of the ridge, but the hillside was clearcut and planted in pine. I cannot count the number of bucks that have been killed as they worked down that ridge, hanging right on the edge of the planted pines.

 

[DoubleRidge]

In a big woods, hardwood environment, patches of planted pine are a gold mine. They provide much more precipitation, visual and thermal cover for the deer than leafless hardwoods in late fall. Although planting pine where that species is common doesn't provide as much benefit.

Another benefit of planted pine is the "edge effect" they can produce when planted right up against mature hardwoods, or along the edge of a brushy field. The below picture is a long, narrow ridge where mature oaks were left standing on the spine of the ridge, but the hillside was clearcut and planted in pine. I cannot count the number of bucks that have been killed as they worked down that ridge, hanging right on the edge of the planted pines.

Great pic that shows clearly what you are describing....interesting.... creating edge and adding diversity....makes sense.

Just curious...how old are the pines pictured? And did you plant them from bare root seedlings? Or?

 

[Boll Weevil]

Any particular place to get fruit trees than another?

I got some from here https://agriculture.tn.gov/onlineseedlingsales/ a few years ago but availability by species can vary widely.

 

[Boll Weevil]

Here's another example of putting the edge effect/diversity into practice that might help you plan your spot(s). From lower-left to upper-right. Behind me is hardwood (I'm sitting in a white oak), newly planted winter wheat, established Durana, native buffer that gets mowed once a year, planted loblollies.

If I understand your post above about strips of food/cover something like this is tried and true, easy to maintain, and the critters love it.

 

[BSK]

Here's another example of putting the edge effect/diversity into practice that might help you plan your spot(s). From lower-left to upper-right. Behind me is hardwood (I'm sitting in a white oak), newly planted winter wheat, established Durana, native buffer that gets mowed once a year, planted loblollies.

If I understand your post above about strips of food/cover something like this is tried and true, easy to maintain, and the critters love it.

View attachment 163721

THAT is beautiful! What a perfect mix of habitat types and ecotones.

 

[BSK]

Great pic that shows clearly what you are describing....interesting.... creating edge and adding diversity....makes sense.

I was also intentionally adding a habitat edge right on top of a preferred terrain feature for buck movement: the "military crest" of the ridge-line, which bucks like to travel along. From my old rub density survey, I found I could increase the amount of rubbing activity (and probably frequency of buck travel) five-fold by creating a preferred habitat edge right on top of the preferred terrain feature.

Just curious...how old are the pines pictured? And did you plant them from bare root seedlings? Or?

In the picture, they are 10 years old. They are now 24 years old! Deer don't use them as much as they used too (I think usage declines pretty dramatically once the pines reach about 15-20 years of age), but we still see a lot of buck usage of that ridge-line, especially in a good acorn year.

And yes, two coworkers and I planted those 6,000 bareroot seedlings in one brutal 3-day event, while it was sleeting and snowing. And after that I swore I would never plant pines myself ever again! So what did I do after my last timber cut? Planted 4,000 pine seedlings.