Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

Written in very easy to understand language. This book is a must read for beginners.

Just because you clear cut an area does not mean you will get regeneration of trees. The book suggests that by creating sun by cutting matures trees, the brush will grow for deer food. HOWEVER, in my area of new york the deer wipe out any regrowth. Clear cuts remain clear and there is no understory. So before you cut do a test, in a sunny spot put a circle of wire and see what grows. If you have growth inside and none outside you have too many deer for clear cuts to work. I am going to try a "peanut butter" electric fence to keep the deer out of an area so some regeneration can occur. It's not easy to remove enough excess deer to fix this problem.

Take some time and plant apple trees. My best hunting areas are near apple trees that some one took the time to plant. I have just planted 36 trees for me in a few years and for the hunters that come after me. I encourage everyone else to plant some apple trees. Plenty of room under the trees for food plots.

Other than that, the book was fun, a fast read and had some great information. The ideas are good although it's a lot of work and I have just started. Finding and spreading the lime is a hard project. Good luck with your projects.

copy@antlerrestrictions.com

I bought this book and took it to my property last weekend. I can't believe how easy it is to follow. I planted two food plots "by the book" and set up a deer sanctuary.
Next weekend we will be setting up hunting plots and treestands. The plot layouts were great and very easy to understand. These guys have "been there and done that" and they really know their stuff. I'm buying a couple more books to leave in camp for the other guys to read.

buy it! The best I have seen on the topic. The best part is the design's for the shape of the food plots for actual hunting. Not just a 1 acre rectangle. It suggests things like a 1/8 acre boomarang with bowhunter treestand in the back of the V of the boomarang. Keeps deer you see in bow range and minimizes the need for a huge plot! Awesome.

This book was a great help in getting our family on the right track towards creating excellent deer and wildlife habitat on our property. I wanted an excellent book to give me a step by step guide and this book really provides it all. We have started the processes recommended in the book and look forward to many productive and fun years at our hunting land.

Good book, informative!
One of about 3, needed to get a good handle on food plots, building habitat, in general information about improving your hunting property!

Just bought some hunting land and want to do it right and do it legally. This book was fantastic. Easy, quick read, yet very insightful.