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1023's 2021 Season Journal

bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
48,879
274
Appalachia
It's been hell getting my plots planted this year thanks to several poorly timed rains. We lost our "wet weather" bridge 3 years ago, so we can't access my plots via the safest route topography wise and it forces us to go off "the back hill". It needs to be dry enough to till in order for it to be dry enough to navigate that hill and it's not happened but a couple times since June. Of course, the times we could do it moisture wise, I was busy doing other stuff. It's been the worst year ever as far as plot prep is concerned. Thankfully, I can get the quad in there whenever and I'd nuked all the plots well enough that the soil was fairly exposed. With a camping trip this weekend and it being crunch time for planting, today was the day despite my lack of soil prep. I went to TSC at lunch and bought a 6' harrow drag, which has been on my list of "needs" for years and promptly put it to good use.

The Corner Pocket clover plot looks terrible and has clearly lived it's life, so I over-seeded it with Biologic Green Patch Plus and a little Real World Wildlife Products Plot Topper. The Skinny Creek Plot and the Runway Plot both got Merit Seed Fall Blend Wheat and Pea Mix, and the Big Plot got some RWWP Harvest Salad. All 3 of them also got a dose of Plot Topper. Even though I didn't till, I got pretty solid seed to soil contact as evidenced by the Big Plot looking tilled for the most part. Looks like we may get rain over night, then again Sunday, and for sure Monday if it holds. 🤞

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bigten05

*Supporting Member*
3,675
151
knox county ohio
real world seems to be top notch, we planted their beans in ky and with the deer browse and no rain we didnt get a good crop so we went back in a few weeks ago and put down some plot topper and harvest salad and it is up and looking great in just a few weeks. i planted their clover at my house early summer and its also looking really good.
 

Stressless

Active Member
2,128
85
Keene, OH
Yup, we've found a burn is the best method to prep a plot for a drag harrow if your crop is ready to burn when you want to plant/ harrow is the problem. Also @Big_Holla, not sure if @bowhunter1023's harrow is like mine but you can drag it with "three" settings and each 6'x4' section is independent of the other. I have two 6'x4' sections so there're lots of options - just depends on the soil, crop and thatch ... In some cases I've set the 1st section to heavy drag and the back 2nd section to smooth drag so you get a get a seed in and a light smooth cover one pass. Others like above I set both to heavy and tear the thatch up and roll it. Afterwards I found a backpack blower moves those rolls of thatch off the plot very nicely.

...but, after burning it's one pass and done.

- Heavy Drag - tines facing forward
- Med Drag - tines facing backward
- light or sooth drag - tines facing up

Don't know if you listen to Dr. Grant Woods - he just posted up a real nice blog on burning plots and rotational burn times duing the year.
 
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bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
48,879
274
Appalachia
I told my dad that a late planting date could be a blessing with all this rain setting in. I'd be worried about a well-started plot drowning out, especially since 3 of the 4 are in creek bottoms. This rain should set the seeds in really well, and the soil moisture will be great for a while. The extended forecast calls for a solid stretch of cooler, sunny weather, which is perfect for the blends I used. I might get lucky and things could turn out really nice food plot wise. 🤞
 

bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
48,879
274
Appalachia
Snuck out Friday and again today to wrap up the last of the deer chores. I got to all but 2 stands, but those 2 were over trimmed last year, so they should be good to go come late October. I have 2 blinds out this year, one sandwiched between the corn and the Corner Pocket food plot, and one over looking the Big Plot. I have 2 stands with flawless access and great views that I can hunt from the opener up until late October, then 4 sets that require more attention to detail with access that I save until October 23 or so. I have 4 spots that would work for a hang and hunt if I need to bounce around. There's 7 cams, with one cell at the Corner Pocket and another cell on the North Ridge, both overlooking scrapes. Then I have 5 regular cams out, with 4 of them watching scrapes/travel corridors and the 5th is the Gate Cam, where I catch all the trespassers. The plots are looking decent, especially the Big Plot. The Corner Pocket plot is recovering nicely and the overseeding of some cereal grains and peas is looking to be a wise move as well.

The ag to the N is beans and they're turning. I saw some white oaks acorns on the ground and the corn is showing signs of browse. We've got plenty of cover, does, food, and water, so I am expecting another exciting bow season on The Farm With No Name. It's about to get real, real quick!

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Sgt Fury

Sgt. Spellchecker
Snuck out Friday and again today to wrap up the last of the deer chores. I got to all but 2 stands, but those 2 were over trimmed last year, so they should be good to go come late October. I have 2 blinds out this year, one sandwiched between the corn and the Corner Pocket food plot, and one over looking the Big Plot. I have 2 stands with flawless access and great views that I can hunt from the opener up until late October, then 4 sets that require more attention to detail with access that I save until October 23 or so. I have 4 spots that would work for a hang and hunt if I need to bounce around. There's 7 cams, with one cell at the Corner Pocket and another cell on the North Ridge, both overlooking scrapes. Then I have 5 regular cams out, with 4 of them watching scrapes/travel corridors and the 5th is the Gate Cam, where I catch all the trespassers. The plots are looking decent, especially the Big Plot. The Corner Pocket plot is recovering nicely and the overseeding of some cereal grains and peas is looking to be a wise move as well.

The ag to the N is beans and they're turning. I saw some white oaks acorns on the ground and the corn is showing signs of browse. We've got plenty of cover, does, food, and water, so I am expecting another exciting bow season on The Farm With No Name. It's about to get real, real quick!

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Looks like a beautiful set up. Good luck this year.👍
 
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bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
48,879
274
Appalachia
Checked on the plots today and overall, I can't complain. Honestly, I might be done tilling seeing how these turned out. The first pic is the Big Plot and it's looking fantastic. Second pic is Corner Pocket and the clover is doing much better than expected. The overseeding of wheat, peas, and brassica has filled in the dead spots nicely. There's a ton of white oak acorns along the edge as well. The 3rd pic is the Runway Plot and it had the most thatch, so it's struggling a little. The last is the Pond Hollet Plot and it needs sunshine. I've got my work cut out for me over the winter, but the canopy needs opened up if this thing is ever going to amount to much.

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bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
48,879
274
Appalachia
The buck we call Buddy disappeared about 10 days ago, but showed up again tonight at 5:52PM. We need northerly winds to hunt our place effectively, which we haven't had yet. We have a rare evening off on Wednesday and wouldn't you know it, the first N winds of the season arrive just in time for us to make our first trip in for Buddy, the Funky Buck, and the Old 8. I'll have both girls in the blind, so it'll be quite the feat if we pull it off on hunt #1!

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I did hunt the farm on Saturday, but it's a stretch to call it a hunt. I made the easiest walk to hunt the safest option because I could only hunt for 90 minutes. It was basically an excuse to go out on opening morning and drink my coffee outside. It was a beautiful sunrise and the coldest opener I can recall. No deer were seen or harmed, meaning I made it to soccer just in time! My first legit sit at the farm will take place soon enough 👍

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bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
48,879
274
Appalachia
Food plots are 50/50. The little plots needed more love and a mix better suited for their location. That's indicative of my hectic year and will get remedied next year. That said, they're planted in narrow travel corridors and there's plenty of does working through them almost daily, so all is not lost.

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The Corner Pocket is the picture of persistence and I'm really pleased with this salvage job. It'll still need some love this spring, but it's looking great. The clover is lush, the oats/rye is well intermixed throughout, and the brassica/turnips took hold really well in the middle. With white oak acorns on one edge, crabapples on the other, and 4 acres of corn looking down on it, this is THE spot on our farm. Just ask @5Cent and @TinyTucky 😎

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The Big Plot is dreamy as always. After the success with this blend and the no till efforts, I'll be doubling this in size next year. Directly across from the blind at 21 steps is a mock scrape. Tons of traffic in here based on the signs. I can't wait to sit in that blind for an evening hunt near Halloween!

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bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
48,879
274
Appalachia
Kaydence and I have now been on 3 hunts and have seen 9 deer. We had our first skunked sit on Wednesday, but we still had a good time eating dill pickle sunflower seeds and sending TOO salute pics to cousin @giles 🖕 I've yet to make a serious attempt to hunt, but that ends tomorrow. We are camping at Burr Oak this weekend and I've got a spot picked out that I'm excited to see. Solid access, perfect wind, and the damp leave will allow me to move around throughout the morning. We'll pull the camper from there, to Strouds, and I plan to hunt at least a couple of times at Strouds in hopes of shooting a doe. Once we get back from Strouds, it'll be "go time" at the farm pending weather patterns. My job affords me maximum flexibility when it comes to playing things by ear, so I remain optimistic that despite not having a shooter on camera out there, I'm still in for a fun fall if I hit all the conditions right.
 

bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
48,879
274
Appalachia
Made my first two sits at the farm this weekend since my hour long coffee drinking session on opening day. Hunted the Pond Holler stand on Saturday evening and got skunked. Despite the lack of deer, I enjoyed my sit. This is the 2nd best stand on the farm in terms of access and opportunity. Every time I hunt it, I see another tweak or two that will make it better. It's close to being perfect and is one of those spots that I can count on annually.

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I hunted the Corner Pocket on Sunday AM and got skunked again. First back to back skunks in over decade on this farm. Maybe ever honestly. No worries though. It's early and going to get good very soon. This spot is my all time favorite. In the near future, I'll be sharing more about it and you'll see why it's the #1 spot on the farm.

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I have some time off coming up next week and a very flexible schedule from this Friday, through gun season, so I can hunt the weather in my quest to fill my tag. I turn 40 next year and would really like to accomplish a two decade goal by breaking the 140 mark. I won't hold my breath, but I'll keep grinding and hoping!