New Plot

We put in a new plot this year at the river land. Due to the landscape around here (i.e. open flat landscape filled with corn and beans and minimal habitat outside of farm groves and the few river bottoms), our plots rely on utilizing once tillable acreage (exception to the first several years of food plots over a decade ago). This plot is a nice break from the multi-variety, visual barrier divided, and very managed plot rotation we need to employ on our other plot pieces.

This plot is directly adjacent to a 40 acre, 1/4 miles+ piece of river bottom land that we leave as sanctuary and never access but to retrieve deer. Tucked in along the sanctuary and directly behind a piece of RIM, this plot holds some serious hopes for that 1 or 2 times a year we will access it.

Pic 1: A few sub-optimal trees were cut and alot of brush cleared. The thick growth on the left expanded well into the black dirt of this picture before.

Pic 2: Scanning right of Pic 1, this was about where the thick successional growth broke more into a wooded meadow area prior.

Pic 3: The plot is V shaped and this is the south and west facing portion

Pic 4: Same piece os Pic 1 & 2, only facing north instead of south.

Pic 5: Just over a week after planting and a timely rain right after. As long as this new growth can sustain the on coming seed bank, it should be awesome! Sprayed it down and disced the regrowth, just hoping that will get us through the first year (was limited on time to prepare it more).

P.S. Sorry Kooty, but not one rock

This sounds like a very promising place!

looks like a sweet spot

Its coming along nicely

Now if only I can get a daylight picture of a 140+ standing in the middle of it of it during mid-October

The new plot has competed better than expected against the seed bank. Staying a little wetter than I had originally expected, and combined with the large portion of shade, the root depth is a little behind and leaf production is remaining string like (giving the appearance of over seeding at this stage). A little more time will tell how well these varieties will produce given the area. The second pic is of the first decent buck that made its way to the plot. Hopefully more will follow.

I see a drop tine coming!!!

Nice plots! Wish I could say the same. I planted two plots about the same size as yours – and around the same date – in west central MN. I’ve had .02 of an inch of rain since. Needless to say, everyting is burnt to a crisp again (5th year in a row!).
Next year, there will be no summer/late season planting on our acreage. It’s all going in in April/May. Screw the late season. I’m done wasting $250.00 a year on seed that just germinates only to get burned-off by drought.
The only good thing about it is that the turkeys love dusting in the open dirt feilds late into Fall.
A lot of hard work went to waste this year too, because we got hit by a tornado there and we (4 of us) spent about 6 hours each for 4 days straight cutting and clearing fallen trees off the feilds just to get that planting in. Hopefully, next year, I’ll till-up that golden horseshoe so I can finally get in a good crop year.