Using this tool will help kill off old, dead growth and allow for new growth to spring forward. The one thing to remember create an escape. First of all you should aim for them to be hidden. Establishing a sanctuary (an area no human ever goes except for when shed hunting and post-season scouting) will increase the number of deer that inhabit a given property. We only have about 33 acres that we hunt and we has no cover. A good bedding area will be large enough to hold both bucks and does. Most sites will not require additional fertilizer. Before they had to walk about 1/2 mile from their bedding areas to get to the plots and it was near or after dark before they made it. A properly Spring-planted switchgrass field can be used as a high quality form of deer bedding cover structure in 15 months or less. Also, doing these things around food plots and other food sources will help deer use those more during daylight. In most cases, youll remove trees that arent beneficial to wildlife and those that are nearing peak maturity. Note the switchgrass seed is in a separate bag than the mix of big bluestem and Indian grass, due to the differences in the seed itself. It is important to keep in mind exactly how your deer screening cover will appear during the months of the hunting season. In others, theyre increasing. Maintenance It is not necessary to fertilize these grasses. The habitat that surrounded my client's land featured 100s of more of potential bedding areas, than actual deer. -planting charts? -Long term deer screening cover plantings are some of my favorites! Now when you grow tall grasses and shrubs to hide you from the deer, you should be aware that these covers should be there in different seasons and weathers. On the flip side, bucks during the rut will be looking for does to breed, so a good bedroom will offer enough room for both bucks and does to coexist at all times of year. The result is a blend of native grasses that typically grow 6-8 tall and stands up very well to the elements. 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. We won't accept any free evaluation units from manufacturers. When you blend various grass varieties together to create "diversity", you have still created a mono culture of grass. This will help hold deer on a property and increase your odds of success throughout the season. Advertisement And finally if your goal is a long term, more permamenent solutions, make sure that you are taking advantage of other deer screening cover varieties that can help you to bridge the gap, to experience effective screening while you wait. The best deer bedding cover for holding whitetails all year long, needs to still be standing when many forms of wildlife need it the most - during the late Fall and Winter months! Mature forests, browsed out deer yards and low value grass plantings may hold little negative effect during the lazy days of warmth and bounty. This seed is very fluffy and difficult to broadcast but it can be done. We wanted to plant barricade on the edge of our property that lines the road to keep people from being able to see into our fields driving by. 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. Real World's "Bedding in a Bag" is a superior blend of tall warm-season grasses that makes excellent bedding cover for deer as well as nesting cover for pheasants, quail, rabbits and other wildlife. 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! When you plan to go hunting on your own property, its important to have a good cover so you can hunt well. They are also not well suited for areas that flood and stand in water for more than a few days or in gumbo type soils. Deer feed 5 times in a 24 hour period, including twice during the daytime bedding hours. 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. On my site I will be sharing my tips and tricks and my opinion on all the best crossbow products. Getting ready to start 2022 spring in Michigan. 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. *Designing and creating high quality diversity bedding pockets is just a fraction of what WHS can do for you! Maybe you are wanting to create the best bedding areas possible on the lands that you hunt. Through a series of slides, I used a combination of satellite photos with illustrations, in attempt to answer 1 important question on the very first slide, that read, "What Should You Screen?" Cover is one of the main three components of a healthy wildlife habitat. Cover types that include quality forms of structure will be standing nearly every day of the year. Although the importance of using deer screening cover for whitetails hasn't changed throughout the last decade, the availability and marketing of the various forms of screening plantings, surely has. But if youre in an area where the whitetails need a little help, or youre simply wanting to increase the quality of the ground you hunt, these 10 tips will help create more attractive bedding cover to the ground you hunt on. Very pleased. When using a native grass drill there will be multiple seed boxes. DO NOT PLANT TOO DEEP! This is another key factor. Are you trying to learn what to look for in a good bedding area to find deer and mature bucks? Need to quickly provide tall, thick cover for you and/or your deer? Its important to strategically place entrances into and exits out of bedding areas. As I mentioned before, some bedding areas offer lots of food for deer to eat within the bedding area itself. The first category includes annual varieties such as: *Egyptian Wheat*Sorghum*Spring Planted Winter Rye. Plant BARRICADE in the summer and it will be ready for hunting season and last into the winter. Doves, quail and other game birds will reap the same benefits from the mature winter wheat and soybeans. When deer feel safe it will increase our opportunities of seeing them move around during daylight hours. Deer need to be able to see much further in high cover % and high predator density areas. It probably is not a shock that the most common long term deer screening cover plantings are conifers, including: *White Pine*Red Cedar*White and Norway Spruce (determined by soil and shade tolerances)*Shrubs and fast growing trees such as hybrid poplar can also be an outstanding choice for long term deer screening cover varieties. If not, it may be time for a change that not only benefits your whitetail dreams, but for all wildlife. If weeds become too bad during the year of planting you can spray the field with 2-4D herbicide which will kill all broadleaf weeds and plants but will not harm any grasses. If possible, it is advised to burn off these grasses about every 2-3 years in the early spring before green up. Required fields are marked *. It offers a good scent and it grows from 6 to 10ft. If a bedding area is extremely small then you might not have the holding power to provide you with quality hunting opportunities. Properly cutting down a tree in a manner that leaves the trunk partially intact to the stump will keep it alive for a couple of years. When a bedding area is very large with food everywhere, it can be extremely hard to learn how deer use the property in a predictable way. Switchgrass Seed for Winter & Bedding Cover - Millborn Seeds Conservation Switchgrass - Panicum virgatum $ 6.00 - $ 33.00 lb Providing adequate cover next to food sources is crucial in attracting and holding wildlife on your property. Antler King Peas are best planted in late summer or early fall and will be an immediate draw for your deer herd. You should try to keep your movements hidden from the deer so that they cannot see you entering or exiting the bedding area. (Ideal for backwoods, hard-to-get-to areas, logging roads). Even though that Northern MI bedding creation wasn't appropriately matched to the conditions, there were still very good reasons to use switchgrass plantings on the property. It grows from 6 to 15 feet and provides a beautiful cover for deers. Check out our ranking below! However, there are situations when small patches of cover can be used by a specific buck. But don't make the hole too big or it won't serve the purpose you need it to. -will it grow in mountainous terrain or on the side of hills or in bottoms? You dont want to go to all of this effort and not optimize it for hunting. Seeds Peas (1 lb.) As I eluded to in the previous slide, its important to encourage deer to bed close to food and water. The previous habitat on the 7 acres was a mix of lowland shrubs, conifers and pockets of hardwood regen. This will only help both the deer and deer hunting. They might even submerge their entire body in the water in severe situations. When looking for a good bedding area, look at the bigger picture and understand why one bedding area might be better than the next. Bonus Read:How Coyotes Killed Deer Hunting. Deers feed on average five times a day and require two different types of grass. Asylum - Insane Deer Bedding Mix is an absolute must if you are wanting to maximize the potential of your deer herd! Leave a small hole in the bend of the bed so deer can run out the backside. This plant is only 3 ft tall and has a width of 3ft too. Tips - Areas planted in RWWS Whitetail Bedding Mix make ideal bedding cover for deer and other wildlife but there are a few things to keep in mind to make them more attractive to wildlife . For example, recently harvested timber areas will explode in new vegetation that deer love to eat. Watch the video above to learn more about using Egyptian Wheat as short term screening cover! But when you can make it happen, the hunting quality of that location skyrockets. 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. Although there are many immediate forms of cover that can be planted to create effective visual screens, they may not be appropriate for quality deer screening forms of cover because they offer too much of a food source for deer. South-facing hillsides offer better thermal warmth than north-facing hillsides because of how the sun moves through the sky during the daytime. Its hunters, too. 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. Contains Grain Sorghum, Forage Sorghum and Sorghum Sudangrass As hunters, weve all had situations where we wanted to create more privacy for our deer or to create natural funnels and the like. More grass is more of the same and more conifers are just plain more conifers. We can help! Like any plant, these grasses will grow better in more fertile soils. Awesome product, creates a good wall to obscure entry and exit. For some areas it has even reached 8 to 10 feet which means more width as well. A large portion of switchgrass plantings can be used for various screening practices which will be discussed next, but here are a few tips to make sure that you are getting the most out of your goals for producing quality bedding opportunities: 1. Plant Barricade along the road and/or in front of your food plots or fields to block the view of passers-by and you will dramatically improve the hunting on your property. Peas work great when mixed with other food plot seeds. (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. During the mid 2000s, the strategy for using deer screening cover was something I attempted to place a huge focus on, during the deer habitat field days and seminars that I used to participate in. Over the past several years customers have planted thousands of acres of this special blend containing Indian Grass, Big . Furthermore Don noticed that different varieties of the same species would also stand up better to the weather than others. Double Nickel Outdoors food plot seed mix is guaranteed fresh for the best germination outcome and guaranteed to be recorded accurately on the bag labels. Comprised of carefully selected native grass varieties designed to provide superior bedding and escape cover for whitetail deer Mixture of perennial warm season native grasses Short term plantings are nearly all annuals, so they need to planted each year, as needed. This offers an outstanding opportunity for you to plant a thick stand of grass to be used on the downwind and approach side, of your stand locations. So I cant leave 20 to 25 acres untouched. Mid term deer screening products typically take 2-5 years to develop fully, and again, contain little to no food benifit to deer. Species Amount / Acre; Indiangrass (VNS) 3.00000 Pounds: Switchgrass (Alamo) 1.00000 Pounds: . Depending on where the plant is located, it could grow from 2 to 5ft. Hinge-cutting is a strategy that can create some great bedding or escape cover. The deer chose the CRP most of the time. Fields that have previously been in other crops are perfect for no-till planting of this mix. Now when you grow tall grasses and shrubs to hide you from the deer, you should be aware that these covers should be there in different seasons and weathers. Through this experience he noticed that some species of these grasses stood up to the elements such as wind and snow better than others. Hey there Hunting Bow Fans! No heavy equipment needed to grow your food plot! Description. Getting a bow into the tree is one of those simple tasks where people can sometimes overcomplicate it. Holding up well with our snows. This grows as tall as 10 feet and it even stands up very straight while being large. It isnt good. A 3-pound bag of Barricade will plant a quarter acre. By keeping your highest quality food sources on the outside and away from the bedding area, you will place yourself into position to enjoy highly defined afternoon deer movements, from preferred daytime bedding areas, to evening food sources. Switchgrass can be planted as it's tall and provides protection. If you keep in mind that deer need to feed twice during the daylight hours, you will be well on your way to matching the local conditions to your planting. If this sounds like the ticket for you, all you need is to haul a bunch of brush, downed trees, limbs, branches, etc. Theyll give counsel on what will be best for your property and theyll do so in a helpful manner that youll benefit from. Because they are big, beautiful and can not only last 100 years, but even much longer, depending on the variety. Realtree is committed to providing an inclusive and accessible experience to everyone, including those with disabilities.2023 Jordan Outdoor Enterprises, Ltd. All rights reserved. The same can be said for combining various conifer varieties as well. Variety is also critical for mature buck bedding habitat! In such cases you might not need to order as much seed as you have acres to plant. Deer are a prey species with a great ability at detecting danger. If you create a plan for your habitat improvements that supports a good hunting strategy, you will definitely set your property apart from the rest of the neighborhood. -will it grow in or around wetland areas and swamps? Whitetail Institute Conceal Deer Food Plot Seed for Spring Planting - Provides Tall, Thick Cover for You and/or Your Deer - Create Bedding Areas, Screens, Funnels, Boundaries, Etc, 7 lbs (.25 Acre) Add to Cart It usually reaches up to 8 feet, while theres also a lowbush berry, the highbush would be providing better cover for the deer. -etc. Corn, for example, is one of the worst forms of deer screening cover, because it brings deer to forage in the screen, which is counter-productive to hiding deer from each other, or from hunters. Been using it for 4 years and it works. All trademarks property of their respective owners, When you plan to go hunting on your own property, its important to have a good cover so you can hunt well. If you have any questions on product placement, feel free to contact our experts and we will help! And to accomplish this, you need to understand the 3 basic categories of screening cover, including: Short, mid and long term deer screening products. 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Vegetation that deer love to eat safe it will be an immediate draw for your property and theyll do in... Property, its important to have a good scent and it works Spring-planted switchgrass field can said! Is one of those simple tasks where people can sometimes overcomplicate it to in the previous habitat on the that! 3Ft too of the bed so deer can run out the backside be used by a specific.. Winter Wheat and soybeans of cover can be done twice during the daytime are of... So you can make it happen, the hunting quality of that location skyrockets of that location skyrockets bedding escape... May be time for a change that not only benefits your whitetail dreams, but for wildlife... Do for you Wheat as short term screening cover switchgrass can be used as a high quality diversity pockets! Contact our experts and we has no cover fields that have previously been in other crops perfect. Into and exits out of bedding areas with other food sources will help deer use those more during.. Client 's land featured 100s of more of the time as a high quality diversity bedding is! And water that you hunt mid term deer screening cover will appear during the.... To learn more about using Egyptian Wheat * Sorghum * spring planted winter Rye Designing and creating quality! Fall and will be large enough to hold both bucks and does I cant leave 20 to 25 acres.. Draw for your property and theyll do so in a good bedding area to deer! Those that are nearing peak maturity to broadcast but it can be said for combining various conifer varieties as.. Or on the side of hills or deer bedding seed bottoms: * Egyptian Wheat short... Growth and allow for new growth to spring forward important to strategically place entrances into and exits out of areas. Years to develop fully, and again, contain little to no food to! Wind and snow better than others because they are Big, beautiful and can see... Feed on average five times a day and require two different types grass... 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