Fruit Trees For Deer, Food Plots and S.W.A.T.

Are you planting fruit trees for deer? Here is why and where to make sure that you are!
You can find out which fruit trees are the best to plant for your land, by enrolling in my latest land design web class, at:
www.whitetailhabitatsolutions...
Make sure that you are getting the most out of your fruit plantings for deer, by following my weather forecast deer hunting predictions when you head to the woods. Check out HuntCast, at:
huntwise.com/sturgis

[@stevenjacques6208]

I drilled my holes in a bucket about one inch from the bottom to water my apple trees. I discovered that drilling in the bottom of a bucket the hole would get clogged up with debris most of the time.

[@George-ro6bw]

Love hearing Paul. Some varieties of apples trees need two different pollinators in order to yield fruit. So there could be three of the trees Paul wants to plant. Eight to ten feet is to close for fruit tree spacing, recommend minimum fifteen feet spacing. I strongly suggest removing the fruit flowers the first two years after planting in order to transfer all the energy into tree growth. Use a solar electric fence around the outside of the wire tree cages to help deter bears.

[@jtmiv93]

Loved hearing Paul talk. Brought to life the partnership you bring to your customers. You have made as much as an impact on him, as he has you Jeff.

[@joshuam0289]

Just bought a few apple trees last week from TSC. So perfect timing for this video and great info thanks Jeff, Dylan and Paul. We are all beyond Thankful for your service Paul 🙌

[@adventurerhoades]

Awesome guest Paul. Salute and great info on the fruit trees.

[@jjhoran1273]

What a great video all around.. great info and I laughed when your guest slipped a few words in there.. and we also thank him for his service!🙏🙏

[@whitetailhabitatsolutions9751]

Thanks JJ it was fun chatting with Paul. We laughed too...you can tell Dylan edited a few more out 😁

[@MrMblakec]

The bucket method definitely works. I've done it the past few years

[@suzmell1]

This by far is my favorite video lol kidding aside would like to thank both of you on your tips for planting fruit trees have a great weekend suzie says hello

[@nickroth5292]

I've been using the bucket method for 10+ years, drill your hole about 1" from the side of the bucket, this allows you to place the drip towards the center of the tree, when on a hill, place above the tree. Remember to buy lids for hauling, simple duct tape covers the hole while filling and transporting. Good luck.

[@jwoody1881]

We placed our fruit trees at 10 yards apart. Makes it easy to range distance that way for archery shots.

[@Bullitt3709]

Perfect timing! I have 5 apple trees coming that I will be digging holes for tomorrow!

[@loganankenman8325]

This was awesome information, I actually am trying my hand at doing apple trees from seed and have them growing already so maybe I can plant them this summer and the bucket with the tiny hole in the bottom I think was a really good idea!

[@micahjhanson]

As always...thanks for producing great content!

[@whitetailhabitatsolutions9751]

Thank YOU! You are very welcome...

[@mikehamm4987]

I’m so glad you touched on fruit trees. Dylan is coming to my property on Tuesday and that was a question I was going to ask. I’m excited for the visit

[@whitetailhabitatsolutions9751]

Hi Mike that is great you get to have Dylan out, I know he is excited for the visit! Make sure you hit him hard with questions 😊 I know you will enjoy spending the time with him!!

[@mikehamm4987]

I definitely have a bunch of questions. I cant wait to put a plan together.

[@josephconway9489]

Great video!! Thank you gentlemen!!Thank you for your service Paul!! Be careful with glyphosate on or around a young tree’s trunk. Some young tree like chestnuts have green trunks and will be killed by glyphosate. I am not sure if apples have any green on their trunks For our trees we used buckets with a small hole at the bottom for irrigation. The buckets are also helpful for dosing them with liquid fertilizer. However they do get clogged with leaves/ debris. .Definitely agree with the cages! I would recommend 6 feet to limit browsing. A deer will easily stand on their hind legs and nip away at branches. A 6 foot cage will make it more difficult for the deer to nip away.

[@chrismacomber9727]

Great show brother keep it up and thanks for all the info you give out..

[@whitetailhabitatsolutions9751]

Really appreciate it Chris...thank YOU and have a great weekend 🙂

[@dennisb1224]

After planting over 50 apple trees over 20 years some quick advice. 1. Use a small 1/4 inch mesh for mice and voles, a 4-5 foot tall fence for deer, paint the trunk with 50% white latex paint and water to block the spring low sun so the bark doesn’t crack. When the bark cracks bugs get in and it dies. This will save a lot of trouble. Also mulch thick.

[@dmouse522]

Always a good idea to check for pollination success when choosing varieties. Often a white flowering crabapple works. Also using water retention crystals in the back fill when planting in dry soil areas really helps.

[@whitetailhabitatsolutions9751]

Great advice D...thank you!

[@mitchellgenz1373]

Great topic today.

[@allentodd5436]

Great to see Dylan get some video time. Great vid!

[@whitetailhabitatsolutions9751]

Thanks a lot Todd...you will likely see more and more of Dylan and I think that is a good thing too!

[@allentodd5436]

@@whitetailhabitatsolutions9751 I pictured Dylan being a barely out of highschool kid helping out with filming for some hunting permission😂 I was obviously wrong!lol

[@kreggdanuser2963]

Great podcast!!

[@thursdayswiththor8421]

To help keep the deer away from the fruit tress I quarter up a bar of Irish spring soap put one piece in an old sock and hang it on the wire fens around the tree with a cloths pin. We live in the suburbs and have a lot of deer coming thru hitting our bird feeders but they leave our tres alone now. Hope it helps. Great show my wife is from NY.

[@carltrano1325]

Ok how could you not like paul 👍thanks for the Fruit tree info as well.

[@whitetailhabitatsolutions9751]

I always love chatting with Paul 😊

[@redelfoutdoors9668]

Rural king had apple trees for 15$. Thanks for another great vid!

[@frankspataro9714]

I have used waters similar to that it had worked good

[@whitetailhabitatsolutions9751]

I think it depends on how saturated the root system becomes for how long.

[@shawnb789]

In his case, if he's gonna groom these trees as he suggests, I think I'd lean more for 20 ft apart. I planted fruit and nut trees 10 ft apart 20 years ago and now, just like Dylan said, I have to thin them out. The crowns are nearly touching. Just got done planting apple trees last week. I went with 20 ft this time.

[@whitetailhabitatsolutions9751]

Good advice Shawn! I see so many apple tree failures they end up being well spaced...and those smaller areas are easier to fence if desired and then transplant later as needed. Real big fan of fencing several at a time for tiny orchards near stand locations. Appreciate it Shawn! We definitely should have gotten into the strategies of fencing and spacing more.

[@shawnb789]

@@whitetailhabitatsolutions9751 oh, I still think it was absolutely a great video, as always. I really enjoy these videos and I apply only jeff and Dylan dynamics to my farm as well as my clients farms. Thanks guys!

[@davekaisler309]

Found your channel in late 2020, wish i had been a youtuber earlier! Thanks for all the great content. One comment for us older harder of hearing folks. The audio in your new room is very echoed. Cant wait to get started on plots very soon. Keep the videos coming

[@whitetailhabitatsolutions9751]

Thanks a lot David! I wish you would have too 😊 Constantly working on the audio...adding pads, floor covering, other furniture, etc. Will turn it into more of a studio for sure. Will use an actual mic some day too

[@bandbrother196]

Whitney crabapple trees area a good choice for northern areas that produce golf ball size sweet apples also self pollinating

[@user-yo4it6tx5e]

Thanks for the info sir great video

[@whitetailhabitatsolutions9751]

You are very welcome 👍

[@randymorgel4416]

I think the spacing of the fruit trees depends on weather they are dwarf, semi dwarf or full sized trees ,,,, Less chance of tree loss for lack of sun ,,, and pruning is real important also

[@whitetailhabitatsolutions9751]

So many factors...and if planted as single well spaced trees, or fenced in clusters that can be transplanted later as needed based on survival too.

[@rickhelps9879]

Just a comment on the watering of the young apple trees. Periodic saturation of the root area then leaving alone is way better than constant watering. Over watering is a great way to kill them. Watering frequency would vary with weather conditions.

[@whitetailhabitatsolutions9751]

Hi Rick! I've seen some slow drip irrigation systems that work...I just have no personal exp with them. I'm with you...consistent but spaced saturation works perfectly, as needed. Great point...thanks Rick!

[@baileysmith6664]

Just getting into planting fruit trees but have started them from seed so they are free 20$ worth of pots and seed starting soil from Canadian Tire( im from Ontario) I now have 21 trees started all from gala seeds and going to get crab apple seeds this fall I know the won't grow true to type but it's a fun little project and if it doesn't work I only have 20$ invested Buying 1 apple tree here is 120$

[@carsonschulz6498]

Grow them then do some research and graft some hardy varieties so you don’t wait 10-15 years for tiny fruit or very few fruits. I’ve seen research on So. Ontario hardy varieties but I’m down by Kansas City so didn’t read through them. Grafting is pretty easy for apples and pears - also gets fruit years earlier than trees from seed alone

[@wethepeoplecountry4340]

How tall or how old should the apple tree be before pulling the fence off and letting the deer eat them? great episode.

[@bengreen1017]

Thanks for the video Jeff. There aren’t many ag fields or food plots in the area that I hunt. How do keep the deer from eating my plots down to the dirt before the season?

[@whitetailhabitatsolutions9751]

Hi Ben that is really tough. More acres is the biggest of course BUT, ZERO summer food is critical. You do not want the deer already hitting the plpts when you plant your Fall food source. Also layered rye can be a better, high volume practice as well. But no summer food is critical in an area like that... www.whitetailhabitatsolutions.com/blog/layered-food-plots-for-whitetails

[@blazeice111]

Warning about tree tubes: We had tubes over all our trees and they had about 1-2" of space between the trunk and tube. We ended up having a bunch of mice build up nests in there and eat the bark....and then last year, we took the tubes off and put larger cages around them. Unfortunately we put larger diameter holed cages with thicker gauged wire bc we didn't want the deer to collapse them, and the rabbits got through and ate bark. IF I HAD IT TO DO OVER, I would NOT put tubes in order to keep the mice from building nests in them, then build cages with the thicker wire, and wrap it with small diameter wire to keep rabbits out.

[@stephenkutney9626]

Try lifting the tube in the summer. Push the tube flush with the ground prior to winter.

[@whitetailhabitatsolutions9751]

Great advice! Also tree wrap instead of tubes in this case. Heavy Guage wire, 3/4" pipes to keep them from being collapsed and a base of small rock to keep rodents from tunneling in...

[@kosybs8770]

DONT USE TREE TUBES. Buy a roll of window screen and use that 👍🏼. Mice won’t nest in there and it keeps voles/rabbits out. Use a stapler to close them up snug. Easy peasy

[@stephenkutney9626]

The reason for the tree tubes is they act like a greenhouse. The trees grow faster.

[@kosybs8770]

@@stephenkutney9626 but then your tree becomes tall and flimsy, which you need to then stake down.

[@TheSmithtj80]

Hi Jeff! In the video, you found a shed in a corn field where it looks like the corn was just knocked over, not disc or plowed in. Do you think you could get away with leaving that as is to broadcast buckwheat and eventually brassicas? Or do you have to work the corn residue in?

[@whitetailhabitatsolutions9751]

Hi TJ...in that area there is definitely enough soil exposed where it is standing...some not as much where it is not. Just boils down to amount of soil exposed. I would want at least 40-50% soil exposure...

[@guyrosenbarker5113]

TY for your service sir! We have a lot in common! What part of NY is you property near?

[@mikeharrison1429]

I just found 3 of my apple trees totally eaten off at the roots below the dirt line laying at a 45°. Trees were caged and tubed. Looks like something made a nest where the root ball would be.

[@chrisgoodwin8146]

Rabbit

[@Nick-Freeman]

it could be gophers

[@whitetailhabitatandhunting]

Thanks Jeff! I was wondering should I plant fruit trees inside my switchgrass/goldenrod bedding area? And also for the bedding area, where do you get your red osier dogwood? Thanks again!

[@whitetailhabitatsolutions9751]

Hi Isaac! I would not plant them within bedding areas...only by stand locations or to compliment food plots. Either from natural cuttings or www.bigrocktrees.com is also a great source of cuttings and a wide variety of other shrubs and trees.

[@whitetailhabitatandhunting]

@@whitetailhabitatsolutions9751 Thanks

[@johnnyballgame7339]

Fruit trees are great...just need to be wary of things like cedar trees. You will have a hard time growing apple trees and some pears if you have prevalent cedars due to cedar rust. You can mitigate it somewhat with fungicides, but only partially. So before you spend money on apple trees assess this situation...just my experience.

[@whitetailhabitatsolutions9751]

In particular if alongside each other. We have red cedar on our land mixed with a lot of apple trees...but mostly well spaced.

[@chrisgoodwin8146]

Get a variety that is resistant to cedar rust.

[@ihus9950]

👍

[@dennisb1224]

Put 1 crabapple or yellow delicious tree for improved pollination.

[@savage1108]

At 17.22 what is that device being towed behind the UTV ? some type of cutter ? If So I need one !

[@whitetailhabitatsolutions9751]

Hi Savage that is a Packermaxx cultipacker being rolled thru buckwheat. Works exceptionally well! Feel free to give Lincoln Rohn (the owner) at 6165505779...or they have a website too! Very high quality cultipacker....

[@carsonschulz6498]

Don’t put them where cold air pools if you want fruit to form!! And use Bud118 or M111 rootstock (not Walmart trees) so you get a big enough tree that raccoons/opossums won’t pick the tree clean before fruit even drops. Some trees from stores won’t ever get more than 10 ft tall and will produce less fruit than a bigger rootstocked tree.

[@stephenkutney9626]

Use semi-standard trees. Use 5 foot tree tubes. If you have a shorter tube the deer will eat the buds from the leader which will kill the tree. No need to put a fence around the tree until you remove the tree tube. If you don't put a fence around the trees bucks will rub there antlers on the tree.

[@whitetailhabitatsolutions9751]

Unfortunately the deer push the tubes over and kill the tree without it being fenced. Need to make sure that no one plants fruit trees for wildlife without cages unless in a yard without deer. I have personally witnessed thousands of dead apple trees in over a dozen states through the years...

[@stephenkutney9626]

I have not had the problem of deer pushing over the tubes. I use a solid steel fence post that I get from home Depot. I use a fence post driver that I got from Agway to drive the fence post into the ground. It does create a problem when removing the fence post. The best time to do that is in the spring.

[@carsonschulz6498]

@@stephenkutney9626 I had problems with deer eating the tops of 5ft tubes so ended up just fencing them off instead. When they nipped them, it created wonky trees only growing in the cage. Bud118 or M111 - many people on this comment section are going to end up with M7 or smaller rootstock from buying trees at local stores and 10 years from now will be very disappointed in the small size of the tree and limited fruit production. I’d rather wait a couple more years and get the bigger trees. How many years until your trees fill up the tree tube? I’ve thought about tubing my newer trees in the cages to accelerate their vertical growth (and do you head them each year - I can’t ever find research on dormant heading cuts when wanting a big tree just research on heading them in summer to dwarf them)

[@stephenkutney9626]

I've had problems with deer biting off 4 ft tubes but not 5 foot. You have bigger deer. I used to head the limbs but no longer. I think heading promotes sucker branches. Some varieties are tip bearers so heading kills your apple crop.

[@tracewisecarver4260]

Where is the recommended place to order apple,persimmon, and pear trees from in a larger size at a good price? Anybody have any experience?

[@douglasschuenemannjr.3728]

So you said you recommend against persimmons trees in Wisconsin?

[@whitetailhabitatsolutions9751]

Hi Doug! Yes, in particular the further north you travel. I have seen some exceptional trees a little further south tho!

[@JR-pp5el]

Buffalo county Wisconsin here, what time of year should I plant a brassica blend?

[@whitetailhabitatsolutions9751]

Hi JR...around 8/1

[@JR-pp5el]

Thanks Jeff! So same time you plant your mix of beans peas and oats?

[@jessemoore7696]

People from other states wouldn't believe it but bear have become a problem even down here in Florida. They are like 75 to 500 lbs racoons. They destroy everything.

[@whitetailhabitatsolutions9751]

I bet they love the thick habitat!! They sure can be destructive...

[@christpherwilson3151]

We all need an Uncle Paul.....

[@whitetailhabitatsolutions9751]

Ha,, we sure the heck do!

[@frankspataro9714]

I would space em out farther apart

[@whitetailhabitatsolutions9751]

Depends on if fencing clusters or individual trees. Smaller areas fully fenced and them transplanted as needed based on survival...great practice too 🙂

[@KnownAsLion]

Crab apples vs red apples?

[@whitetailhabitatsolutions9751]

I say BOTH 😊

[@Birrdddog]

Lol! 14000 acres in Ohio! Paul is funny!

[@whitetailhabitatsolutions9751]

😁 Paul is awesome!

[@jakeviator2261]

The whole bucket with hole thing. U want to water roots, but then u do want a dry period where the roots get oxygen "dry period". Hopely there is legitamet rain fall where just watering them every week r if it rains one week then every other week.

[@suzmell1]

Lighten up dude

[@jeffluberto5678]

Dam, guess this video answered my question weather or not bears eat brassicas. Not good for me

[@rwestvirginia5651]

Deer Love the fruit trees. Unfortunately, so do bears.

[@markr.1547]

Spray and pray!🤣

[@whitetailhabitatsolutions9751]

😁 Amen! And water

[@steved5023]

Nice video but not much on fruit trees ! Poor Dylan , did not get much imput into conversation

[@whitetailhabitatsolutions9751]

Thanks Steve! LOTS of fruit strategy tho - most that you get no where else unless they copy 😉 Cluster plantings. Only by food AND treestands. Never in woods or bedding areas. Plant region specific varieties. Fewer done right is better than many done wrong. Kind of like food plots. Most can plant correctly, but most of those plantings are a failure even if they grow perfectly. It's easy to plant trees correctly...many channels for thatbasic stuff. BUT, the strategy is what will determine success or failure. We have Dylan more involved in some future vids and I think you will like the perspective of how we are doing that!

[@Nollic15]

It’s funny to hear someone whos retired and lives in NYC say he is a country boy at heart, lol no you’re not dude.

[@bambamengelbert]

Learning better methods of killing weeds or vegetation than chemicals would appeal my liking. Vinegar. Hell burn it. Idk anything but round up

[@travisethridge4062]

I do not believe that planting, grooming, and caring for the fruit trees are very effective or efficient for hunting. Too many variables, cost, and heartache. Some do live, I have Kiefer pears and they are thriving... but are not deer magnets as one would think... possums and raccoons eat more than half of fruit. Plant if you like taking care of trees

[@jarrodlambert3914]

Dont say anything toweird lmao

[@Jay-hu1pc]

Hey Love the video on fruit trees I have been planting some over last few years. Where can a guy buy simizine for switch around la crosse or Winona do you know?

[@whitetailhabitatsolutions9751]

Hi Ronny! I buy mine from the Ace Hardware in Viroqua...at the Co-op in Westby too. Maybe Rudy's in Holmen too.

[@Jay-hu1pc]

Thanks Jeff

[@mike81399]

👍