deer habitat, improving the grounds

[deer farmer]

(last 3 days) I have been hinge cutting trees up to 4". I cut about 50 trees at waist high. The purpose is to form a border wall on one of the property lines. And it will also put browse at deer food levels. (4' or so high). I plan on adding honeysuckle seeds to help grow a vine climbing wall over the trunk of the hinge cut trees. I am hoping the deer don't take out the new sprouts I am also thinning a pine thicket(6 acres) of 20 acre pine trees, on the other side of the property. Where I cut down about 20 (15 yr old) pine trees, so I can double the food plot that is already there. I will be adding about 80 sks of lime to this new food plot area. Also thinning the remaining pine trees to get sunlight to the ground after I did a burn under that same 6 acres last winter. And I cut some of the pine tops (from the felled trees) and drug them to the property line on this side of the property, and laid them out in a long line to act as cover when looking into the pine tree thicket and plan to seed honeysuckle there also. This is a lot of work on this 128 acres, but I do love doing it

[Rwc]

Those are habitat investments that will pay you back two fold.

Keep us posted on the out come.
Rwc

[jshouse]

(last 3 days) I have been hinge cutting trees up to 4". I cut about 50 trees at waist high. The purpose is to form a border wall on one of the property lines. And it will also put browse at deer food levels. (4' or so high). I plan on adding honeysuckle seeds to help grow a vine climbing wall over the trunk of the hinge cut trees. I am hoping the deer don't take out the new sprouts I am also thinning a pine thicket(6 acres) of 20 acre pine trees, on the other side of the property. Where I cut down about 20 (15 yr old) pine trees, so I can double the food plot that is already there. I will be adding about 80 sks of lime to this new food plot area. Also thinning the remaining pine trees to get sunlight to the ground after I did a burn under that same 6 acres last winter. And I cut some of the pine tops (from the felled trees) and drug them to the property line on this side of the property, and laid them out in a long line to act as cover when looking into the pine tree thicket and plan to seed honeysuckle there also. This is a lot of work on this 128 acres, but I do love doing it

sounds like some great work being done...do you have experience with the honeysuckle? i have started a large brush pile, mainly of old cedar trees and some locust trees, on the north side of the place to keep neighbors from seeing my food plot....do you think i could "sprinkle" some honeysuckle seeds into it and get it to fill out within the brush pile?

[Grayson]

sounds like some great work being done...do you have experience with the honeysuckle? i have started a large brush pile, mainly of old cedar trees and some locust trees, on the north side of the place to keep neighbors from seeing my food plot....do you think i could "sprinkle" some honeysuckle seeds into it and get it to fill out within the brush pile?

Interesting, I'm curious about that too.

[armadillophil]

If you have decent soil the sunlight and birds will bring plenty of new growth to area. I hinged some last week myself and tied down some saplings over bigger trees but I'm working on bedding areas.

[unclefish]

Sounds great. Take some pictures and post em up.

In a few years you will have all kinds of new trees and shrubs coming up in the hinge cut and brush piles from birds.

[deer farmer]

I was hoping to speed up the process by planting the honeysuckle I'm to hyper to wait on the birds lol

[acearrow]

sounds like some great work being done...do you have experience with the honeysuckle? i have started a large brush pile, mainly of old cedar trees and some locust trees, on the north side of the place to keep neighbors from seeing my food plot....do you think i could "sprinkle" some honeysuckle seeds into it and get it to fill out within the brush pile?

I don't know how honeysuckle seeds work but I know that if you just cut some honeysuckle vines from some where and bury part of the vine where you want them to grow, they will grow. Just keep them watered well for a while.

[Kdog]

X2 on the pics.

[texas bound]

The hinge cut trees are you making a bedding area for them or just trying to block them from leaving the property?

[deer farmer]

I have 4 different areas where I hinge cut trees. 3 are bedding areas and 1 for creating a wall to reduce the neighbors view into a food plot area and as a border to create a funnel. All will benefit from the honeysuckle wall growing up and over the hinge cuttings. Providing more native deer food along with providing food from the tree tops that are now deer forage browse. And I don't know how to post pictures lol

[BSOB]

can you explain what hinge cutting trees is?

[Grayson]

http://www.outreachoutdoors.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=2010

Not to step on TBH's toes, but y'all should check out the QDMA forums. Lots of good habitat management stuff on there.

[Buff]

Where can you buy the seeds?

[armadillophil]

I did some hinge cutting yesterday