Grow 'Em Right; A Guide to Creating Habitat and Food Plots [Paperback]

Neil Dougherty (Author), Craig Dougherty (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2003

Grow 'Em Right is a comprehensive, easy-to-follow guide book on how to create quality deer hunting through habitat development and food plots. A must read for hunting property owners. Learn from America's leading experts and let this book lead you to the deer hunting you've dreamed about.

Grow 'Em Right has sections on laying out food plots, finding hunting property, leasing or buying, stopping trespassing and laying out property for hunting access. Woods work, including timber stand improvement, logging and creating cover is covered as is the establishment of "sanctuaries."

"How to" information is provided on soil testing, liming, fertilizing, plant selection and equipment use. Hunting and deer management strategies are also covered in depth.

Hundreds have toured the NorthCountry Whitetails Demo Center and BioLogic's Northern Research Facility located in Steuben County, New York. Now it is all here in this easy-to-follow book.

Editorial Reviews

Review

This book provides cutting-edge information on how to grow and harvest quality whitetails in a practical, straight-forward approach. -- Brian Murphy, Executive Director, Quality Deer Management Association, on April 1, 2003

This book will show you how to obtain the results you're dreaming about in the least amount of time. -- Charlie Alsheimer, Northern Field Editor, Deer & Deer Hunting Magazine, April 1, 2003

About the Author

Craig Dougherty and his son Neil "found" the joy of quality deer habitat management some fifteen years ago. Craig has been a confirmed bowhunter since the late seventies. He has written for hunting and QDM publications and appeared on T.V. and in hunting videos. He has taken dozens of high quality big game animals with a bow. His pet project (and life's passion) has been the 500+ acre hunting and habitat demo site in Southwestern New York, which he dubbed "Kindred Spirits". Since acquiring the property (the original property was 150 acres) in 1990, it has been transformed it into a habitant development and quality deer hunting "show place".

His second passion is helping others realize their dream as well, through books, articles and demo tours. Craig has been instrumental in transforming "Kindred Spirits" into the NorthCountry Whitetails Habitat Development Center and Bio-Logic Research Facility.

In three short years Neil has become one of the "hottest" names in the field of habitat development and food plots. Neil's new book, "Grow ’Em Right" is receiving rave reviews and is a main selection in one of the countries largest book clubs "Outdoorsman's Edge". He has written for a number of magazines including "Whitetail Strategies" and "Quality Whitetails" and has been quoted and written about in dozens more. A sought after speaker, Neil will be presenting at the 2003 QDMA National Convention in Louisiana and will deliver over 50 habitat development and quality deer hunting seminars this year. Neil will be appearing weekly on BioLogic's new TV show when it debuts on the Outdoor Channel this summer.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: NorthCountry Whitetails LLC (April 1, 2003)
• ISBN-10: 0972935606
• ISBN-13: 978-0972935609
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,098,488 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally, A Book For The North, July 21, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Grow 'Em Right; A Guide to Creating Habitat and Food Plots (Paperback)

I have been reading about hanitat development, food plots and white-tailed deer for years. I have also been frustrated for years because almost everything written has been set in the south. As a Wisconsin guy, I can finally say "I found it"!
Grow Em Right has got it right. Dougherty and Dougherty really know how things work in the north. Their book is practical, easy to follow and really makes sense. Every member of my hunting camp is reading the book and we are starting to implement their suggestions ... If you are into Quality Deer Managment, food plots, and habitat development on small properties(under 1,000 acres) this is the book for you.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Beginners Guide to Habitat Management, November 2, 2004

By 

J. E. Nelson (Plainfield, Illinois) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Grow 'Em Right; A Guide to Creating Habitat and Food Plots (Paperback)

This book is an excellent how to guide on habitat management for whitetail deer.

The book is an excellent guide for beginners. The book covers a several topics on improving whitetail habitat on your land. The book discusses property evaluation, using a chainsaw to improve cover and browse, the importance of access to the property and the food plots, logging, creating food plots, and several other minor topics. The authors cover each one of the subjects in thorough detail. For people who cannot afford ATV's and/or tractors to build food plots, the chainsaw chapter is excellent; the chapter discusses how to clear trees to grow deer browse and how to use the "waste" to funnel deer movements. The deep plot chapters discuss the best plants to use in the northern United States, and how (including what shape) to construct food plots. The book is not filled with theory, but rather the real world experience of the authors. The authors' experience shows as the book is also filled with tips and things to avoid.

On the flip side, much of the food plot information is basic. Having read numerous articles about food plots on the internet prior to purchasing this book, the food plot section was a lot of review. The book also seems to be an advertisement for BioLogic products (the authors Center is a test area for BioLogic, so I am not sure if they truly think BioLogic is the best or if they just do not have experience with other brands). I would have liked to see a section on growing food plots with no or with minimal equipment. While reading the section on food plots, I got the feeling that the authors assume the readers will have access to $5,000 + worth of equipment.

This book is filled with information that is useful people who are interested in habitat management for whitetail deer. While I have not had the chance to practice any of the techniques described, everything in the book seems easy to understand. I would highly recommend this book to anyone wishing to improve the habitat on his or her land. While some of the information can be found on the internet, but the book is still definitely worth reading to learn from the authors' experience.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I Wish I Had This Book Three Years Ago, June 11, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Grow 'Em Right; A Guide to Creating Habitat and Food Plots (Paperback)

Grow "Em Right is the most useful habitat development and food plot book I have ever read. In fact I wish I had it as a guidebook three years ago when I started developing my property for quality whitetail hunting. It would have saved me time and money.
The Doughertys have written an easy to follow practical book on how to create better deer hunting with habitat development and food plots. They have given me dozens of new ideas and hundreds of useful tips.
Especially great is their chapter on creating hunting plots, complete with diagrams on food plot layouts. I have never seen this kind of detail and insight in print before.
I would strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in improving the whitetail deer hunting on their property, especially if the property is smaller than 1,000 acres in size. It should also be standard reading for hunting club members interested in Quality Deer Managment.
It is well worth the twenty bucks. I have already bought three for my hunting buddies.