Scott's habitat improvements

[Bowsnbucks]

Gotta love those beds in there !! Great pix, Scott. Those aren't deer trails - they're trenches they dug in. Just a little traffic to dig down like that !! From all the pix and work you're doing now - I'd say you have a dose of cabin fever. Lots of good work done at your place - thanks for sharing the pix. Forgot the gas can at home ? ........... rookie mistake !!!!:D:p

 

[scott44]

Gotta love those beds in there !! Great pix, Scott. Those aren't deer trails - they're trenches they dug in. Just a little traffic to dig down like that !! From all the pix and work you're doing now - I'd say you have a dose of cabin fever. Lots of good work done at your place - thanks for sharing the pix. Forgot the gas can at home ? ........... rookie mistake !!!!:D:p

Cabin fever-yes, I fill the saw up stuck it on the quad and took off and realized when I started cutting I had forgot the gas but figured what I wanted to do I could get done with one tank well things were going so good and it was a great day I just kept on going. Kind of like your pack on the first couple hunts of the year and you don't have everything in it you want or need. Just getting everything set up for habitat season.:)

 

[Spiider]

Looking really nice! Seeing those beds under the hinge cuts must have been a real treat :) Keep up the good work and thanks for sharing the results and progress pictures.

 

[scott44]

Great weather here in MI this weekend and I took advantage of it today, dropped a couple trees around one of our stands and cleaned it up for a micro plot, just something to make them stop and maybe get a shot on the way to the bigger plots.

Before pic.



After, no I did't leave that tree hung up in the second pic I just filled the saw with gas and snapped a few pics.





Looking to the east of the this stand is an old apple orchard .



I swung up through the area I hinged a month ago and went looking for my hammer I left up there, found it. Here's a couple pics of some red cedars I planted in some bare spots on the edge of a switch field. Maybe in a couple years they'll create some more bedding.





I started with 51 chinese chestnuts from wbpdeer and ended up with 39 seedlings that are doing great.

 

[H20fwler]

Your chestnuts are looking great Scott! When did you plant them?
Planted mine in starter pots three weeks ago and they are 3"-4" tall now just starting to get little leaves with some still sprouting.

 

[scott44]

Your chestnuts are looking great Scott! When did you plant them?
Planted mine in starter pots three weeks ago and they are 3"-4" tall now just starting to get little leaves with some still sprouting.

I planted some mid Jan and the rest about 10 days later, I pulled them out of the fridge mid Jan and had about a dozen that had started to germinate so I stuck those ones in the RM and put the others back in the fridge for about a week and had 20 or so start to germinate so I threw the rest of them in RM's. The ones on the right in that bottom pic are the first ones.

 

[Bill]

Just paid attention to this pic.

Wow. There's a bunch of neighbors enjoying your work.

I missed the flock in the background.

 

[scott44]

Not a whole lot going on here now, just waiting for spring to get here and start my spring habitat work. Weather here has been different days in the 60's in Feb and now we're in single digits in Mar. I started these chinese chestnuts mid Jan and they have really taken off, I transplanted a whole rootmaker tray into 1gal rootmaker pots and had to get different shelving because they had outgrown the old shelving. If I keep this up I see a greenhouse or growing room in the garage in my future, thankfully I have a understanding wife who share's some of the kitchen south facing windows

Growing past the shelves.





Transplanting from the RM 18's into 1 gal pots.





New shelves, some of these are pushing 20" tall, I also started a tray of red osier dogwoods form cuttings just to try it, seems to work pretty good and easy.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Scott - Did you dip the ROD in rooting hormone before planting in the flats ?? Just wondering.

 

[scott44]

Scott - Did you dip the ROD in rooting hormone before planting in the flats ?? Just wondering.

No I didn't, I didn't have any so I thought I would try it without.

 

[Merle Hawggard]

Chestnuts are looking great Scott!
I feel your pain on the weather too. I've got pear and apple trees bloomed out with snow and a low of 25 forcast sat. Had storms last night and last week.

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[Bill]

I'm seeing a small green house in your future.
70 degrees here early in the week. My forsythia is blooming but it got covered with snow this morning. 20 tonight.
That warm up was just a tease m

 

[buckvelvet]

Things are looking up Scott!

 

[John-W-WI]

Transplanting from the RM 18's into 1 gal pots.

I'm no expert Scott - but it's been my experience that you could probably let them stay in the 18's a little longer (maybe chestnuts are different?)

There doesn't look like too many roots in there to me.

YMMV

-John

 

[Native Hunter]

I always love to see your habitat pics. Those chestnuts look great!!

 

[scott44]

I'm no expert Scott - but it's been my experience that you could probably let them stay in the 18's a little longer (maybe chestnuts are different?)

There doesn't look like too many roots in there to me.

YMMV

-John

You are correct John, these did not need to be moved because of being root bound. Just an experiment to see the difference between the RM 18 and the 1gal pots when they are planted. The ones in the RM 18's will probably planted this spring and some of the 1gal will also be planted this spring while the remaining 1 gal will be kept at the house. Always trying something

 

[Bowsnbucks]

WOW - That's a lot of good growth on the Chinese chestnuts since only January !! I never knew they'd grow that fast - pretty impressive.

 

[scott44]

I received some of my trees late last week, apple trees from Turkey Creek and conifers from NCR. I thought I had them all coming at the same time but not so my MDC order will be here later this week.

Planted 5 apple trees from Turkey Creek.





Thought I learned my lesson by not protecting them with screen when I first planted fruit trees and had all of the girdled, missed one last year but got lucky.



View from orchard over the back of our place,



I got 100 black spruce, 50 white and 50 norway plugs from NCR.



Chinese chestnuts are doing good, I had some bur and bur/gambel oaks in pots from last year in the garage that I brought in and woke up.







More plantings this coming weekend some I'll try and get some pics.

 

[Merle Hawggard]

Those chestnuts and oaks look great!
All the hard work is gonna pay off for you too.

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[Spiider]

Looks really good, Scott! I LOVE those containerized trees. I'll have to bookmark that NCR website, I've only used Itasca before. But they grow much faster and healthier than any bare root I've gotten from local conservation districts. Good work with the apple trees too! Lot's of time and work goes into this labor of love... Thanks for posting!