# Kill Plot thread



## LilSiman/Medina (Nov 30, 2010)

I know it's a bit early for most hunters, but I wanted to start a thread about kill plots. If you don't know what a killplot is, it's a foodplot that's more secluded and very small. Like 1/10 to 1/4 acre.

This upcoming season I'm gonna have two kill plots. One in the north woods of my hunting property and one in the south woods. We started tilling the south plot today and clearing logs. Still have yet to add fertilizer and lime since it's a new area. And there's a lot of logs left to move and cut. The north woods plot hasn't been touched yet. Another problem I'm running into is what to plant. The property has nearly 60 acres of corn on 5 different fields surrounding the wood plots on all sides. Here's a few pictures I took today while scouting.


----------



## Shaun69007 (Sep 2, 2009)

Do yourself a favor and put down some nasty weed killer first. I have tried this in the past and the weeds will take back over real quick


----------



## fastwater (Apr 1, 2014)

Gonna be hard to compete with the corn as long as it's in the field. 

A total kill as Shaun69007 suggested is an excellent idea. Also, get a soil sample done as well. 

You may want to put something in that will hold them during the winter after the corn is off the fields such as beets or turnips. They will eat the tops 1st then start pawing the bulbs out of the ground. The downside to this is you'll be planting every year.

If you don't want to go that route, you could go with Ladina clover or alfalfa. Or even a mixture of both. But again, both these go dormant after the first few frosts. You should be able to get 4-5 years out of a stand of clover if you do a kill, get your soil right, there is sufficient sun and mow it properly.

Also remember that the lime you spread this year will not benefit your ground this year. It will benefit the ground next year. Since you're doing a small plot, there is a lime made(can't recall the name of it) that will react this year but it's pricey and has to be applied every year as it only benefits the ground for the year it's put down. Your feed store will know what it is. You could put it down this year and also put regular lime down as well that will build for next year.


----------



## Sciotodarby (Jul 27, 2013)

fastwater said:


> Gonna be hard to compete with the corn as long as it's in the field.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Pelletized or "pell" lime is what you're talking about.


----------



## fastwater (Apr 1, 2014)

> Orig posted by *Sciotodarby*:
> 
> Pelletized or "pell" lime is what you're talking about.


Bingo! We have a winner. 

That is exactly what it is. 

Thanks *Sciotodarby*.


----------



## LilSiman/Medina (Nov 30, 2010)

fastwater said:


> Gonna be hard to compete with the corn as long as it's in the field.
> 
> A total kill as Shaun69007 suggested is an excellent idea. Also, get a soil sample done as well.
> 
> ...


I'm pretty positive that I am gonna wait until it gets dry after this rain, cultivate the ground again (already did it this week once) smooth everything out with the fourwheeler and then plant a mixture of turnips and beets in a few areas and put some blend of clover down in the rest. Me and my hunting partner are going to expand, cultivate and replant every year. The ground is very fertile and only 50 yards away we planted turnips last year mid summer and they did OK. Nothing to great though. The soil is very good but a soil test will be done FL before we plant. 

As for the north foodplot (the picture with the creek in it) we are going too kill the grass, mow/rake the dead grass, test the soil cultivate and then if needed add lime for the future seasons and plant sugar beets and turnips. 

Remember, these plots are designed to stage the deer before they go out into the cut corn fields later in the season. If we can get them to pattern the killplots in early season before dark that is something we would like and take advantage of. My whole road on the north and south side is gonna be corn fields. We are not gonna be able to compete with these fields, hopefully the deer will just use these killplots as a staging area before dark because the mass amounts of cover surrounding both of them and these ease of the deer to travel to them from the bedding areas without going into the open.


----------



## supercanoe (Jun 12, 2006)

Don't put turnips in now, wait until late July or August. Turnips don't do well in shade, and don't grow at all under the drip line of trees. Those small wooded plots will probably do best in clover.


----------



## fastwater (Apr 1, 2014)

Sounds like a plan. 

Are you drilling or broadcasting your seed?

Planting depth with is crucial when planting beets, turnips etc. And like *supercanoe* said, sun is key as well. 

I'd plan on liming for best results. But your soil sample's will tell the tale. Have never seen a piece of ground in Ohio that didn't need lime.


----------



## Snook (Aug 19, 2008)

I'm a fan of alfalfa and the clover mix. The deer love it. Simple and it lasts. Should serve your purpose well. Good luck!


----------



## fastwater (Apr 1, 2014)

> Orig. posted by *Snook*:
> 
> I'm a fan of alfalfa and the clover mix. The deer love it. Simple and it lasts. Should serve your purpose well. Good luck!


I really like this mixture as well when planted around deer bedding areas or between bedding areas and crop fields. But have found the deer stop grazing on it after it starts getting cold.

The beets, turnips etc I like to plant for more the winter feeding plots. Though the deer will surely feed on the tops earlier in the season.

One thing deer need year round is salt/minerals. There are several natural springs here and the deer sign/sightings around these springs stays heavy(though our overall deer population in this area has really suffered over the last 4-5 yrs. That's another story). Deer eat the soil around these springs for the minerals. One spot I select cut I keep a salt block on a huge stump year round. The deer actually eat the rotting part of the stump.


----------



## LilSiman/Medina (Nov 30, 2010)

supercanoe said:


> Don't put turnips in now, wait until late July or August. Turnips don't do well in shade, and don't grow at all under the drip line of trees. Those small wooded plots will probably do best in clover.


Am I just wasting my time with turnips/ raddishes/ beets? These plots are small and only one gets decent sunlight. Should I just do clover?


----------



## fastwater (Apr 1, 2014)

Beets/turnips/radishes grow best when planted where they receive a lot of sun. But they will grow with getting 2-4 hrs of direct morning to mid day sun. Just not as fast.

Same with clover or alfalfa. 

In partially shaded areas, none of the above will grow as fast or as well as they will if planted in full sun. But again, if they get 2-4 hrs of morning sun, they will grow.
It you can select cut or trim the canopy directly to the east of the plot to allow more morning sun, it would be best for whatever you plant.

Clover is very susceptible to be smothered out by other foreign plants very quickly. I'd till the ground if possible, wait 4-6wks for new foreign foliage to sprout and spray the area doing a total kill, then plant. While your waiting the 4-6wks, you can get your soil sample done and spread your pelletized lime and fertilizer as needed.


----------



## supercanoe (Jun 12, 2006)

Clover would be the best for your smaller and shaded plots out of the options that you listed. You may want to do one in clover and then do one in Balboa Rye this fall. Balboa Rye is a cereal rye that will grow just about anywhere. Deer love it in it's early stage of development. Put it in in August and it feed deer all winter. I pay $17 a bushel for it. A bushel will do an acre. Broadcast it on prepared soil and leave it be. This stuff will grow on asphalt and deer love it.


----------



## chase845 (Nov 2, 2005)

Turnips have been the easiest for me to get to grow. If you have decent sunlight they'll grow well with enough water and fertilizer. Anything else - especially in a plot that small is going to be subject to too much browsing pressure. Look for anything with the most tonnage. Any brassica mix really. Let's put it this way, I've never had a hard time getting brassicas to grow.


----------



## chase845 (Nov 2, 2005)

All of these have some form of rape in it. Any brassicas with bulbs are super easy to grow and yield tons of forage. They may not be the most palatable early. So mixing it with something else works really well.


----------



## fastwater (Apr 1, 2014)

Looks great *chase845*.


----------



## DLC (May 3, 2007)

fastwater said:


> Looks great *chase845*.


Go with winter wheat or winter rye grain. Small plots of turnips or radishes will get wiped out before you have a chance to hunt it (if your deer even like them as many don't).


----------



## LilSiman/Medina (Nov 30, 2010)

I planted my bottom plot with plot spike clover and some rape a couple weeks ago. Tomorrow or Saturday I'll post a picture of what it looks like and maybe some deer in it. I haven't been back there yet.


----------



## LilSiman/Medina (Nov 30, 2010)




----------



## fastwater (Apr 1, 2014)

Looks good.
Did ya see any sign of browsing or tracks? 

FWIW.... you still have time to rake and re-seed some of the bare spots if you wanted. Trimming the low hanging bushy tree/sapling back that is causing the shaded area in the left side of pic will help as well.


----------



## LilSiman/Medina (Nov 30, 2010)

fastwater said:


> Looks good.
> Did ya see any sign of browsing or tracks?
> 
> FWIW.... you still have time to rake and re-seed some of the bare spots if you wanted. Trimming the low hanging bushy tree/sapling back that is causing the shaded area in the left side of pic will help as well.


the bare spots have some small growth, and the left side of the plot has zero sunlight and nothing grew there. we cannot cut that side because the trees are huge and overhanging the bottom. Whats growing now is what we're gonna leave. One of the smaller bucks out of a bachelor group that has a 120 and possibly a 150 in it walked threw during day liht one day and a fawn and doe show up regularly. Sunday im gonna pull cards again.


----------



## LilSiman/Medina (Nov 30, 2010)

The plots growing good in the spots where it's growing lol I over seeded the entire plot with radishs and rape. Hopefully it fills in the spots.


----------



## fastwater (Apr 1, 2014)

That's great! 

Hopefully the radish's and rape will come in to help keep grass/weeds out.... which if not kept out, will smother out the clover rather quickly.


----------



## LilSiman/Medina (Nov 30, 2010)

This is the plot as of last week. Turned out very good, only a few does and a small buck we call cork screw have visited


----------



## fastwater (Apr 1, 2014)

LilSiman/Medina said:


> This is the plot as of last week. Turned out very good, only a few does and a small buck we call cork screw have visited


Plot really filled in nice. Looks great! 

My plots usually get mediocre pressure this time of year as well. The more farm crops are taken off, the heavier the traffic seems to get.


----------



## miked913 (Feb 29, 2008)

One of ours. Turned out pretty good its getting some pressure but not like it will in another month.


----------



## fastwater (Apr 1, 2014)

Very nice also miked913.


----------

