Afield: Food plots not always ready-made

BRAINERD - Consider yourself privileged if your hunting land is ideal for implementing food plots and other wildlife- management practices.

Not all of us are so fortunate.

Seventeen years ago I purchased 70 acres of land near Brainerd. The property is primarily lowland, and I knew carving out a niche for deer and other wildlife would be a challenge.

What I didn't know was that hidden just beneath the soil was an extensive layer of rocks.

I spent the first winter clearing trees and brush, using a chain saw and brush cutter to make openings in which I planned to plant evergreen seedlings come spring. My idea was to create winter cover for deer and other wildlife.

When I completed the task, I stood and admired my work, unaware of the layer of stones beneath the frozen ground upon which I stood.

In spring, I realized that the stone deposit was so dense it took, on average, 11 stabs (I counted them) with a 4-inch-wide tree-planting spade to penetrate deep enough to plant a seedling. Each unsuccessful attempt painfully jarred my elbows and wrists when I struck rock.

However, the seedlings prospered, despite their "rocky" start. Now the area is a dense stand of a variety of pine and spruce trees in which deer, ruffed grouse and other wildlife take refuge.

The rocks also presented a problem when breaking ground for new food plots. Each time I cultivated a potential plot, I'd bring up hundreds of rocks, from small, inconsequential stones to giant boulders.

Once the rocks were exposed, I found the best way to remove the ones I could lift was to toss them into a wagon hauled behind my ATV. When the wagon was full, I'd dump the rocks in an out-of-the-way location.

To remove some of the larger rocks I used the winch on my ATV to hoist the boulder to the surface. The rocks were then hauled off the food plots by rolling them onto an aluminum garbage can lid, to which I attached a tow strap. Using the ATV, I'd then drag away the rock.

The biggest rocks stayed put. Yes, they are an inconvenience, but I found that when I have the cultivator set to "float" the s-tines simply rise out of the ground upon contact with large rocks and bounce over the obstacles, or else they bend back out of the way as the spring steel tines are designed to do.

I mentioned earlier my acreage is primarily lowland. The soil is wet most of the year so the majority of my food plots on small areas of high ground are not accessible by heavy equipment. So I had to clear the food plots using hand tools such as a chainsaw and brush cutter. That, of course, left a lot tree stumps and roots to deal with.

The stumps I simply cut off at ground level. To kill the tree and keep the roots from sprouting new growth, I treated the stumps with a glyphosate herbicide. Read the directions.

Some of these newly created food plots were not disked or cultivated for the first few years. That allowed a lot of the roots to break down.

Those plots were, however, not idle during that time. Once the clearing was done and the stumps cut to ground level, I allowed the weeds to sprout in the newly exposed soil. I then sprayed those plots, again with a glyphosate herbicide, and waited a few weeks for the weeds to die. Then I burned the duff from the food plot. That exposed even more weed seeds to ideal growing conditions, so after a few weeks I repeated the herbicide spraying.

Now, those food plots are relatively free of obstacles, save for a few giant boulders and persistent tree stumps.

Is it a lot of work? Yes. But I've learned to deal with the various adversities as they present themselves. Besides, habitat work is extremely rewarding, and a good excuse to get outdoors.

Bill Marchel, an outdoors photographer and writer, lives near Brainerd.