Fertilizer - does what kind matter or ever try on browse?

[mheichelbech]

Curious if anyone has experience to where using one kind of fertiiizer or another made any difference in palatability to the deer...for example, there is a product advertised around here called Rack Vantage in which people swear up and down deer are draw to it because to really adds all the property nutrients..that you can apply just to browse and it will increase feed rates. I am thinking of just getting some bulk Miracle Gro or some kind of cheap liquid fertilizer to spray on the browse or even pellet fertilizer to throw down around woody browse and saplings to see if it makes much difference. Anyone ever try this?

[Bonecrusher101]

Just make sure you match the analysis of what that rack advantage is and you will prob save some money. Example find the bag of rack advantage look at the label of active ingredients. If it's 10-10-10 then find a cheaper brand of 10-10-10 and it will get u in ball park. First 3 big numbers are your macro nutrients n (nitrogen)-p (phosphorus) k (potassium) the other ingredients will be your micronutrients. Also lime helps balance the soils ph and helps fertilizer become more readily available to plants.

Only difference I could see is if one fertilizer is a slow release and the other is plain granulated. It should say on the bag if it's coated or slow release. Regular fertilizer should be watered in to aid in the fertilizer reaching the roots. It's also easy to damage plants if you spill or put too much down. Slow release is safer and more idiot proof because it won't harm plants as easily if it's too much.

I've heard of hunters having good luck with ammonium sulfate on honeysuckle vines. Usually done in August before a rain. Nows not really the time to fertilize plants maybe start around April. Good luck

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[IkemanTx]

I am planning on using an organic product called Milorganite for two reasons.
1. As mentioned previously, it is a slow release fertilizer and I do not have the possibility of burning the plants.
2. I have heard claims that because of the smell, dear will avoid the area but it was applied for a couple of weeks. Hopefully, after applying in the spring when everything is fresh and tender, it will give those plants a couple week headstart with no browse.

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[Bonecrusher101]

Milorganite is made from processed sewer sludge from Milwaukee. The heavy metals are removed. We've used it before on golf courses. FYI fact google it!

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[Bonecrusher101]

It really only smells bad after it gets wet and the temps warm up. It smells like human doodoo!

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[IkemanTx]

It really only smells bad after it gets wet and the temps warm up. It smells like human doodoo!

[ Post made via iPhone ]

All the better to slow down the browsing ;-) the smell doesn't last long either.

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[mheichelbech]

Milorganite is made from processed sewer sludge from Milwaukee. The heavy metals are removed. We've used it before on golf courses. FYI fact google it!

[ Post made via iPhone ]

It is sold around here and I've used it in my grass before. I don't know why more cities don't do it.

About the fertilizing...I just had read somewhere that fertilizing stuff makes it more attractive to deer...aside of the boost in growth...the rack vantage you can supposedly spray it on all your browse, honeysuckle or whatever and it becomes more attractive to deer somehow. The sellers of it would I guess say because their stuff makes plants healthier for deer, they are more attracted to it somehow. I was just wondering if perhaps fertilizer somehow improved the taste of plants to deer and therefore made it more attractive to them. Obviously if you fertilize local browse it will grow more, have not leaves and that sort of thing...maybe that's what does it...just checking to see if anyone else knows about this. I have some areas with a lot of natural browse like rose bushes, other kinds of bushes, etc and had thought about just spraying them with a cheap liquid fertilizer or even granular fertilizer in a particular area to make it more attractive to the deer if that worked. Kind of like baiting in way...

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[DEERSLAYER]

Milorganite is good stuff, but if you look at the N-P-K values you will see that it's expensive compared to the regular chemical fertilzer.

If you have an area thick with browse and/or forbs I would broadcast 300 lbs per acre of 19-19-19 fertilizer. You can do it in the spring and then throw on 100 pounds per acre of urea late summer when you start getting some cool nights and rain. Or you can skip the urea and just call it good. Or you can skip the spring application and just do the 19-19-19 in late summer. The first option would be the best of the three, but all work.

The other option and probably the best option in most cases is to use a folier application where you spray directly onto the leaves which is what Rack Vantage is. There are other foliar sprays available that are likely cheaper than the Rack Vantage (although I haven't checked their prices) and by spraying the fertilizer directly on the foliage you are bypassing any possible soil acidity or flooding problems. Just follow the directions so you don't burn the plant and you should be fine.

Fertilizing will increase nutrition which increases palatability and attraction.