Mature whitetails are fickle creatures. Anyone who’s spent much time around them understands that. Their jittery nature proves it, but their frequent unwillingness to enter food plots during daylight provides additional support. Which brings me to my main point: Soft edges are critical components of grub hubs. I rarely plant a food plot that goes directly from hardwoods to ankle-high vegetation.
Doing so creates a hard edge. Instead, I use transitions to subtly ease them into the open space. Often, that takes the form of early successional habitat, such as briars, saplings and natural grasses. When not already present, that can be created by a planted crop of Whitetail Oats Plus or a combination of Oats Plus with an adjacent planting of Conceal. Understanding and implementing soft edges can be complex. Knowing when, where, why and how to have them on the landscape is an in-depth topic, but let’s chisel away at it.
The King of Edge Animals
Many animals benefit from early successional habitat. Large and small game thrive in the edge cover created by young plant growth, and William Cousins, general manager of the Whitetail Institute, is a staunch proponent of having those soft edges. Small-game species, such as rabbits and quail, thrive in the security cover it creates. Wild turkeys enjoy the benefits of its nesting cover and bugging areas. But whitetails are dubbed the kings of edge animals. They require it for bedding, food and escape cover. Soft edges undeniably make animals feel safer — even whitetails. They wouldn’t bed in it if that weren’t true or spend so much daylight time in and around it. Although edges are more often used for feeding and transitioning, animals still frequent them throughout the day. Areas with plenty of edges tend to have higher fawn recruitment rates, too. It’s more difficult for predators to locate them, which leads to higher deer densities and healthier deer. Generally, areas with underperforming deer herds lack the early successional habitat needed to thrive. Edges usually fall into two categories: timber-based edges and field-based edges. In the woods, these are areas where two types of timber meet, such as hardwoods and pines, or hardwoods and cedars. Field-edge habitat is the primary focus here, though. Properties that have plenty of edges and express them in strategic ways can see better daylight activity along food sources, too. There aren’t a lot of studies to prove it, but plenty of anecdotal data suggests that deer feel safer in food plots and ag fields that offer soft edges. These terrain features go by other names, including screens, buffer strips and transition zones. But although the names differ, their purpose remains the same. Now comes the real question: Does your property have enough soft edges? Most unmanaged lands (for hunting purposes) do not. If you have some timber — hardwoods or planted pines — you’ll have some areas where the woods stop and the fields start. As mentioned, that’s a hard edge. “See what you’re dealing with,” Cousins said. “If you have a mature pine plantation and you can see throughout it, you don’t have any cover. You need to have some. It’s super important to give those animals that edge. It’s a safe zone. They get out there and feel a little more comfortable.” Cousins prefers to have at least 20 to 30 feet of soft edge around food plots and other open areas. This gives whitetails a lot of brushy habitat and also provides plenty of screening and visual concealment.
Serving Up Soft Edges
Some properties already offer abundant early
successional habitat. These are regarded as natural soft edges. Often, such
vegetation is mowed down and beaten back. Barring the existence of (most)
invasive plant species, that’s one of the worst things a land manager can do
for deer. “Some properties will have sage brush, briars or even honeysuckle,”
Cousins said. “I encourage that, if you have it. When you’re spreading
fertilizer, be sure you fertilize and lime that soft edge, too.” Essentially,
maintain what you have. Don’t disturb existing edge cover. Enhance that growth.
Nurture it. We want edge cover to be at least waist high and preferably chest-
to head high, when possible. That’s a slow process, though, which is why it’s
so important to leave the bushhog in the shed. When you take the level of
succession back to ground level, it often takes at least one to three years before
it can reach adequate edge status again. Other species grow more quickly, but
others grow more slowly. Unfortunately, some properties don’t offer adequate
edge cover. Or perhaps it’s recently been removed mistakenly. Don’t worry if
that’s your reality. Short-term solutions can help remedy a lack of edge around
fields and food plots. The Whitetail Institute offers an edge habitat rescue
plan. Cousins starts by planting buffer strips, and he prefers a combo approach
when manually planting these edges. “When I plant our Fusion (clover/ chicory),
I will use our Whitetail Oats Plus as a nurse crop,” he said. “That helps create
a nice microenvironment while the perennials are getting established. It helps
with browsing pressure. The animals will browse the oats and not just wipe out
the perennials. “Then, fast forward. When you get through the fall and winter
hunting season, that next spring, when you mow or spray the oats, I’ll move
about 20 to 30 feet off the edge of the timber and leave that border. This is a
soft edge.” That’s one of his proven methods for providing great soft edges,
which also double as food sources. But the important thing is allowing it to
continue standing. That creates the soft edge. This is an example of a
single-layer soft edge, though. When possible, it’s better to create multiple
layers. For example, it might go from big timber to small saplings to tall
stems (Conceal) to medium stems (Whitetail Oats Plus) to the food plot. This
isn’t generally possible with smaller openings, but it’s achievable with larger
ones. If you have the room, use different layers of edges, and gradually transition
them into the food plot. This provides additional edge cover and food sources
and might even increase comfort levels. “If you have room in your fields, plant
some Conceal, and let it stand,” Cousins said. “It gets really tall. Then, use
the Pure Attraction (Whitetail Oats/Winter- Greens) between it and the food
plot.” Edge cover can eventually get too big and old, though. Resetting the
biological clock before it becomes too mature to serve as a soft edge is part
of the process. Managing early successional habitat is delicate, though. Create
a plan before making changes to the landscape. Then follow it meticulously.
