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New guy looking for help

Bryan95

Member
Hey guys I'm new here and wanted to say hi. I am 16 and love to hunt but dont have much experience with deer as I have mainly hunted turkey and pheasant. I hunt on my grandfathers farm in wayne county and the majority of his land is pasture or hay with about 100 acres of corn I have talked to him about planting some trees in existing waterways with some trees so we dont have to mow or till around them and he said that was ok. I collected a bunch of acorns and looked upstuff about growing them so i ended up putting them in a ziploc with some damp sawdust. I collected what I believe are white oak acorns pin oak acorns bur oak acorns and some red oak acorns. So is there anything else i could do to help the deer there or can someone give me some advice. Thank you
 
Well, first off, welcome to the site! I don't know a whole lot about improving ground for deer, but one thing that comes to mind would be to plant some faster growing trees along with the oaks. Put something in the ground that won't take 20 years ( or however long it takes oaks) to mature into something worthwhile. There should be some guys on here that can give you some good advice. Good luck!
 
Wayne County is just north of my place in MO. You are in a great area for deer that is for certain.

If you are going to plant the acorns into the waterways, you will need to kill off the existing vegetation (which is most likely a cool season grass of sorts). The acorns will also need protection from squirrels getting the acorns after planting, deer browsing the growing seedlings and bucks rubbing the seedlings.

Look at dbltrees thread,"Acorns to Oaks" for lots of ways to start acorns.

http://iowawhitetail.com/forum/showthread.php?t=34360

For part of the waterways, I would look at native warm season grasses/forbes to replace the existing vegetation if its not already in such. That is great cover for deer and pheasants alike.

Do you have an aerial of the farm/pics of what the waterways look like now? My farm is close to Lineville, IA so I am back there a lot of if you need someone to look it over with ya and give some ideas.
 
I actually hunt my dads uncles and grandpas farms along with quite a few other farms in Wayne county. I dont know much about planting acorns but if you ever need any other advice or help Id be happy to help you however i can.

Welcome to the Iowawhitetail!
 
Thanks guys I dont have any aerial pics right now. I have also thought about planting apple trees but with as much trouble we have with some on our property now Im not sure if i could keep up withall the maintenance. What sould I do to kill off some existing vegetation. I was thinking either pull it up or dig it up Im not sure
 
Thanks guys I dont have any aerial pics right now. I have also thought about planting apple trees but with as much trouble we have with some on our property now Im not sure if i could keep up withall the maintenance. What sould I do to kill off some existing vegetation. I was thinking either pull it up or dig it up Im not sure


Spray it with roundup or some other type of generic. Planting holes are made was easier where the sod is killed around where the seedling will be going and they grow better without competition too. You could start by prepping your planting areas this spring, whenever green up occurs. Then spray 1-2 more time (depending on weeds) so your site will be prepped come fall.

The IA State Nursery accepts orders in the fall and you could plant your seedlings then, or acorns if you collect any this coming fall. Its best to get things right before you go planting or you will be planting things twice.
 
Here are some different setups I use.

This is an American Chestnut that I have growing. This site was prepped the year before with roundup 2 times. Once for the existing sod, then once for the weeds that grew back. The chestnut seed was planted in October, in the tube that was pushed into the ground 1". The tubes help keep deer from browsing the seedlings and the bare dirt around the seedlings keep mice/other rodents from wanting to get in the tube to eat the bark off the seedling.

100_0405.jpg
 
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Once you get the seedlings planted (say you do it in the fall). The soil will have settled by the following spring and you can use a pre-emergent herbicide that will prohibit weeds from germinating. I used oust/certainty/roundup on this chinkapin oak and it is clean as a whistle. Depending on what you plant, certain pre-emergent herbicdes will be best and some will be bad to use.

100_0334.jpg
 
Thanks phil i just went through most of the acorns to oaks thread in dbltrees corner and it was packed with info. I have started a lot of different oaks in ziplocs in the fridge with sawdust. The only ones that have sprouted so far are the pin oaks and have transfered a few over to plastic cups and have stems that are about 2 to 4 in. long. Planting trees is a fun hobby, my parents think its funny but they dont understand
 
Not the greatest pictures but thought i would show you guys
Little pin oak shooting up
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Close up of another pin oak
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I think this is a white oak if it isnt it is most likely a red oak but i havent had too many white or red oaks sprouting yet
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Another option for the pin oak seedlings, the MDC nursery sells out of state and they have xl pin oaks seedlings this year.

Those are one year old seedlings that grew to 30+". These seedlings are just the most vigorous of that years hatch so to speak and did not receive any special care to grew better than the rest....just better genetics. They would be a great option for you and they come in bundles of 25 for 16 bucks plus shipping (is 5 dollars for me).

Here is their link. The one good thing about planting seedlings is you do not have to worry about something getting to the acorn. The downside to bareroot is they are a year behind since they have to build their roots back up.

http://extra.mdc.mo.gov/cgi-bin/mdcdevpub/apps/seedlings/search.cgi?record=all
 
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