Planting
Chestnut Trees to Attract Deer to your Property
Food Sources
Deer are attracted by
food, cover and water sources. Deer
populations have thrived partly due to their ability to eat a variety food
items. In the fall, they typically eat
grain and grass in farmers’ fields at night and bed down in wooded areas during
the day. In the winter, they rely more
on browse and various mast crops. Acorns
are the most plentiful with the sweeter tasting ones, like white oat nuts, being
the most preferred. Acorns definitely
attract deer but even better than acorns are chestnuts. American chestnuts were once widely sought
out by deer and other wildlife but have since been wiped out by the
blight. Thanks to organizations like theAmerican
Chestnut Foundation, they are making a comeback. In addition, blight resistant hybrid
varieties of chestnuts have been developed by crossing American with Chinese
chestnuts. Persimmons and crab apples
are other excellent food sources.
Clearing
a Field for Planting Trees
The size of the field to
be cleared depends upon the size of your property and amount that is available
for planting chestnuts as a food plot. An acre or two
should be adequate for even a large plot of land. If your property has some large
white oaks or grass fields, you may want to keep them. Select a less desirable area, since the trees
that you will be planting will grow in about any soil. It is best to select an area that gets a lot of morning sun and is well drained since water standing for long periods of time will kill seedlings. An ideal location is one that has some small
trees and brush providing natural cover. If you are fortunate, there may already exist some persimmon and crab
apple trees. Clear the field in strips
about 50 to 60 feet wide, leaving the natural cover in the space between the
strips. Avoid cutting any persimmon and
crab apple trees that are located between where you plan to plant the
chestnuts. The persimmon and crab apples provide additional attraction. There is no need to plow since holes can be
dug for planting the seedlings. Brush
will grow back and need to be cut about every other year. The young brush will provide browse and the
uncleared strips will provide cover for the deer as they are going to and from
the field.
Selecting
Tree Varieties
There are several types
of chestnut trees. Some are not much
more that bushes while others can get 50 to 60 feet tall. The American and some
of the hybrids are sweeter than the Chinese varieties. Deer prefer the sweeter nuts. You can buy American chestnut seedlings but
there is no guarantee that they will live since they may not be truly blight
resistant. Some of the hybrids like the Dunstan are blight resistant and
sweet. Chestnuts are cold hardy and will
grow in northern states like Ohio or in the warmer climates of the southern
states. In general, the sweeter
varieties are the ones that grow tall and start bearing later. In order to start getting chestnuts earlier,
it is best to plant a mix of varieties.
Tree
Seedlings
Transplanting seedlings
is better than planting seeds since squirrels and other animals are likely to
dig up any nuts even if treated. If you
have a green house, you may want to grow your own seedlings. You can buy nuts
over the internet but you need to make sure they will germinate. In an effort to kill chestnut weevil eggs
inside chestnuts, chestnuts that are to be eaten are sometimes heat
treated. This can prevent them from
germinating. Another economical approach
is to buy very small seedlings and plant them in a protected area or
nursery. They should grow to about a
foot and a half tall in about two years and be ready to transplant.
Transplanting
& Maintenance
It is best to transplant
chestnut seedlings in the late fall at the beginning of the rainy season. They will be watered naturally and have all
winter to get started. You can plant two
rows of seedling in each cleared strip with the plants about 20 feet
apart. This will vary depending on the
variety. The smaller bush type can be
planted closer together. You can dig a
hole with a shovel deep enough to completely cover the roots and plant them
using the soil from the hole or, if the soil is extremely poor, you may want to
add some better top soil. If you are not fortunate enough to already have some
persimmon and crab apple trees, you may want to plant a few among the
chestnuts. There is usually not a problem
with pests, except for deer. They will
eat them or use the small trees as rubs. The best way to protect the trees until they are too large for rubs is
to make a circle around the small trees with the brush cut from around
them. Every couple years you will need
to clear the brush to allow the small trees access to sun light and
moisture. It is a good idea to put a couple
hands full of regular garden fertilizer around each tree every year to keep
them growing. You should have trees bearing nuts in 4 to 5 years for the bush
varieties and 15 to 20 years for the larger trees. If you are looking for a good place to hunt white tail deer and wild turkey,
check out Ohio hunting laws and public hunting areas by visiting http://changes-to-ohio-hunting-laws.netau.net.
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