Whitetail cover?

[Born2Hunt]

Are there any seed companys that you guys know of that produce anything that would create instant cover and browse for deer and turkeys? What I'm really looking for is a thick brushy mix that deer will bed and feed in and keep deer on our property all year. I want something so tall,thick and thorny that a human would not go near it. A young forest floor without the trees is what i need with a tall grass to bed in. Any ideas yet?

[Randy]

Check with your DNR, there are some native grasses that you can plant like big blue stem. We have around 65 acres of it and it is amazing!! The grass is pretty expensive to plant, but will come up year after year. The only downfall is a wet heavy snow will knock it down. I saw 11 different bucks on a 80 acre piece of land and every one of them were in the grass. 7 stayed in it all day long within 200 yards of me.

[Tom2008]

Yep definatley check with your DNR. We talked to them about and we ordered a lot of trees for our property. We plan on putting some Black Spruce in for bedding areas and planting Apple, Plumb, and Choke Cherry Trees around the property. We also bout some White and Norway Pines.

[wtnhunt]

Saw something on native grasses and how to get help with plans on use for creating better wildlife habitats on the twra website not too long back. If I am not mistaken they are now doing land programs if you tie your land up in native grass pastures. Not sure how long or what they pay per acre, but thought that was kind of interesting.

[LETMGROW]

Who is twra? [ so we can find the site ] Thanks

[wtnhunt]

[ QUOTE ]
Who is twra? [ so we can find the site ] Thanks

[/ QUOTE ]

Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency, click here. Look under habitat.

[Strut10]

The most "instant" browse & cover I've found doesn't come from planting. It comes from a chainsaw. I've spent a day here and there on the Strut10 Ranch making messes. A big portion of my timber is soft maple. It's great for sugaring. But really pretty worthless for anything else........timber, mast crop, etc. But burn a few tanks of saw gas felling them into impenetrable tangles 1/2 acre here and 1/4 acre there and you've got instant cover. And the deer will use it. If you do it now (when I usually do it) the deer will benefit from the browse over the winter. In the spring, all the little seedlings and briers on the forest floor will go ballistic in the new-found sunlight. In a couple years, you'll have a game haven.

[LETMGROW]

Problem here is we are looking to establish some more cover in an entirely open 25 acre field. No trees or bushes.

[ousoonerfan22]

Plant some cedars,briars or blackberries then some honeysuckle.
I've been piling up brush where the honeysuckle is growing then the briars or blackberries start growing around it,makes a good hiding spot for the rabbits.

I know it's tough going through green briars.

[Strut10]

[ QUOTE ]
Problem here is we are looking to establish some more cover in an entirely open 25 acre field. No trees or bushes.

[/ QUOTE ]

O.K. Then there's not much chain sawing to be done, huh??

In that case, I would still border-cut the edges, dropping trees out into the field edge. As far as plantings go............I would alternate Austrian pine and some type of spruce (Colorado blue or Norway) in rows. The Austrians will spring up quicker. but eventually (30 years) will become open underneath. The spruce will grow a little slower, but have limbs clear to the ground. As the trees mature, you start dropping some here & there to make brush tangles establish more briars, etc.

[Randy]

[ QUOTE ]
Saw something on native grasses and how to get help with plans on use for creating better wildlife habitats on the twra website not too long back. If I am not mistaken they are now doing land programs if you tie your land up in native grass pastures. Not sure how long or what they pay per acre, but thought that was kind of interesting.

[/ QUOTE ]Our land is in what's called CRP. Conservation Reserve Program. We had to put in a bid to WDNR to try and get in the program. After 3 years of bidding we finally got in the program at $66 an acre. The program runs for 10 years and we have 2 years left. The DNR is already making us offers to extend the program for another 3 years. We could get alot more renting to a farmer but, It is amazing how that Blue Stem grass holds deer and pheasants. The DNR will come out to your land and pretty much tell you what you can and can't do. We also have planted around 7,500 red oaks, and white and red pine.

[ousoonerfan22]

[quote:] We also have planted around 7,500 red oaks, and white and red pine.

That's awesome!

[luckyman4]

Whoa, whoa, whoa. . . before you tear up 25 acres of Imperial food plots and plant white pines and end up with a deer density similar to the Adirondacks, let's think about a few things.

First of all, we know there are deer on your property because they decimated the soybeans. Second, you had some good cover with the standing corn, did the deer ever use it for bedding? Third, the weather during hunting season this year definitely changed deer activity, so don't over-react if you had a tough rifle season. . . alot of people around us did. Did you see signs of alot of nightime activity - if so the deer are still there.

You have good bedding cover all around your fields, so its not like you are lacking it. If you think the Beavers have ruined most of that, then keep up the beaver extermination (easier said than done, I know!)

All that being said, I remember my first impression of your food plots was that you needed to break up that field with travel lanes. As far as I know, however, there is no such thing as instant thick and brushy. I know a few very fast growing shrubs, but they will serve as beaver foodplots, so they aren't ideal for your property. White Pine grows pretty fast, but is by no means instant. Sumac and Black Locust also grow very fast, but they both spread like crazy, so you have to really think about that.

Blackberries are pretty fast growing, and deer love to browse them. We have some behind our house that are at least 10' tall, but not necessarily what I would call "brushy." One nice thing about them is that if you decide that you don't want them anymore, they can be mowed fairly easily.

Probably the most instant cover you can grow you tried this year. . . standing corn. Big Bluestem was a good recommendation, and it makes an excellent bedding area, but I don't think it has the nutritional value of corn, especially when mature.

Remember, if you want to establish year-round cover, then it will be permanent, and it will take a while to develop. So, take the time to plan it out and locate it right the first time, because you won't be changing it every year like a food plot.

[LETMGROW]

Thanks L 4 We haven't made any decisions yet.
It is a brain teaser though!

[luckyman4]

LOL, I love brain teasers!! I'm trying to get my new GPS figured out so that I can use it to make plan maps. . . maybe I'll use your place for a practice run.

Just remember, making cover will essentially be a permanent decision, and won't be near as flexible as food plots. Good luck!!