04/24/2026
What are you planting this spring ???
WHERE IS CHEAPER BETTER ON A DEER HUNTING PROPERTY? 
This is an 8 x 6 trailer full of five year-old potted spruce--40 total. The owner has a small stretch of wide open field and wanted to connect woodlots as quickly as possible. He is planting five year-old root systems that can be planted any time of year and can go for weeks without rain. What's that worth to you absentee landowners?
A berm was not in play. That is definitely the quickest and most effective visual and sound break you can buy. It can literally make a property hunt better overnight. However, investing in older trees is the next best permanent solution.
Long ago I quit planting bare root seedlings. The negatives just outweighed the positives. Not only are they slow as molasses (if they live), no matter which way you play it you're coming back to do more work.
Will I have to replant or transplant trees to areas where a lot of trees died because my bare root seedlings didn't get enough rain?
Will I have to thin a bunch of perfectly good trees because I overplanted thinking I'd have to deal with random dead trees, and then they all made it?
Am I going to leave these trenches from the tree planter all over the property? 
Since moving to containerized trees with dirt on the roots, I have lost zero trees. You read that right--100% survival. I have planted fewer trees, but I've lost none. That means I never had to go back and replant, nor will I have to go back to thin them. I planted them where I want them, and they'll be there for good. The only time we pay attention to them is if they need repair. Deer suck!
So back to the question, where on a deer hunting property is cheap the way to go? Where would you spend the money because you know it's worth it? 
