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Going to start food plots and habitat improvements need ideas

Wi transplant said:
My other concern was size of your food plots ??? Did you mean sq yards or sq feet ? A 20x30 ft =600sq ft is not very big ? Im thinking if possible at all your will need several acres of food to have anything left to hunt over buy late fall ?? Just my thoughts .

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I did misquote the size...were gonna start with 2 that will be about 2-3 acres each with 2 smaller ones that are about 1/4 acre each. The 5th is slightly bigger about 3 -4 acres.
As we get better cover in the timber we have 6 more areas we might do something with those combined might be around 15 acres total. We want to start off on smaller ones where we find our mistakes and when we get to the bigger ones they will be more successful, hopefully!
 
Thanks for your response, The forester did mention TSI to us and replanting trees......for a decent fee of course! AND he is related to me! We had a little meeting today about things and fortunately where I work ( city government ) we have a forester and I am pretty sure we managed to talk her into doing a walk through with us to identify tree species and give us her thoughts on stuff to hinge. We lack tree ID knowledge big time! I am not sure she will know which species of trees to hinge cut. So far maples are a big one to do for awesome canopies. As for id we do know what the popular ones are by leaves but not bark outside of hickory!
I will watch the video. I have watched about 5 hours of video's and read countless articles but everyone is different and what is good in Texas might not work here.
Again thanks for the info and if you have anymore thoughts I would love to hear them!

Mike

Sligh1 said:
Great info above! A lot of info to go over here!! To add to above, start here...
https://www.iowawhitetail.com/forum/forums/dbltrees-corner.45/
Look at 2 things above.... edge feathering & bedding Areas and timber stand improvement. Most comprehensive info u can find. & all the stuff on plots & anything else too!

Second thing.... which u did.... get forester out. **Deadeye... I’m surprised they had u eradicate the invasives but not do timber stand improvement or discuss planting something else to take its place. Ya- that’s going to be pretty bare for a long long time. U need a combo of replanting native species & also doing a lot of tsi. U will be battling the invasives as they pop up from seed again but far easier to manage. To anyone: timber stand improvent, hinge cutting, etc is just such a game changer & sooner the better when done correctly!!!

Native grasses - same- above link. Dbltree is a real deal legend who’s work lives on. Natives are another big can of worms. All these things - timber, plots, natives, tactics on hunting the farm before & after the projects- lots of details but absolutely a very doable process on figuring it out. U did the right thing by getting input from guys who have done it. Get some folks out there who know how to do each of the things u r wanting to do. Expertise will save u a lot of headaches long term. Be a lot of guys on here with some fantastic knowledge.
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Tmayer13 said:
He means because you have 375 acres here in Iowa you should be in the deer. Just having that much ground is a damn good start!
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Yes, "in the chips" is a GOOD thing. It is a reference to being ahead at the betting table, flush with cash, etc. One could also say that with 375 acres you are a lucky dog. :)
 
Ah, I see. I wouldnt say were "Flush with cash"!! If we were somebody else would be paid to do all the work. There are 4 of us who hunt it. 1 lost his leg below the knee, another total shoulder replacement the 3rd has heart issues (me) had open heart to replace a valve that got screwed up from a car accident. The 4th is perfectly fine! So were 75% slow on doing things and when it comes to doing alot of physical things we need to make sure the healthy one is available and he has to younger kids. OLD AND SLOW!


Daver said:
Yes, "in the chips" is a GOOD thing. It is a reference to being ahead at the betting table, flush with cash, etc. One could also say that with 375 acres you are a lucky dog. :)
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Foresters r free if u use a state forester. If they write u a plan (again- free) - u can submit for cost share $ to do the work. So- the work ends up costing very little as well. Just need to get with state Forester.
 
Sorry for short answer. Our property is only 8.5 acres and has no maples on it. No Walnut either. We have a fair amount of hickory, black cherry, variety of oak, and elms. There is another but can't recall the name. We have been working with the state Forester (free) and did get one report the first time he walked it. 2 yesterday later we had him out again to talk about freeing canopy's for better trees. He would ask our goals and try to assist. So he knew I was all about the wildlife. Still never commented about my questions on hinge cutting. We have 6 acres in Forest reserve program. He did help mark trees to girdle.

I suspect I should girdle more or hinge some elms. However I find it really hard to cut a tree down since it takes so long to grow one back. I didn't get the vibe planting any trees in the timber was worth my time. I did plant a bunch of shrubs from the state nursery around the edges but wondering if I need more shade resistant species. Maybe they will come in better next year.

With the limited space we have trying to make the best of it. All the backyard is clover (or working towards it) and hopefully PPT next year.

Property butts up to public ground that is thick and has bedding so I am not as worried about having thermal cover. But I would like ours to thicken up with something other than invasives.

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For hinging: shag bark hickories hinge well as long as u leave the nicest pole & hinge all the inferior ones. Elm hinges ok. Ash & bitternut hickory do not hinge well but fine to knock the heck out of them. Same with locust. If u stick with those trees- almost impossible to make mistakes. That’s a “starter list” on “making a mess”.
 
How about mulberry? Have killed most but have a few remaining.

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Mulberry will sprout from fully cut logs laying on the ground, and they will grow up, on, and around (seriously, like snake status) your desirable trees and kill them. I personally hate mulberry and kill them with a vengeance. Make sure you check the leaves to make sure you are taking out the invasive ones introduced in the 1800's to establish a US silk industry, and not native mulberry. That be said I'm sure they would hinge and coppice nicely. I'm not sure how desirable the regrowth is to our ungulate friends though.
 
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