John D
Member
This summer I ended up purchasing a 36 acre parcel of property for me to build a new house and barn on. I've always wanted a piece of recreational property and finally was able to put buy something. This is a pretty urban area in Northeast Ohio and 36 acres is considered a big lot around here. The property is in Auburn Township, Ohio.
The property was put in as a sub development in the eighties. The road was cut in and it has ditches just like a normal development would have. With the earthwork that was done, seems like all these ditch areas and flat areas are clay. They stripped all the topsoil off to create this development. The problem is the property has wetlands on it so it's no longer able to be developed in cooky cutter lots. I've included some pictures of the aerial of the property along with some pictures of the areas.
I'm nearing completion of the house and trying to figure out what to do with the grassy ditch areas. My plan is to have an acre of nice grass around the house that I mow with a lawn mower. The rest I want to be some type of food plot. Preferably something that comes back every year on its own and doesn't need much maintenance. I'd like to plant something that doesn't grow too tall as I want to be able to use it as a shooting range.
I've included a picture of the area we cleared for the septic area. I'd like to plant some something there that's a little more special than the rest of the areas. This area was forest so the I imagine the soil is much better here. I also have to do elevated leach fields here so I'll be importing topsoil. This area is about an acre and was cleared so it gets sunlight.
I'm an excavating contractor by trade and probably won't have all the earth work done till fall. The septic area will be done this spring and will be ready to plant in May sometime. I was thinking of doing some test runs with food plot crops this spring and see what grows well. I haven't done any soil samples yet so have no idea what I have to work with.
I can use all the help I can get with this project. I never really planted anything other than a simple garden. From a rough measurement, I have 6 to 7 acres of open areas for food plots. The deer population seems pretty good in this woods and I don't think I'll have a problem keeping them around. Looking to create decent habitat for all game animal. I have woods, swamps and hopefully some open areas with good food plots. I've got track loaders, excavators, a side by side and a four wheeler. I have a brush hog for my track loader that I did the initial cut with before built. Was thinking about buying a rototiller to cultivate with.
Suggestions please![Smile :) :)](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
![IMG_1010.jpg IMG_1010.jpg](https://deerhunterforum.com/data/attachments/18/18818-78e01213851fab0e33279fc436e0ad43.jpg)
The property was put in as a sub development in the eighties. The road was cut in and it has ditches just like a normal development would have. With the earthwork that was done, seems like all these ditch areas and flat areas are clay. They stripped all the topsoil off to create this development. The problem is the property has wetlands on it so it's no longer able to be developed in cooky cutter lots. I've included some pictures of the aerial of the property along with some pictures of the areas.
I'm nearing completion of the house and trying to figure out what to do with the grassy ditch areas. My plan is to have an acre of nice grass around the house that I mow with a lawn mower. The rest I want to be some type of food plot. Preferably something that comes back every year on its own and doesn't need much maintenance. I'd like to plant something that doesn't grow too tall as I want to be able to use it as a shooting range.
I've included a picture of the area we cleared for the septic area. I'd like to plant some something there that's a little more special than the rest of the areas. This area was forest so the I imagine the soil is much better here. I also have to do elevated leach fields here so I'll be importing topsoil. This area is about an acre and was cleared so it gets sunlight.
I'm an excavating contractor by trade and probably won't have all the earth work done till fall. The septic area will be done this spring and will be ready to plant in May sometime. I was thinking of doing some test runs with food plot crops this spring and see what grows well. I haven't done any soil samples yet so have no idea what I have to work with.
I can use all the help I can get with this project. I never really planted anything other than a simple garden. From a rough measurement, I have 6 to 7 acres of open areas for food plots. The deer population seems pretty good in this woods and I don't think I'll have a problem keeping them around. Looking to create decent habitat for all game animal. I have woods, swamps and hopefully some open areas with good food plots. I've got track loaders, excavators, a side by side and a four wheeler. I have a brush hog for my track loader that I did the initial cut with before built. Was thinking about buying a rototiller to cultivate with.
Suggestions please
![Screenshot 2020-04-04 at 6.09.25 PM.png Screenshot 2020-04-04 at 6.09.25 PM.png](https://deerhunterforum.com/data/attachments/18/18814-fe12b0ac47c27797d8e7561d6e3ab0b3.jpg)
![IMG_1007.jpg IMG_1007.jpg](https://deerhunterforum.com/data/attachments/18/18815-7a43e4ef997e9c55d508fea92ccdc1be.jpg)
![IMG_1008.jpg IMG_1008.jpg](https://deerhunterforum.com/data/attachments/18/18816-a1f7bd277e963e08940edb63c3530592.jpg)
![IMG_1009.jpg IMG_1009.jpg](https://deerhunterforum.com/data/attachments/18/18817-039a6ed75f6eb1a63ec44a67b2f68de4.jpg)
![IMG_1010.jpg IMG_1010.jpg](https://deerhunterforum.com/data/attachments/18/18818-78e01213851fab0e33279fc436e0ad43.jpg)