Farmhunter's Deer Management and Property Improvements
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farmhunter
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Could be more then one bear. We've just never had one before though. Was a sighting 5 years ago down the road a young male.
Lots of people saw bears this early summer around the area it seems.
Beans are finally coming along. We mostly only planted corn for screening and stand entry exit. when we plant corn this way the geese and turkeys really pick away at it when it first sprouts - so some thin spots. I overseeded with turnips into the corn strips this past weekend - hoping that works out - tough when you cannot compact it- but we got a 1.5 day rain so fingers crossed.
At the cabin I've been maintaining a crossbow/compound bow range - starting to use it a bit this summer. I enjoy the backround being the trees I planted more than 15 years ago now when I split up the 15 acre field. My grapes are on the left and so are the blueberry and a couple apple trees. All four of my plums died this winter - had "black rot" - after 10+ years. Not sure that is what killed them though.
Day Lilies are blooming - and very colorful this year.
Lots of people saw bears this early summer around the area it seems.
Beans are finally coming along. We mostly only planted corn for screening and stand entry exit. when we plant corn this way the geese and turkeys really pick away at it when it first sprouts - so some thin spots. I overseeded with turnips into the corn strips this past weekend - hoping that works out - tough when you cannot compact it- but we got a 1.5 day rain so fingers crossed.
At the cabin I've been maintaining a crossbow/compound bow range - starting to use it a bit this summer. I enjoy the backround being the trees I planted more than 15 years ago now when I split up the 15 acre field. My grapes are on the left and so are the blueberry and a couple apple trees. All four of my plums died this winter - had "black rot" - after 10+ years. Not sure that is what killed them though.
Day Lilies are blooming - and very colorful this year.
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farmhunter
Well-Known Member
We have an old 4 row IH 56 corn planter. The fertilizer bins and auger mechanism is shot. So are the Coulter discs - but it still plants. We have to broadcast fertilizer - but we don't use any for beans. Not sure how many more years are left in it. If the field is big enough I checkerboard plant the beans - and if its long and skinny I split the rows when I plant. Never exact but they usually fill in nice.
farmhunter
Well-Known Member
Lasyt week I got another turnip plot in and a 1/2 acre buckwheat plot in. Still have a clover/rye plot to get in and I got some rye to overseed some soybeans to see how that does for me.
Scouted a little bit last weekend - watched our Piebald doe -this hunting season will be her 12th!
A nice tall 2.5 year old 8 point came to the beans too - a homebody we call Kenny.
Have seen a few other nice bucks too - really looking forward to this season!
Scouted a little bit last weekend - watched our Piebald doe -this hunting season will be her 12th!
A nice tall 2.5 year old 8 point came to the beans too - a homebody we call Kenny.
Have seen a few other nice bucks too - really looking forward to this season!
farmhunter
Well-Known Member
she does not have any fawns this year. I keep pretty good track of her - and I don't think she ever had a milk sac this spring.
She's never raised two in one year - but we think she may have lost one or two young early on. This is the first year she did not have a fawn. She used to be very elusive, always - but the last couple years you can see her in the same couple field corners most any summer night. She doesn't mess around when she smells human scent through - she will vacate a field and sometimes the others will follow sometimes not - but she never is iffy - she just goes back to her little sanctuary.
this was her the other night - she crossed 300 yds and got down wind of me - and gone!
She's never raised two in one year - but we think she may have lost one or two young early on. This is the first year she did not have a fawn. She used to be very elusive, always - but the last couple years you can see her in the same couple field corners most any summer night. She doesn't mess around when she smells human scent through - she will vacate a field and sometimes the others will follow sometimes not - but she never is iffy - she just goes back to her little sanctuary.
this was her the other night - she crossed 300 yds and got down wind of me - and gone!
farmhunter
Well-Known Member
Here's my buckwheat up after 2 weeks. It could be 10 years since the last time I planted it. My uncle has always been a fan, so are the turkeys - not me so much. SO I planted it for the both of them.
its got a good start - Hope I get some hard seed before a frost.
its got a good start - Hope I get some hard seed before a frost.
farmhunter
Well-Known Member
a nice look at Rollie Fingerz
farmhunter
Well-Known Member
hoping to get some newer pictures of Junky Joe (he's the heavy buck in the apples on 7-7 with all the junk below his brows) - I've recently got a couple crappy long distance field pictures. - Junky Joe's field friend is a looker as well - haven't seen him up close yet - so he doesn't have a name yet.
farmhunter
Well-Known Member
I appreciate the comments. I cant imagine working the fields without the rocks - would be great!! We don't pick them up unless they are bigger than a pie plate. Some can run a couple hundred lbs. with the fields worked almost 200 years - you wonder HOW and WHERE do they come from!!! mostly the small ones are a nuisance -and we leave them.
This field had some compaction issues from several years of beans and no sod. So last year it was groundhog radish -and this year fallow until this buckwheat plot. It still turned over plenty hard - but I think better than the year before. Even though I rotate plots - I sometimes find I overlook some spots.
This field had some compaction issues from several years of beans and no sod. So last year it was groundhog radish -and this year fallow until this buckwheat plot. It still turned over plenty hard - but I think better than the year before. Even though I rotate plots - I sometimes find I overlook some spots.
farmhunter
Well-Known Member
you know it!! the field edges have piles of rock feet deep. The flat flag stones are all limestone - its not too far down, the Allegheny plateau was the bottom of an inland sea. Also the land in the southern tier of NY was carved out when the glaciers receded - so in addition to our own bedrock not too deep - we get a lot of round, water polished igneous rocks like granite that were dropped when they melted. Sometimes huge 1000 lb round granite rocks are found - you see them around here a lot in peoples front yards - they are interesting for sure. We don't have any huge ones on ours - but a lot of bowling ball sizes and smaller. They wreck a Brushhog let me tell you!!
farmhunter
Well-Known Member
Got my 1st scrape set up working. This spot is a staging area and this scrape and tree branch is a perennial scrape. All year it gets some activity. When I open it up in August - it goes into high gear and I get a camera on it. The deer never seem to notice the camera at this set up.
Here is Lefty and Rollie - both are regulars here. Time to get another couple scrapes set up.
Here is Lefty and Rollie - both are regulars here. Time to get another couple scrapes set up.
farmhunter
Well-Known Member
Beans are getting hit pretty hard - having trouble canopying with the browse pressure but we've had worse. Still 3 good weeks of growing left - still blossomed - just starting pods - always seems so late!
here are three of the 5 fields in Beans - Mid August.
these two I only sprayed once around July 4.
This one I sprayed around July 4 and again 1st week in August - ragweed was very heavy in it. you can see the windows in the observation/late season hunting blind - just peak over the corn. We like to be able to get in and out of the stand with deer in the field.
With the bare ground underneath - I may seed Rye into it in a couple weeks.
Moving cameras around to cover beans and prolific apples on field edges - pulled most cameras out of the woods as I don't like to poke around too much in Sept.
here are three of the 5 fields in Beans - Mid August.
these two I only sprayed once around July 4.
This one I sprayed around July 4 and again 1st week in August - ragweed was very heavy in it. you can see the windows in the observation/late season hunting blind - just peak over the corn. We like to be able to get in and out of the stand with deer in the field.
With the bare ground underneath - I may seed Rye into it in a couple weeks.
Moving cameras around to cover beans and prolific apples on field edges - pulled most cameras out of the woods as I don't like to poke around too much in Sept.
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farmhunter
Well-Known Member
Small Turnip plot and corn Screen Plot for south tower.
Where turnips are - would have been corn but was horribly wet all the way into July,
Also - had some corn screen/plots fail and I over-seeded turnips into the failed spots/openings around mid July. Will be weedy because I didn't respray prior to seeding - but I think I'll get some good turnips come fall.
Learned a long time ago to fill in when things don't go as planned. Turnips into failed corn make sense especially because we put down 200 lbs/acre fertilizer at planting - at least the turnips can use it -and not just the weeds. Not always the prettiest results (yes that matters to me) - but good use of resources.
For us - we get good turnip use - but not until Jan-Mar - so its more for the deer, not for the hunters. I do like them to find deer sheds too - so some for me!
Where turnips are - would have been corn but was horribly wet all the way into July,
Also - had some corn screen/plots fail and I over-seeded turnips into the failed spots/openings around mid July. Will be weedy because I didn't respray prior to seeding - but I think I'll get some good turnips come fall.
Learned a long time ago to fill in when things don't go as planned. Turnips into failed corn make sense especially because we put down 200 lbs/acre fertilizer at planting - at least the turnips can use it -and not just the weeds. Not always the prettiest results (yes that matters to me) - but good use of resources.
For us - we get good turnip use - but not until Jan-Mar - so its more for the deer, not for the hunters. I do like them to find deer sheds too - so some for me!
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Elkaddict
Well-Known Member
Great update/photos. Your deer and turkey truly have a buffet! You’ve motivated me to “refresh all of my” scrape sites....and start a couple more. I observed something I’d never appreciated about scrapes the last 2 years. When does are locked down in some remote pocket for breeding, the fawns are typically left on the their own for a day or two. I’ve now watched fawns literally sit down in a scrape site (I happened to create) and wait for mama’s return. While they’d get up an feed and water, they’d never venture more than a 100 yds or so from the site. Apparently they are the deer version of a “this is where we meet if separated” spot. It’s amazing what can be learned if you spend enough time in a core area.
Farmhunter everything looks great and you are certainly setting yourself up for success! I too deal with lots of rock in my plots. The last couple of years I didn’t do any tillage at all but going into winter with only clover and what rye I could get to come up in the clover I decided due to weeds and grass to put in more options this year so I dug out the old chisel plow and disk. Took me all day but I somewhat got the ground worked up. It’s not pretty due to all the rock but it is some dirt...will see if it turns out nice as yours. No beans or corn...
