My 160 acre getaway...


dogdoc

Recommended Posts

looks great Todd...that land is shaping up!..

was reading above you have a 'boggy bottom' plot, but if it rains does it become a

soggy bottom plot?

which reminds me of the;

Soggy Bottom Boys "Theys Seginated"!!

lol, The old neighbor (who just passed away last month in his 90's) use to farm my land. He named that bottom "boggy bottom" bc it liked to hold water. The field use to be in alfalfa many many years ago but he eventually turned it into a fescue field:hammer1: for cattle hay. I guess a lot easier to maintain than alfalfa. Now I am trying my hardest to get rid of as much fescue as possible.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Man Todd, looks like that one buck that made it through is a heck of a buck now. Hope he hangs around for you next year, with all the goodies you are giving them at that buffet bet he will have a few buddies around too.

Got 18 bare root trees just came in here today to get planted. All but three or four are going to be placed in our back field, just need to plan the best strategic places where the trees will be a good draw close to cover with easy entry for us and also where I can maintain plots. Big issue we have is the unknown with what will happen the hardwoods next to us. I may post a pic for input.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Man Todd, looks like that one buck that made it through is a heck of a buck now. Hope he hangs around for you next year, with all the goodies you are giving them at that buffet bet he will have a few buddies around too.

Got 18 bare root trees just came in here today to get planted. All but three or four are going to be placed in our back field, just need to plan the best strategic places where the trees will be a good draw close to cover with easy entry for us and also where I can maintain plots. Big issue we have is the unknown with what will happen the hardwoods next to us. I may post a pic for input.

what kind of trees did you get? As you can see I go to great lengths to protect my trees at the farm---caging and aluminum window screen stapled around the base. Bucks love to rub on fruit trees and deer will devour the new tender shoots of apple and pear trees. Not so much with persimmons. I also like to put some landscape fabric around the base to hold in moisture and keep the weeds from competing with the tree. Mulching with some old moldy has really helps also.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

what kind of trees did you get? As you can see I go to great lengths to protect my trees at the farm---caging and aluminum window screen stapled around the base. Bucks love to rub on fruit trees and deer will devour the new tender shoots of apple and pear trees. Not so much with persimmons. I also like to put some landscape fabric around the base to hold in moisture and keep the weeds from competing with the tree. Mulching with some old moldy has really helps also.

6 kieffer pears. 3 each of braeburn, red delicious, and johnathon apples. Got 3 ga peach for the yard. Planting the apples in a block. Each type ripens at a different time.

Beautiful day, but been one of those kind of days, run into truck and tractor issues. Had unfortunate issue come up with a cow this morning that took away a bit of my tree planting time. Knew something wasn't right. First time ever to have a cow to have twins, and unfortunately the placenta came first and the calves were gone by the time I was able to get the cow to the vets office. That really stung. I did get some trees planted, hopefully will finish that up tomorrow.

I have some chicken wire I may use around some t posts. Definitely will cage them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 months later...

Plenty of rain in Oklahoma this year. We are officially out of the 6 year drought as of May. I received over 20" of rain in the month of May and 34" for the year. Of course the plots and trees have exploded with growth.

I did a little experiment this year and planted some Ag beans next to my Eagle Beans just to see how they compare with forage and pod production. So far the Eagles are putting on my forage but I am still impressed with the Ag beans.

Eagle Beans. Up to the chest of the doe.

WGI_0052.jpg

WGI_0049.jpg

Ag Beans as you can tell are not putting on the same amount of forage but still providing some great food.

PICT0119.jpg

I think the bucks are trying to avoid ticks and bedding in the beans.

PICT0100.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great pics Todd! Looks like you have plenty of forage and water to keep them hanging around. Cool having deer bedding in your beans.

The central states have been getting more than their share of rain so far this year. Sure put us in a bind in MO getting some areas planted. Only got 1/2 of the acreage planed we needed to do in MO. Fortunately it wasn't farming ground or our summer forage deer food plots. Seeing a lot of ag fields that didn't get planted in MO this year because it's been too wet. Could have an impact on corn prices this year.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

DSCN3169.jpg

WGI_0250.jpg

Same buck isn't it Todd? Cool when you get tc pics of a deer that you end up being able to close the deal on. Congratulations again. Got lucky enough this past season here to kill one standing at one of my cameras just before I shot, probably never have that happen again. lol

Plenty of rain here too, just hope the spicket does not shut off like I am afraid it might, especially since we are seeing typical summer weather here now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

I had two shooters on my place. The pic you posted was my big 8 that had been hanging around for a good month or so. Here is a pic of the 10 I shot---taken just a few days before I shot him. I hunted opening day of BP with only 1 shooter buck. The opening weekend was so hot I just did a morning hunt and after the hunt changed out my cards on the cameras. When I got home I discovered the 10. It was the first pictures I had got of him and didn't recognize him from previous years. On the following Wednesday I was able to kill him.

WGI_0037.jpg

With this wet spring we have had we should have some great antler growth. My does that are even nursing twins are in some great shape---fat and sassy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...
  • 2 months later...

Well the fall has been dry and I have only received a little more than 2" of rain since the first of September. Plots are still doing ok just not getting usual growth.

Made a couple kill plots. All plots were planted around the first of September: View from the stand.

20150828_111459.jpg

What it looked like 2 weeks ago:

20150925_121507.jpg

Second small kill plot:

20150828_111455.jpg

Two weeks ago:

20150925_121615.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Last year I started a bunch of apples and pears from seeds. Kept them at the house in pots and overwintered. Then this spring I grafted them to known varieties from apple trees I already had planted at the farm. Collect the scions in late winter and store in the fridge until it is time to graft.

Here is a dolgo crabapple that I grafted:

20150930_142611.jpg

Arkansas Black Apple that I grafted:

20150930_151422.jpg

Keiffer Pear that I grafted:

20150930_130458.jpg

All trees are either caged or tubed for protection.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 10 months later...

Well my shoulder is getting better by the day. Still painful when I move it the wrong way but function is returning. Went back to work last Thursday and even doing surgery. Hoping for a full recovery by deer season.

A week ago I went out and did some mowing. Fortunately the mower was already hooked up to the tractor and with power steering it was pretty easy to mow one handed. I went slow. I was getting quite a few broad leaf weeds in my boggy bottom clover plot and wanted to get them mowed before they produced seed. The number one weed is what I think is mares tail. If I mow it right at the very early flower stage it will usually die. There were a few other scattered broadleaf weeds. We were suppose to get a rain the next day but it didn't come. However, I did get a 1/4" yesterday and the clover and chicory plot is doing great.

Prior to mowing--you can see the weeds were getting pretty tall. However, the deer don't seem to mind the weeds.

WGI_0003_2.jpg[/url

WGI_0079.jpg

A week later (today). No spraying on this field. It is very clean after a good mowing.

20160824_112813.jpg

20160824_112841.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My sunflower/cowpea plot was a total bust. Used a pre-emergent herbicide at planting and then sprayed poast plus a few weeks later. Too many perennial weeds and black berry vines. I mowed it a week ago and sprayed it today with glyphosate. Hopefully over labor day weekend I will be able to get it tilled up and planted in wheat, rye, DER, and sunflowers.

20160824_112537.jpg

This plot is only 0.6 acres and is on the edge of a heavily used bedding area. It is surrounded by thick cover so my hope is to see some late evening daylight activity before they migrate to the 2.25 acre boggy bottom plot. My hopes are high. This is the new stand that I built that will over look this plot.

20160824_112552.jpg

The boggy bottom plot is about 500 yards North of this plot and in between is the former fescue field that I nuked 2 years ago. Since most of the fescue is gone and no longer a competition this spot has turned into a jungle. So thick it is hard to walk in. Deer beds all in the junk. I did mow a few trails through it that will lead directly to the food plot but angles so I can see the entire mowed trails from the tower stand.

20160824_112704.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My little pear orchard plot is struggling. Soil isn't quite a good as the boggy bottom so the dry hot summer has taken a toll on the clover. Part my fault also as I haven't sprayed this plot this year so lots of Johnson Grass and crabgrass invasion. I mowed it also a week ago and today I sprayed with Cleth at a rate of 12oz/acre.

20160824_100717.jpg

Still some decent clover so hoping with the cooler temps and less competition the clover will get a little more established. This plot was just planted 1 year ago. It did have a great early season flowering so hopefully there is a lot of clover seeds waiting for cooler temps also.

20160824_100730.jpg

Hopefully the cleth will also take care of all the grass in the plot:

20160824_100742.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Lots of Button Bush scattered around my property. Is a great little bush and provides some great cover. Seeds are sought after by many birds including ducks. The odd round flowers attract many butterflies and hummingbirds.

20160824_112503.jpg

The old faithful persimmon is a fruit that never fails. Some years may have heavier crops but every year they have fruit. I never have to worry about a late freeze to affect my persimmon trees. If you have any of my scions you can bet some of them came from this tree.

20160824_104737.jpg

20160824_104754.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.