Always do your homework and become educated and certified before using this habitat-improvement tool. While mid term screenings may last 5-10 years or more after the initial planting, their life is not nearly as lengthy as long term forms of screening cover. To hunt and create predictable movements, your odds will improve over time as you observe and make adjustments to your plan and strategy. Through this experience he noticed that some species of these grasses stood up to the elements such as wind and snow better than others. This type of grass usually occurs from mid-summer to late spring. The temperatures are getting colder as the rut approaches, and deer are seeking refuge in bedding areas where they can regulate their body temperatures. Just as the name implies, its a bush that grows high. However, one of my favorites is Switchgrass. This one has a really broad distribution that varies in color and height based on where its planted. Bonus Read: 7 Ways to Kill Bigger Deer on Small Properties Photo credit: Bruce MacQueen/Shutterstock Read More. Copyright 20 Hunting Bow Lab This usually have arching branches and is a round shape. I help people learn how to hunt deer with a compound bow so that they can go from being complete beginners to becoming highly successful bowhunters, kill big bucks consistently, put more meat in the freezer, experience more enjoyable hunts, and reach their full potential as deer hunters. We can help! It also provides coverage spread of 5 to 9ft. Really folks, it's that simple; you should screen anything and everything, if you want to create high-level whitetail habitat strategies. However, there are clues that can help us understand when deer bedding areas are too small or too big. If the cover on your land is not attracting, holding and hiding critters when the going gets tough, then it is time for that form of cover, to go. But whenever its dry or warmer days, deers would feed less. -planting charts? Make sure to check out how the WHS Team of Dylan, Ross and Jeff, can turn your dream parcel into reality. Deers feed on average five times a day and require two different types of grass. The habitat that surrounded my client's land featured 100s of more of potential bedding areas, than actual deer. Proper Planting Time RWWS Whitetail Bedding Mix should be planted in mid to late spring when soil temperatures approach 60 degrees. Bonus Read: 3 Ways to Hold More Deer on Your Land. In our development of this blend we planted every variety of these species that we could find and observed them over several years for standability under adverse weather conditions. (verified owner) May 24, 2022, Thank you for bringing this to our attention, if you need any info on our barricade at this moment, please feel free to email Robie@antlerking.com. Leave a small hole in the bend of the bed so deer can run out the backside. Some people also grow big blue, but this grass offers a better environment for birds such as pheasants. Why? After the Spring mowing a year after frost seeding, you can let your switchgrass planting take over. For example, some properties should have them on a property line and other properties shouldnt. But don't make the hole too big or it won't serve the purpose you need it to. Description. If you use a 20' wide swath of Egyptian Wheat (EW) for your short term screening option, you can plant the EW adjacent to the food plot, followed by a 20' width of switchgrass, speckled alder or miscanthus for the mid term solution, and then a few alternating rows of Norway Spruce, spaced 5-6' apart, for your permanent solution. Does Love to Bed Near Their Afternoon Food Source Doe family groups are very efficient groups of deer in the world of whitetails. *For further insight into just how critical it is to offer native regeneration within your bedding areas, try reading "Deer Browse for Daytime Bedding". Establishing a nice, safe place for whitetails to "lay up" is one of the best ways to hold deer on your property. Here are a few examples: *Quick Growing Pines (Red and Austrian)*Various Non-Food Shrubs such as Alder and Autumn Olive (if already existing)*Quality Perennial Grasses including Switchgrass*Ornamental Grasses such as Miscanthus Giganteus. You will also need to work the ground with a disc or other tillage tool, lightly drag the seedbed after broadcasting or preferably use a culti-packer to firmly press the seed into the soil for good seed-soil contact. Site preparation and Planting A good stand of RWWS Whitetail Bedding Mix can be achieved without any tillage of the soil provided the ground is free of other vegetation and a no-till drill is used for planting. Sometimes bedding areas have lots of food for deer within them, and some bedding areas offer no food at all. Furthermore, planting tall native grasses will also help provide that buffer that deer love. Maybe you are wanting to create the best bedding areas possible on the lands that you hunt. Im trying to shoot the biggest buck I can, and I know that my odds of seeing a mature buck is much better within cover than in an open field like a food plot. Planting Site RWWS Whitetail Bedding Mix works best in open field areas with lots of sunlight and well to moderately well drained soils. Realtree is committed to providing an inclusive and accessible experience to everyone, including those with disabilities.2023 Jordan Outdoor Enterprises, Ltd. All rights reserved. However, even with a lack of immediate growth, I excpected the deer to immediately begin relating to the switchgrass planting following the discing. Finally, the last slide included screening illustrations of each habitat and hunting feature, with the word "EVERYTHING", in bold text across the top of the picture. Get the latest food plot information, promotions & deals from Whitetail Institute. The number of potential uses for Conceal deer cover seeds are limited only by your imagination. These seeds will put all their energy into producing forage during that time. Best Shrubs for Deer Cover Witch Alder This one is a south-eastern shrub and is known for growing very slowly. Our #1 selling food plot product, Honey Hole is a fabulous northern hunt plot that grows even in tough conditions and deer love it! Perfect to float a deer across the terrain and haul gear with its specially contoured hull. *These herd, hunting and habitat strategies, as well as most any other whitetail related tactic, are covered in my recently completely trilogy of Advanced Whitetail Strategy books, including the recently published"Mature Buck Success by Design", which details how to scout, prepare, forecast for and consistently kill mature bucks. Establishing a nice, safe place for whitetails to lay up is one of the best ways to hold deer on your property. In fact, deer rarely choose to bed within native grass plantings unless forced to do so because of the lack of cover, or if there is a quality daytime forage available within or adjacent to the grass. Plant a line of Barricade in an open area to establish a travel corridor and to bring deer close to a blind or stand. This grows as tall as 10 feet and it even stands up very straight while being large. If they dont see anything, they will go back into the cover and continue on. As I eluded to in the previous slide, its important to encourage deer to bed close to food and water. I wrote a whole article about where to put a bedding area. To make sure that you are on track with your bedding cover planting and habitat strategy, check out, "The Most Important Cover for Whitetails". The leaves are usually narrow and short so it wont be a good spot alone. Deer have options, and often at a level many times greater than native grasses alone. Getting ready to start 2022 spring in Michigan. When the cover that you create fails when all critters need it the most -including deer- it's time to find something else. 8-foot high!! When you blend various grass varieties together to create "diversity", you have still created a mono culture of grass. Deer need to be able to see much further in high cover % and high predator density areas. Ive seen the terrible effects of coyotes and other predators moving into a new location. Double Nickel food plot mixes provide a wide variety of forage to achieve a healthy herd. Imperial Whitetail Conceal is an annual planting specifically developed by the Whitetail Institute to rapidly produce tall, thick cover right where you and/or your deer need it! Placing these near food plots and other food sources will encourage deer to use such areas during daylight while youre in the treestand. The best part about this is in most cases, if going through a government agency, there will be little to no cost when getting their advice. Bedding areas are not all created equal and every individual property is unique. Hunters definitely can scout those green fields within a month and define the trails the deer are taking to and leaving their food to move to their bedding areas. First of all you should aim for them to be hidden. The next problem is that if the food value is too high within the bedding area (clover, alfalfa), there is little need for deer to actually leave the bedding area until after dark, which would be similar to offering a stand of white oaks within a bedding area, or even an apple orchard. When deer feel safe it will increase our opportunities of seeing them move around during daylight hours. Bonus Read:How Coyotes Killed Deer Hunting. Deer feed 5 times in a 24 hour period, including twice during the daytime bedding hours. A combination of all 3, is often the way to go! But when you can make it happen, the hunting quality of that location skyrockets. In most parts of the country, April and early May is the perfect time. Posted by Lawrence R Missouri on 14th Nov 2019. The answer is still everything. Deer, too! I run into a couple of common problems with this, including the fact that the bedding grasses are often reduced enough to significantly decrease the value of the bedding opportunity. As an annual, Egyptian Wheat can be an outstanding short term solution, while a planting of switchgrass can be considered a great long term option. This is one of many rubs on a 63 acre property where Jim has implemented his habitat solutions to attract and hold dominant bucks. The previous habitat on the 7 acres was a mix of lowland shrubs, conifers and pockets of hardwood regen. Without structure, cover for wildlife lacks the level of consistent quality to build and maintain viable populations. This can make hunting extremely challenging. The deer are less disturbed when cars drive by and our comfortable in the fields. From what I have experienced through switchgrass plantings from Iowa to Minnesota to Delaware and most points between, switchgrass may be one of the most versatile and misunderstood plantings for deer. The switchgrass actually had the opposite outcome from what the landowner had originally intended, but those results were easy to reverse with a little additional work. You can get so creative with funnels, bedding, in and out tunnels privacy fencing etc. If you dont have a water source within or near your bedding area then add a waterhole in a strategic location where you can hunt over it. Establishing the warm season native grasses contained in the Real Worlds Bedding-in-a-Bag mix can require some extra effort compared to other crops. Cave In Rock is from what I have experienced, the most widely used and planted switchgrass variety. *My client with 40 acres in lower MI, has used his switchgrass plantings to offer an incredible bedding compliment to his large, destination food sources, as well as for screening along the county road. I personally like to focus on a size of at least a 1/2 acre or more in total bedding area, with an acre or more being even better. Mature buck hunting, herd and habitat techniques. He or she will be able to come in and guide you on what trees to harvest and which ones to leave. Utilizing Switchgrass as a base bedding structure is one of the most effective forms of cover for whitetails that you can create. What should you sceen? But dont make the hole too big or it wont serve the purpose you need it to. "The Most Important Cover for Whitetails". Native Deer Bedding $80.00 / acre. Plant Barricade in the summer so it will be ready by hunting season. Does the cover on your land offer true, year-round diversity? In all honesty, its a Band-Aide for a much bigger problem. Are You Interested in Increasing Deer Populations Where You Hunt? Check out our ranking below! The first category includes annual varieties such as: *Egyptian Wheat*Sorghum*Spring Planted Winter Rye. Been using it for 4 years and it works. My first year with Conceal but it has improved the number of deer we're holding on our property. Then, create small U-shapes (large enough for one or two deer to lay in by strategically piling brush. However, not matter what your cover combination includes, you have to provide a base form of bedding cover. We suggest that you never enter your grass fields but instead use them as sanctuaries for the deer on your property and hunt around the field edges. A properly Spring-planted switchgrass field can be used as a high quality form of deer bedding cover structure in 15 months or less. Try to establish a goal of turning at least 30-40% of the bedding area into non-switchgrass growth. A well prepared seed bed should provide adequate seed to soil contact. Neither option is a good option. For example, a switchgrass field can be an excellent bedroom for deer, but its not preferred deer food. This one is a native to North America and grows well along the roadsides, the prairies, and in native grass pastures too. However, there are situations when small patches of cover can be used by a specific buck. Asylum - Insane Deer Bedding Mix is an absolute must if you are wanting to maximize the potential of your deer herd! 3. Make sure to click that link and read that article before deciding where to put your bedding area. These grasses will not establish well in areas with lots of shade or when in competition with other vegetation. When you combine Switchgrass with the other forms of viable whitetail cover not only can you create outstanding diversity, but you can create outstanding year round cover diversity, that can be used to attract, hold and expand wildlife populations. Bestseller No. Your entire screening goal should be to keep the deer from seeing you, and the deer from seeing each other. But in the area of Northern MI where I was visiting with my client, switchgrass had proven to be a very poor choice due to several reasons: What that means is that as the acres of cover and numbers of predators increase, deer prefer to bed withing areas of higher visibility, which directly relates to how far that they can see in any one direction while bedding. Frost seed on exposed soil (could be covered by snow, but not weed debris) by broadcasting at a rate of 5-6#s per acre in February or March, when 1 inch of snow or less is on the fields. A good bedding area will have each of the traits listed below. My favorite tactic is to plant Egyptian Wheat along side the switchgrass planting, so that in 2-3 years when the switchgrass reaches an appreciable height you will eliminate the need to plant, for up to decade or more.

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