If not, it may be time for a change that not only benefits your whitetail dreams, but for all wildlife. The above picture from August 24th, 2014, is from the same frost seed switchgrass planting pictures used in the beginning of this article, first planted during the Spring of 2013. Because Barricade grows really thick and up to 8 feet tall, you can create a corridor of cover to walk behind. 1/2 Acre Ships from KY (5-7 day delivery) - $219.99, 1 Acre Ships from KY (5-7 day delivery) - $409.99, 5 Acre Ships from KY (5-7 day delivery) - $1,810.99. Advertisement We also have had great luck with Fusion and several other products Whitetail Institute products. (verified owner) March 14, 2021. Leave a small hole in the bend of the bed so deer can run out the backside. Do NOT use more than 4 oz of Plateau per acre! document.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Have questions? Deer have options, and often at a level many times greater than native grasses alone. Bonus Read: 7 Ways to Kill Bigger Deer on Small Properties, Photo credit: Bruce MacQueen/Shutterstock. But even if you cant get enrolled in a program, its worth it to do this at least on some level. For example, perennial grasses such as Big Bluestem, Little Bluestem and Indian grass are great for Summer screening, while often very poor at some point during the hunting season. Fill in around the roots to provide good soil contact. It isnt just predators you have to watch out for. Through this experience he noticed that some species of these grasses stood up to the elements such as wind and snow better than others. If your favorite CRP or pheasant mix is laying flat during any month between November and March, the wildlife that counted on those fields of waving Summer green, are either displaced or dead. In some areas, populations have tanked. Plant a line of Barricade in an open area to establish a travel corridor and to bring deer close to a blind or stand. Have you ever wanted to easily create switchgrass plantings for deer, but lack the resources of expensive equipment? This one is another one that varies in height, it grows from around 3 to 10ft. Peas work great when mixed with other food plot seeds. As I eluded to in the previous slide, its important to encourage deer to bed close to food and water. -planting charts? This type of grass usually occurs from mid-summer to late spring. It usually grows as much as 10 ft and in some parts of the country, they are known to be as tall as 16 feet. In most parts of the country, April and early May is the perfect time. PRECIPITATION RANGE. The switchgrass planting was recommended to my client by someone who has had great luck in a large agricultural settings located in Southern MI, where switchgrass can sometimes be an adequate bedding option. Poor forms of "wildlife cover" are numerous and seem to be taking over a wide variety of private, corporate and public land holdings. Contains Grain Sorghum, Forage Sorghum and Sorghum Sudangrass As hunters, weve all had situations where we wanted to create more privacy for our deer or to create natural funnels and the like. Thats part of the natural cycle of life. Antler King Peas are best planted in late summer or early fall and will be an immediate draw for your deer herd. In fact, I think that hunting a sanctuary bedding area will increase your odds of tagging more mature bucks than if you didnt. Posted by Lawrence R Missouri on 14th Nov 2019. Making these adjustments will help you increase your odds of achieving your whitetail and land management dreams. bedding areas for deer cover for deer around food plots cover for deer travel funnels travel corridors across open ground connect two heads of woods cover for hunters while traveling across open areas to and from stands divide large food-plot areas shield food plots from visibility from roads or neighboring property Its hunters, too. If you use a 20' wide swath of Egyptian Wheat (EW) for your short term screening option, you can plant the EW adjacent to the food plot, followed by a 20' width of switchgrass, speckled alder or miscanthus for the mid term solution, and then a few alternating rows of Norway Spruce, spaced 5-6' apart, for your permanent solution. They'll be more apt to use it if they don't feel trapped. Its branches are spreading and it tends to grow in areas that are moist and even dry. To avoid making mistakes when installing screens make sure to read this article. His work and strategies on this property over the last 4 years is giving the deer herd the cover they want so the property can hold mature bucks. Various conifers, shrubs, hardwood regeneration and even some forms of briars and weeds, can all be used to produce viable deer cover. Plants are 10 feet tall and standing up to our winter in Wisconsin with several inches of snow on the ground. When using a native grass drill there will be multiple seed boxes. Good luck! Plant Barricade in the summer so it will be ready by hunting season. -will it grow underneath forest From what I have experienced through switchgrass plantings from Iowa to Minnesota to Delaware and most points between, switchgrass may be one of the most versatile and misunderstood plantings for deer. Depending on where the plant is located, it could grow from 2 to 5ft. This is plenty of seed when a properly adjusted native grass planting drill is used. The habitat that surrounded my client's land featured 100s of more of potential bedding areas, than actual deer. Think about which sides deer will want to remain open based on typical wind directions, direction of approach, direction of departure, etc. A bedding area can also be different just by the amount of human pressure that it sees or food that it has close by. Over the past several years customers have planted thousands of acres of this special blend containing Indian Grass, Big . If you are a landowner, create bedding areas that are different from your neighbors and make sure your bedding areas fit in with the rest of your habitat improvements. -etc. There are government programs out there such as CRP and CREP that will pay you to do this. To learn more about how to set your property apart from your neighbors click this article. This is the first time I have planted conceal. *This MN Big Bluestem field is an exceptional deer bedding area during the warm season, but offers little to no cover during the months of the hunting season. Maybe you are wanting to create the best bedding areas possible on the lands that you hunt. On our own properties we never plant plots of these grasses smaller than 5 acres. Oldfield Aster This one thrives more in the old clover fields which are in open woodlands, along the roadways, or in areas that are dry. Make sure to check out how the WHS Team of Dylan, Ross and Jeff, can turn your dream parcel into reality. Comprised of carefully selected native grass varieties designed to provide superior bedding and escape cover for whitetail deer Mixture of perennial warm season native grasses Perfect to float a deer across the terrain and haul gear with its specially contoured hull. I also encourage your to try the easy, low-resource, but highly effective method of frost seeding your next switchgrass planting; it may end up being a much easier process than you think! This one doesnt just grow up to 6 feet, it even provides as much as 6 feet coverage in width. Establishing a nice, safe place for whitetails to lay up is one of the best ways to hold deer on your property. I run into a couple of common problems with this, including the fact that the bedding grasses are often reduced enough to significantly decrease the value of the bedding opportunity. It is important to keep in mind exactly how your deer screening cover will appear during the months of the hunting season. Make sure to click that link and read that article before deciding where to put your bedding area. The key to this blends success is not the species of grasses that are included but instead the specificvariety of each grass species. Once the switchgrass planting was installed, the deer relocated to the neighbors land across the street and the deer stopped bedding within the 7 acres. In others, theyre increasing. Furthermore Don noticed that different varieties of the same species would also stand up better to the weather than others. Screening various interior islands or lines within a food plot is another great way to reduce the stress among the local deer population. Cover is one of the main three components of a healthy wildlife habitat. When Im hunting or managing hunting properties, Im trying to put myself in a position to hunt predictable deer movements. I have personally witnessed it's ability to withstand significant snowfalls, grow to over 6' tall, and to last as a one-time planting with little to no maintainance for over 10 years. This crop grew so tall and thick and did exactly what we wanted it to do. PLANTING RATE. It probably is not a shock that the most common long term deer screening cover plantings are conifers, including: *White Pine*Red Cedar*White and Norway Spruce (determined by soil and shade tolerances)*Shrubs and fast growing trees such as hybrid poplar can also be an outstanding choice for long term deer screening cover varieties. This blend contains a total of 6.25# PLS (pure live seed) per acre. Location is also important for hunters who dont have the ability to make habitat improvements on the lands where they hunt. However, I think a little bit different. A 3-pound bag of Barricade will plant a quarter acre. You could find this in areas that are moist. In such cases you might not need to order as much seed as you have acres to plant. Broadcasting Planting by broadcasting can be done however additional steps will be needed. But today, it seems were on the downtrend throughout much of the country. The timing for frost seeding would typically take place at least 4 weeks prior to the typical Spring green-up in your area. As hunters and landowners, we need to try and make deer feel safe. Note the switchgrass seed is in a separate bag than the mix of big bluestem and Indian grass, due to the differences in the seed itself. Nutrients for good lactation. Take it from someone whos hunted hundreds of contiguous acres of CRP that was surrounded by quality timber. Thanks to Whitetail Institute for another great product. Deer naturally gravitate to native grasslands. Site by Gray Loon. 8 lbs. Species in this mix. Even though that Northern MI bedding creation wasn't appropriately matched to the conditions, there were still very good reasons to use switchgrass plantings on the property. This grows as tall as 10 feet and it even stands up very straight while being large. They will do whatever they need to do in order to stay safe. I have been pleasantly surprised. Deer love this prairie-style of habitat. Cave In Rock can be purchased from a variety of online sources, commonly priced between $7 and $12 per pound, depending on volume and shiping charges. Hardwood regeneration areas following major timber harvests, lowland diversity mixes of red osier dogwood, red maple, conifers and aspen provided the perfect blend of "food with a view". Use a cultipacker or a light drag after a broadcast planting to ensure that the seed gets good soil contact. If possible, it is advised to burn off these grasses about every 2-3 years in the early spring before green up. We end up planting slow-growing trees or, in extreme cases, even moving earth. -Like mid and long term deer screens, short term plantings come in many shapes and sizes. Planting Instructions: Site preparation is vital for allowing your seed to make clean contact with the soil, allowing for successful and uniform germination. To 6 feet, it grows from around 3 to 10ft bonus:... 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