Southwest Mississippi Deer Plots

[JUCOtransfer]

Hey guys,

I've been poking around the Interwebs about this so I figured I'd post the question here too.

About me: 2018 College of Business alum
Location: Amite County

I've been hunting for two years since I moved back from Starkville. Hunting approximately 90 acres of family timberland. We're thinning the pine this summer and are planning on putting some food plots out. I know next to nothing about agriculture, but I've heard that our soil is very acidic and that I should be putting lime out. I've got some soil testing kits from the Mississippi State extension service and I am about to go take some soil samples.

Does anyone have any free advice they don't mind parting with?

 

[o_LandDawg]

Your soil tests will dictate amount of lime you need. Your soil type (sand, clay or loam), fertility & drainage could dictate what you need to grow.

All in all, you can dive deep & spend plenty money or you can simply get your soil to a manageable level & just grown wheat or cereal rye. It really depends on your goals.

 

[mdm3045]

Talk to the Agri-AFC folks in Magnolia. They are experts in food plots, pastures, row crops, etc.

 

[EagleDawg97]

Add lime as needed to get PH close, it will take several years as there is a 90% you are very acidic with pine trees.

plant forage oats, MSU did a big study several years back and forage oats are the most palatable to deer in this area. They pounded my oats this year, and my plots currently look like a golf fairway.

I would also add mineral licks in the center of your property and refresh them every 6 months.

I started with some purchased land 8 years ago and we saw a few does and on year one. This year we had pics of 13 rack bucks and saw 5 of the 13 hunting. We only only killed one 120” 8 point for my son’s girlfriend. We let several borderline shooters walk this season and killed a few does with archery gear.

 

[Eleven Bravo]

I’m in southwest Mississippi as well, and I’ve been hunting on family land here all my life. My son-in-law and I have learned a lot over the years. I sold fertilizer for a Yazoo City-based company for many years and have a lot of experience with soil agronomy. If you want to maximize your food plots in SW Mississippi, your thoughts on lime are exactly on point. Your soil pH is probably in the 4.0-5.0 range. A pH of 7.0 is optimum but it’s pretty hard to get there. On my farm it takes about a ton of lime per acre to raise the pH value by .5. To reach say, a pH to 6.5 will take 3 tons/acre. Lime is strange, because it takes lime quite some time to break down to the point that it actually neutralizes the pH. It takes a lot of work and patience to get there. The payoff is great if you stay with it-we now have some of the finest clover and vetch plots anywhere-in places where you couldn’t get clover to grow before. I have no idea where you are located, but you are welcome to come to Walthall county and look at our plots any time you want to. We will answer any questions you have. Just let me know.

 

[turkish]

Make the plots as big as you can. Half an acre and smaller is nearly too small to fool with, if they’re all that size. If you’re making plots from thinned rows, make them in a north-south direction, not east-west.

This is easier said than done but ... If you’re dictating the location, and not the logger, find the tree you want to hunt from and build the plot to suit the tree. 99% of the time people build the plot and then go looking for a tree to climb.

 

[1984dog]

90 acres of land is not much to manage. I have no clue as to what type of habitat the surrounding lands (food and cover) but your key will be to:
1) place food plots where you can quietly sneak into and sneak out with minimum human contact with to food plot
2) If you do not have adequate bedding/security areas, I'd look at planting some switch grass or some other tall grass up in the pine tree lanes to give the deer some security and bedding areas. Deer must have cover adjacent to food plot or they will not enter until it gets dark.
3) Probably need 2 or 3 food plots so that you can minimize the human pressure on the property. Think about typical wind directions and make sure there is a plot to hunt somewhere regardless of which way the wind blows.
4) Do not walk or drive across food plots on your way to stand.
5) get a soil test to find out what you need to do condition your soil properly. Be patient and realize that it make take some time (years) to get the pH and soil conditions right for the type of planting that you desire. In the short-term,a combination of rye, clover, buck oats and wheat work good in the fall.
6) Supplemental feed in food plots. Set timers so that food is broadcast on your scheduled time not theirs. Set afternoon feeder at least 45 minutes before dark and morning feed about 45 minutes after sunrise.
7) Plant some good food crops because with only 90 acres you need to draw the deer in. Perennial clover is great.
8) 8) Go to youtube and search for Don Higgins. The man knows his stuff about deer management and deer hunting.

 

[8dog]

A deer from Lorman meets a deer from the other side of the tracks in Natchez. Their relationship
is forbidden but they fight to be with each other when mysteriously the deer from Lorman is shot and killed. Its a murder mystery.

 

[trob115]

You can buy fast acting lime for this year to jump start your plots. It will raise the pH quicker than standard lime, but there will be no residual left next year. Your soil test will get you a good idea of how many tons per acre you will need. If you're able to get your pH around 6.5, that'll be better than most in your area.

If you're new to land management, give Jeff Sturgis a look on YouTube. He has some good ideas you can implement for free.

 

[greenbean.sixpack]

If putting out pelletized lime, can it be put out on top unbroken ground? Or does the ground need to be broken up first? Does the lime need to be disced in?

 

[trob115]

If putting out pelletized lime, can it be put out on top unbroken ground? Or does the ground need to be broken up first? Does the lime need to be disced in?

You can just broadcast it on top. You just don't want a huge downpour or anything because you risk some wash off. Pelletized reduces runoff risk too.