GrayDawg

Went out to the plot this past Friday- the deer are eating the clover & extreme right down to the ground. They're wiping it out!!
On 8/3, I planted some Whitetail Institute Wintergreens in hopes of trying to save the plot. Well- it took real quick! Check it out:


That's the Wintergreens on the right/top edge of the plot 12 days after I planted it.

Here's what the rest of the plot looks like:



Note the top/backarea of the plot in the last picture- one month ago, I had good coverage of emergent Clover all over this area of the plot. I have 100's of pictures of deer browsing this area right down to the dirt!

Rob

timbercruiser

If you could take a chainsaw and cut a bunch of the trees on the edges of the plot you would have more sunlight to the plot. Looks like the little plants need some more light to flourish.

Snook384

Milorganite. People poo. Sludge. Keeps them off for about 2 weeks so it stands a chance to grow and get esstablished.

farm hunter

Nice pics ROB - Those plants look like Bean Sprouts - They are "wintergreens" is that right? Wintergreens is mostly Kale and other brassicas - the deer can't hardly stand them until they get froze a few times (unless there is no other food around) - hopefully they'll leaf out and get 2-3 ft high - looks like you are dealing with a lot of shade in this plot.

FH

GrayDawg

As you can see in the picture below, this plot gets a fair amount of sun. From 11:30am - 3pm, the sun pours in, so long as it's not cloudy or raining!

Most of the daytime pictures I've posted have been when it's cloudy out- as for some reason, that's when the deer have given me good pictures to share with you all. I don't think it's a matter of sunlight as much as I feel the deer are simply devouring my little plot!

Lots of deer + a small plot = very little plot left come September! [:@]

That's why I planted the Whitetail Institute Wintergreens, as it's not supposed to be attractive to the deer until the first frost hits- then it turns sweet and becomes really attractive to them. By then, the archery season has started!

farm hunter

I agree - for a small plot - wintergreens is a great choice since the deer should leave them alone until fall. But - like you say - if there isn't much other green food around - they'll hit it anyhow.

I've planted wintergreens and other brassicas before - and when you see that tall skinny stalk - they are competing with each other too much or need more light - and maybe both.

Looks like you'll have to keepoverseeding the small plot if you hope to have some greenery come hunting season. Maybe try Rye it can work well - because it will keep growing after frosts - and will do betteryet as the leaves fall- and let in more light

GrayDawg

FH,
Thanks for the advice. I'll look into the possibility of getting some Rye down before Sept. 1st.

Rob

Robv2007

those wintergreens are looking real good, i tried them 2 years ago and didnt have much luck, the weeds took over the plot faster than the wintergreens did

GrayDawg

Thanks- before planting the Wintergreens, I hit the area with Round Up and let it sit two weeks. Then, I raked out the dead debris & cut out anything that was left & emergent. At that point, I put down 10 bags of Loam & 7 bags of a Manure/Humus mix. I put down some 10-10-10 Fertilizer & the Wintergreens, then executed a "poor man's harows" by scratching/mixing everything up with a leaf rake turned upside down. I find that this last step really ensures good seed/soil contact and helps even things out (fertilizer, seed & Loam/manure/humus) in a very efficient manner.

Rob

GrayDawg

Well, the deer have been hitting my little plot pretty hard. So much so, that last Friday (8/29) in a move of desperation to save the plot for hunting season, I put down about 10 lbs. of Milorganite in an attempt to keep the deer away from the plants for 2-3 weeks in order to let the plants re-establish themselves.

Milorganite is an organic fertilizer- purified "people poo" produced by the City of Milwaukee. All I can say is this stuff works! Not only can you put it down without harming/burning existing emergent plants, but it also doesn't require watering in! On top of that- the deer don't like the smell, so they won't browse the plants. My Extreme, Secret Spot & No Plow were eaten down to the dirt. My Alfa-Rack/Imperial Clover was on it's last leg. The Wintergreens was the only thing still holding up because:

a) I planted it on 8/3
b) it's not appealing to the deer until after the first frost

The Milorganite provided a much-needed boost for the Alfa-Rack/Imperial Clover. In just one week, they're both making a comeback. I threw some Double-Cross down about two weeks ago and that seems to have sprouted as well. We haven't had much rain here in the last 2-3 weeks, so I find this amazing that I was actually able to get the Double-Cross going with only the initial watering (via hand sprayer) when I planted it.

The deer are still going in & eating the corn thrown from the feeder & eating the Cutting Edge Optimize, but the plants have been given a reprieve. We're supposed to get alot of rain tomorrow, so the Milorganite will begin to wash away & dissapate into the soil. Here's what the plot looks like as of today- sorry, I forgot my camera & had to use my mobile phone (only 1 Megapixel).



That's the Wintergreens on the front/left. The Double-Cross, Alfa-Rack & Imperial Clover is in the back. The bare strip in the center is where the Extreme, Secret Spot & No Plow used to be!



Rob