My little slice of Heaven

Oz. for Oz. Old Trapper is the best buy!
 
I'm sure you will put them to good use. They are on their third life now, as I got them used as well, so by the time they're done, they could well have nurtured many hundreds of trees. I look forward to seeing lots of new growth on this thread in coming years!
 
I just wanted to add this here also so I can find it easier.

On Sunday I planted
13 Bebbs Oaks
19 Nuttall Oaks
17 Shuettes Oak
13 Overcup X Swamp White Oak
15 Sweet Idaho Bur Oak
24 Mid Mo Bur Oak
All those were sent to me at only the cost of shipping (from an anonymous member on this site) as acorns that I stratified in the crisper all winter :emoji_sunglasses:

I still have 19 Pecans and roughly 45 Sawtooth Oaks to plant this coming weekend. I also got 15 American Chestnut seeds started that I got from the TACF chapter here in NY planted in pots and starting to leaf out so they will go in the ground around Memorial Day.

I also ordered 4 Pears and 4 Persimmon from Blue Hill but those won't come until November. I am putting in a 1 acre food plot this year but planting isn't until August and only spraying until then so not very exciting lol I ordered Clover Blend Plus Chicory and Sweet Feast Brassica Blend from Northwoods Whitetail today (Dbltree's suggestion from his thread) for August planting, I was warned they run out of the Brassica and didn't want to have to scramble at the last minute looking for seed.

I also ordered 100 MG (I am not even going to try and spell it :) from Maple River Farms to start some screening, that process seems slow, I reserved some but it wouldn't let me pay yet and it didn't specify when it would get sent out.
 
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Sheeze. I’m complaining about less than 20 trees I’m planting.

I think if maple rivers let you reserve them they have stock. He won’t charge you until it’s ready to ship.
 
Things are just starting to green up here in Central NY. I walk my hill several times per week and monitor progress etc. Leeks are everywhere in my woods this time of year, it is the only thing green on my forest floor as shown in this picture.
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I see some questions about how much tree tubes help/hurt and although I acknowledge that everyone has different experiences in different areas, this is my experience. These pictures don’t do justice and I should have brought a tape measure but I didn’t.
I planted 3 rows of these Beach Plums in the same area, 25 total. The growth was lethargic in the 2 years since they were planted as bare root seedlings. I put a tree tube on the smallest one in this row last spring as a test and in 1 summer it is not only became the tallest of all 3 rows but it is leafing out sooner than all of them. It’s is still only about 36” tall but the next tallest is 30” and bear in mind it was the smallest one last spring. Side note, we had a really dry summer here last year, every rain storm headed towards us and petered out and we got a misting.
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All the others in the 3 rows look like this. and this

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I am just curious if anyone has ever used FORECON Forestry Services?
They only serve New York, Pennsylvania and West Virginia but I would like to get opinions good/bad before getting too far committed to something so I figured it was worth throwing out here.
 
This is in a Red Oak I planted quite a few years ago. Anyone know what bug causes it and how to treat it?
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It looks like it might be a woodpecker hole to me...TreeKote.
 
My new (to me) workhorse, as all my non-essential purchases go... I bought it broken lol I only paid $1,500 for it because it is stuck in reverse gear. Electric shift is new to me so I’ve Googled the shit out of this problem and boils down to a broken ear on the shift plate. The shift plate is under the clutch so it will take some wrenching to get it moving. Everything I’ve looked at in the last 4 months wasn’t even close to the shape this is in so I’m staying optimistic
It’s a 2001 Honda 350 Rancher ES with brand new work boots!

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I bet it runs for a long time once you get it in gear..
 
That’s a big box. :)

good luck with them. I can’t wait to get back and see if any of mine are sprouting. Thankfully we’ve had lots of rain since planting.
I hand dug every single hole :emoji_dizzy_face: your way with a plow and tractor looks MUCH more ideal!! Wish I had them lol
It is a bit confusing regarding how to plant. The Maple River website says to lay them horizontal but looking at them, most of the Rhizomes had roots previously grown in the same direction as what appears to be new above ground (plant) growth. Then I recalled your video where you just drop them in and kick the dirt over so I guess I was overthinking it as usual :)
I know MG doesn't do well in wetter areas, is it something that I will need to water regularly if we have a dry summer Bill?
 
I really should be more diligent about taking pictures to chronicle this stuff here.
This is roughly half the MG planted. My food plot will go to the right, between this screen and the one on the other side of the plot, I can theoretically stalk anything in the plot without getting seen or winded. That’s the idea anyway

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Maannnnnnn I don't know about you guys but it can be very frustrating to do what we do!

Nature plants things and they just seem to grow, I plant things and have to tube or cage to keep out squirrels, rabbits, mice and deer only to see them defoliated by Gypsy Moth Caterpillars (I think my current situation) or Tent Caterpillars or Japanese Beetles or......
Rougly 100 of my (higher end) trees I have pruned, watered, fertilized and in general babied for 3 or 4 years got 90% defoliated these last few weeks and it really takes the wind out of my sails. I have been diligent about walking around the property since the middle of May when the caterpillars first showed up to hand remove them from the smaller trees and giving the bigger trees a shake. I can't see how these trees can recover from this but I am trying to stay optimistic :emoji_dizzy_face: Not much can be done about them so I am just venting here but if anyone has any input on how to cope with them would be appreciated.
 
Just documenting here.
Finally got enough time to track down a Nuc of local Honeybees to replace my hive that died last winter.
I started working with Bees to help pollinate everything I’ve planted. Never liked honey from a store, but for some reason I can’t explain I love the honey that comes out of my hives.

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I am exactly the same about honey, don't care for store bought at all but will put our natural honey on everything. And pretty much everything about having bee's is cool!
 
If you are having trouble with the caterpillars that make that net around where they are eating just take a pole saw and reach up and break the net and sprayt with bifen or cut limb off and put in a trash bag and leave in sun for a couple hours. Watch your trees in tubes to see if they are getting heat stressed as it warms up,If so take a 3/8 or so drill bit and drill holes through them.I would do the top 18 inches since those are 3 feet.You may not have to being that far north. Everything looks great
 
If you are having trouble with the caterpillars that make that net around where they are eating
I am not very good identifying bugs and crawly critters so I am guessing these are Gypsy Moth Caterpillars as they are very small compared to Tent Caterpillars, appear to have different markings and have no nests that I have seen.
In years we have an influx of Tent Caterpillars I usually wait until almost dark, find a long stick and poke it into the web and spin it so it wraps them inside their own web and then burn them. I haven't seen any tents yet this year but I know one of these years we will have a boom of them. I try to avoid chemicals for the sake of my bees unless I have to.
 
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