# Creating a New Bedding Area?



## Tim Baker (Jan 18, 2000)

I am looking for any information on how to create the ultimate bedding area. Links, books or personal experience would be appreciated?

I have a few areas that range in size from 4-15 acres that I would like to make much thicker. Right now most of the areas are old fields that haven't been touched in 15-20 years so they're full of knee high grass and Locust trees.

Tim


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## trout (Jan 17, 2000)

Perhaps a controlled burn and some pine plantings?
I'd get a soil test first then look for bedding plants that will do good there.


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## Swamp Ghost (Feb 5, 2003)

SwitchGrass Sanctuary Mix 
Along with the BioLogic brand plot seeds MHS is proud to offer our SwitchGrass Sanctuary Mix.This warm season native prairie grass mixture is quick-establishing and provides 5 to 7 foot tall, extremely thick bedding and sanctuary cover for white-tail deer on properties that might be lacking in this vital ingredient to habitat. Switchgrass Sanctuary Mix tm can be used in addition to more traditional bedding cover to ensure that deer feel secure on a particular property at all times. These tall-grass prairies have a natural attractiveness to deer. Big-buck states such as Kansas, Iowa, and Wisconsin have proved the historic preference deer have for the prairie habitat. We all know that it takes sufficient age as well as nutrition for a buck to express its true genetic potential. The security that the SwitchGrass Sanctuary Mix tm provides will ensure that bucks can live and mature on your property.

http://www.thefirminator.com/mhs/aboutus.tpl


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## drwink (Oct 15, 2003)

I agree with Swamp Ghost
Deer bed in my switch grass field all the time, the only other thing you may want to do is mix in some autumn olive as my neighbor's property has lots of this on it & when the weather gets nasty they bed in there.


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## mike hartges (Jun 9, 2003)

One thing to consider is that deer often bed on high ground if adequate cover is available there. This enables them to use their nose to keep tabs on the surrounding areas. The best bedding areas on my property are thick. They are also near food and water. We created 3 small ponds which are near the bedding areas.


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## Jeff Sturgis (Mar 28, 2002)

I like those controlled burn and switchgrass ideas! Autumn Olive is pretty good bedding area as well.

One of the things that may be advantageous with the high grass plantings is the ability to plant food plots throughout the grass/bedding areas that can act as funnels to adjoining larger plots/feeding areas, or other bedding areas. They can be rile hunting and even bow hunting hotspots if small spokes of food plots are created to go out into the grass 50-100 yards or more, looking like a crows foot from the air. The point at which the spokes come together at the side of the field, with an advantageous wind, can be a great ambush site.


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## Tim Baker (Jan 18, 2000)

Thanks for all the ideas guys. Here's an aerial photo of my property. The white/light areas are my food plots, they total about 14 acres of my 236 or 6%. The property is shaped like a boot standing on it's toe and the heel straight up. I put a dot on each corner as well. A friend on mine owns the 230 to the south and his ground is mostly CRP switch grass and creek bottoms. The property to the east and north is mostly pasture.

I basically have 2 major projects but I can only offord to do one next year. I can either re-plant my CRP ground, right now it's 1-2 foot high brome and provides no cover or food. I can have it hayed off in the fall and sprayed. Then it will be ready to plant in the spring with a switchgrass mix.

The second project is planting a lot of shrubs and trees to create more bedding area. I put a B in the 4 " old fields" that I want to plant. These fields are surrounded by bedding areas and I would be making the existing areas bigger. I would like these areas to provide some food as well. I need to know what kinds of bushes and trees can be planted together. If not what pattern should I plant them in. How close can I plant oaks to the Autumn Olive? Once I have an idea I will call the local forester.










Thanks

Tim


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## bishs (Aug 30, 2000)

Hello, hope things are going well.
I have been doing this on 40 acres since 1994. Started with 40 acre bean stubble. I am finished except for a few small projects.
E-mail me, about ideas. "I learned the hard way"
Scott Bishop
[email protected]


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