c_lou Posted November 13, 2009 Report Share Posted November 13, 2009 Short of logging, what is a good way to add some undergrowth. Our woods is pretty open, especially when there aren't any leaves on the trees. Deer don't seem to stay. I am planning on removing some of the trees that appear to be dead or have dead branches. I just wonder if there is something that can be planted or tossed out to help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichiganHunter Posted November 13, 2009 Report Share Posted November 13, 2009 (edited) I would go with some dog woods and plant them around one edge and just into the woods. they should spread and fill in a bit to make it more of a bedding area. We have LOTS of dog woods in the middle of our farm and it's filled with deer. We can do drives threw it and just have deer walk around us. Edited November 13, 2009 by MichiganHunter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogdoc Posted November 13, 2009 Report Share Posted November 13, 2009 opening up the canopy during spring and early summer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockytop Posted November 14, 2009 Report Share Posted November 14, 2009 Dogwoods or white oaks for trees and supplement that by planting some honeysuckle. That should provide you with some good forage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravin R10 man Posted November 15, 2009 Report Share Posted November 15, 2009 Do a light thinning..that means logging Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strut10 Posted November 15, 2009 Report Share Posted November 15, 2009 About the only way to thicken an existing woods is to thin it out. I've done a number of small clearcuts and it works like a freakin' charm. I'll pick a strategic area that wiould be a preferred bedding area when thickened.....usually a place with some briars or small trees trying to grow already.....and I cut down almost everything. I will leave anything that produces hard or soft mast.....cherry, oak, beech, apple, etc. But the rest gets dropped in a fashion to make the biggest mess I can make. Deer will begin using the slash almost immediately. It would also help, in the spring, to go through and stick in some Norway or blue spruce seedlings. The newly found sunlight to the forest floor will make ground cover explode. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redkneck Posted November 16, 2009 Report Share Posted November 16, 2009 I'm with the chainsaw boys, you got to open the canopy to get undergrowth. Planting dogwoods or white oaks arent going to work, they'll shoot straight up to compete for light. You'd be amazed at what cutting down a few big boys will do for your browse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PotashRLS Posted November 16, 2009 Report Share Posted November 16, 2009 I also agree.....................a chainsaw! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rugermk2 Posted November 16, 2009 Report Share Posted November 16, 2009 Hi, I would recommend cutting some trees here and there as well. Don't cut good trees like oaks, hickorys or any good seed tree. Maples and locust is a good place to start, also if you have hedge I would cut it as well. I don't recommend adding honeysuckle, as it will spread really fast and become more of a problem than a fixer. And I don't imagine neighboring property owners would like you too much if You added it either.!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rugermk2 Posted November 16, 2009 Report Share Posted November 16, 2009 Hi, I would recommend cutting some trees here and there as well. Don't cut good trees like oaks, hickorys or any good seed tree. Maples and locust is a good place to start, also if you have hedge I would cut it as well. I don't recommend adding honeysuckle, as it will spread really fast and become more of a problem than a fixer. And I don't imagine neighboring property owners would like you too much if You added it either.!!!! Once you open up the canopy, more seedlings (trees) can grow without having to plant. Good luck!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redkneck Posted November 16, 2009 Report Share Posted November 16, 2009 Hi, I would recommend cutting some trees here and there as well. Don't cut good trees like oaks, hickorys or any good seed tree. Maples and locust is a good place to start, also if you have hedge I would cut it as well. I don't recommend adding honeysuckle, as it will spread really fast and become more of a problem than a fixer. And I don't imagine neighboring property owners would like you too much if You added it either.!!!! Once you open up the canopy, more seedlings (trees) can grow without having to plant. Good luck!!! Never seen honeysuckle as a problem, always thought it was a great thing to have myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted November 17, 2009 Report Share Posted November 17, 2009 Deer will eat the honeysuckle, some folks do fertilize it. I have heard of honeysuckle spreading though. Not a problem here. Hinge cutting existing trees will allow for light to get in and will also give cover, gotta agree with getting the chainsaw out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camoman1 Posted November 18, 2009 Report Share Posted November 18, 2009 Owner of the place I hunt has been thinning out some trees to get some regrowth...our problem is the deer eat EVERY new seedling that pops up. The seem to LOVE the new maple seedlings. Depending how many deer you have on the property you may need to fence it off for a while to keep them from grinding it all down to nothing.....beware of Prickly Ash too, got plenty of that by me and its not shy of spreading either. Deer by my actually eat the stuff, but it aint fun to walk through. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deerkiller11 Posted November 19, 2009 Report Share Posted November 19, 2009 plant dog woods and since you are cutting you should get good under growth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doubledrop Posted November 20, 2009 Report Share Posted November 20, 2009 let light in and the green briars will appear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MonsterBuck48 Posted December 2, 2009 Report Share Posted December 2, 2009 chainsaws work pretty good. even with all the ruckus, deer are nosey so log a little bit and watch the deer roll in to investigate. and in the end you get the underbrush filling in the voids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rapidfire09 Posted March 3, 2011 Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 Hey guys, I hunt in a small 1/4 acre woods, and it isn't that thick. We set up a deer cam in the woods pointing towards our feeders and we saw a ton of deer, especially bucks. The downside is that they only role through during the night and don't stay. Now I know that this is small but there is a 1/4 acre water hole butting up against the woods as well. Now I plan on putting a food plot of clover around the water hole, but I am stumped on how to thicken up the woods. I would like to get a lot of undergrowth. There was a fire in the woods about 30 years ago, and the ground shows signs of black where it was burned. If I till up the ground where it was burned and cut down the dead trees, would that cause undergrowth? Also, there are some shrub bushes around the outside, would digging into them slightly cause them to spread? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rapidfire09 Posted March 3, 2011 Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 Sorry my calculations of the woods was wrong. It is an acre sized woods, granted it is still small, and the water hole is a 1/2 acre. I know that it is small, but I have pictures of some monsters bucks compared to what we see around my area, but I have faith that it will be a good woods to hunt. Still, would thickening and planting a food plot be worth doing it to the woods or would u guys suggest to find somewhere else to hunt? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jorden Posted March 3, 2011 Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 I agree with William, from what i have heard, hinge cutting works well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbHunterNY Posted March 4, 2011 Report Share Posted March 4, 2011 yup have to get a chainsaw and let it eat. I've used hinge cutting and clear cutting. at my dad's farm he had someone come in and just cut ever evergreen in sight in this one area. it blew up with undergrowth and now deer use it as yarding grounds. Hinge cutting works well too, and you don't have to cut as much. You don't necessarily want to have trees fall anywhere. You can drop them to make bedding areas, cover from wind adjacent to a south facing ridge, etc. There can be a lot of thought into hinge cutting, if you want the best results. I got a new Husqvarna when I bought my house and let it eat just about every day. I've hunted public ground with scrub oak. It provides lots of brushy cover and lots of acorns. You could look into planting that in a place you're hinge cutting or that gets enough sun light. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rapidfire09 Posted March 4, 2011 Report Share Posted March 4, 2011 So when you guys say hinge cutting, you mean to pick out a few trees here and there and chop them down? Do you guys advice me to let the trees lay where they fall or can I cut them up and stack them up around the edge of the woods where the wind normally blows through? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strut10 Posted March 6, 2011 Report Share Posted March 6, 2011 So when you guys say hinge cutting, you mean to pick out a few trees here and there and chop them down? Do you guys advice me to let the trees lay where they fall or can I cut them up and stack them up around the edge of the woods where the wind normally blows through? No. Chop them most of the way down. Check out this link: http://www.outreachoutdoors.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=2010 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rapidfire09 Posted March 6, 2011 Report Share Posted March 6, 2011 alright thanks guys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbHunterNY Posted March 6, 2011 Report Share Posted March 6, 2011 yea check out the link... the idea is the partially cut the tree so it's layed over, but still partially intact so it'll stay alive to keep providing cover. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strut10 Posted March 7, 2011 Report Share Posted March 7, 2011 alright thanks guys WELCOME to the Realtree Forums, BTW !!!!!!!!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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