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My property

Mike

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
15,840
223
Up Nort
I'd like to start improving the five acres that I purchased in the fall. If you look at the aerial, you'll see two dark spots. Those areas holds water in the spring through the summer (swampy) and then it was dry by the fall when I made the purchase. There are tons of turkey that held there in the spring when I checked the property out.
Should I:

1: Leave it alone
2: Plant water loving trees like willows
3. Plant water loving switch grass
4: Plant water loving invasive species of reed grass
5: ???

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props.jpg
 

oakswamper

Member
1,213
109
around Toledo
I've got a lot of spots like that on my 60 acres and I sorta like them. I couldn't get anything to grow because the leaves are a good 10" thick in the spots so I gave up lol
 

Gordo

Senior Member
5,515
121
Athens County
Im going through the same ideas as you with my newly acquired 8 acres. Its small but im lookin forward to enjoying it.

I think the thicker/nastier the better for what im trying to do.
 

hickslawns

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
39,721
248
Ohio
Im going through the same ideas as you with my newly acquired 8 acres. Its small but im lookin forward to enjoying it.

I think the thicker/nastier the better for what im trying to do.

Same size as my property Gordo. I think each property is very different when you are talking about these smaller parcels. I just wish i had something to offer Mike on advice. I like where Mike is thinking and it would incorporate your idea of thicker/nastier. We have some grasses which grow in wet areas on one property I hunt. Wish I knew what they were and what they are called.
 

Gordo

Senior Member
5,515
121
Athens County
I dont think you can go wrong by droppin trees and openin up the canopy(at least for deer).

Letting that under growth explode will create that thick/nasty shit that ya cant walk through, but has the potential to hold those mature deer.

If i had to do something tomorrow to make my parcel better, id go drop just about every tree in there unless it was an oak.

I got a good start because someone did that to my land probably about 5 years ago.
 

Mike

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
15,840
223
Up Nort
I didn't take any pics. Nice deer runs though. The boys had fun playing on the ice and shooting the .22
 

jagermeister

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
18,060
223
Ohio
I think planting swamp white oaks and clearing some of the canopy would be a good start. Those SWO's produce gigantic acorns and the deer love them.

I think you're going to have a difficult time getting grasses to grow in there. It's just saturated at all the wrong times. You'll notice in the pics that virtually all of the vegetation around those holes is woody vegetation... very little wetland plants. That's because the grassy-type wetland plants need bare soil in the spring to germinate. Your millets, smartweeds, and reed grasses aren't going to take off if they're covered with water. If there were a way to let some water out of there, I'd definitely plant some reed grasses and millet. Thicken it up with grass cover... Then create a few small "islands" of high ground in the middle, just big enough for deer to lay on. Big bucks love bedding on islands surrounded by grassy swamp.
 

hickslawns

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
39,721
248
Ohio
There is a train of thought I hadn't considered. Great ideas Jim!

Check the flow of the land. See if you can rent a mini excavator for a weekend and empty the wet lands. Hire a dozer operator. You would be amazed how much they can accomplish in a small area for $2-500. That is a great great great suggestion by Jagermeister.
 

Mike

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
15,840
223
Up Nort
Thanks for the great suggestions guys. My plan was to dig live and viable reed grass rhizomes from ditches. That stuff is everywhere. If it takes that's great, if not no harm done. I'll probably get some swamp oaks too. I guess I should do some watching before I get too carried away. I'll set some cams up soon to see what going on.
 

hickslawns

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
39,721
248
Ohio
Soil and Water Conservation sale is going on right now as well. Allen County sale ends March 4. I believe most are similar time frame. Might be a good time to snag 20-25 trees for $17-25.
 

oakswamper

Member
1,213
109
around Toledo
This is one of the smaller areas I have, you can see the pin oak that fell and how shallow the root system is. I can't find the pic of the area when it is dry.
Most of the spots like this are surrounded by pin oaks and they don't get much bigger than this one before the wind knocks them down. I have a lot of white oaks on the property but they are on higher ground (lol if you can call it that) that doesn't have standing water.

 

oakswamper

Member
1,213
109
around Toledo
Thanks for the great suggestions guys. My plan was to dig live and viable reed grass rhizomes from ditches. That stuff is everywhere. If it takes that's great, if not no harm done. I'll probably get some swamp oaks too. I guess I should do some watching before I get too carried away. I'll set some cams up soon to see what going on.

You are more than welcome to come out and dig some oaks up if you want.