2023 trees

BuckSutherland

5 year old buck +
I have started ordering some of my trees for next year. I got a few coming from U of Idaho, Itasca Greenhouse and the local NRCS. Gun season ended on 11/20 so I thought I would get an early start on 2023 tree planting.

We have had about 6-8" of total snow accumulation in the last few weeks at my land east of Leech Lake in MN. On 11/21 (day after gun season closed) I went down the road and snagged about 2 dozen transplants (14 white spruce, 8 balsam fir, and 1 red pine). Brought them back and planted them on my land. The ground wasnt frozen underneath all the snow even though temps have been close to zero a few nights. I got a good seal on all of the holes so I'm certain some will survive. I would have done 200 if I would have brought my snowpants and Wolverine shovel along. It worked really good.



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Nice work! I'm jealous of eearly jump. I saw hundreds I need to move or pull from ditches as wel. The white spruce by me seem to just grow on top of one another. What is the tallest white spruce and/or Balsam you've moved successfully? I might try some larger ones this year.
 
If your tree(s) rides shotgun, you might be a habitat junkie ...... 🦌
😉
Oakseeds,

Please permit me to personalize that one........

" If your golden retriever rides in the bed of your F-150 because the cab is loaded with baby trees, you might be a habitat guy"

bill
 
Nice work! I'm jealous of eearly jump. I saw hundreds I need to move or pull from ditches as wel. The white spruce by me seem to just grow on top of one another. What is the tallest white spruce and/or Balsam you've moved successfully? I might try some larger ones this year.

I have tried doing some bigger stuff before. These white and red pines in 2019. Only the two with arrows are left alive. The red pine hasnt done much, but looks like it will finally take off this year. The white pine is about 8 feet tall.

White spruce I have pulled some 3 footers just by tearing them out, but its extremely hard on the lower back and testicles. Would recommend a shovel for sure or smaller trees with the rip method. Transplant shock goes up with bigger trees too. I like 18-24" trees to transplant. Red pine and balsam fir have definitely been harder to establish with the rip method then white pine and white spruce.
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I went to Tractor Supply this evening and picked up all my cages for next year. They had an advertised price of $129.99. I picked them up for $96.25 roll with a price match from Home Depot. I dont expect to find them any cheaper in the Brandon economy. I took every roll they had. I hope to have them all delivered to my woods and made before the new year.


Saw a bonus buck get up out of his bedding spot in front of a red cedar on the way home. I turned around to snap a pic of him strolling across a little meadow.

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I was at TSC today, and their 5 foot rolls were $199 here, I was hoping for the specials on them as well, but a no go at my local TSC.
 
Do you just pull them out of the ground?Looks like you need a small tree spade
 
Do you just pull them out of the ground?Looks like you need a small tree spade


Yes, almost all of those trees in my pictures were just pulled from the road ditches and transplanted onto my land (all done for experiment). I dont recommend pulling many over 2' tall unless they come out easy. Better off to dig those out. I like to pull and transplant 18-24" trees. It works pretty darn good and is also pretty fast. I can pull 50 trees in 5 mins and if planting close together 50 per hour is possible. The power company mows them every few years with a bat wing and told me to take all I want. They grow faster then we can take them.


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Decades back I pulled white cedar from under a power line by a road. Most did well and I planted them in slightly higher locations but I dug some roots down into the spring time water table. A few were 5-6 feet and I made sure the longest roots were in the water.

My parents lived on a lake at that time and I planted them right above the waters edge. Probably over 40 years ago. I think those were the only cedars one the lake.

I also have two on my hunting ground and have only found one native one on it.


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Man, I wish we could get spruce and balsam seedlings by pulling from roadside ditches. The deer "walkways" and thermal cover I could create!!! Jealous, Buck!

Is that a deer standing beyond that power pole along the left side in that blond grass?? (Pic on post #9) I didn't even need my prescription coke bottles to see that!!!
 
^^^^

Yes that's a deer down there. I plan to take 400-500 balsam fir (100) and white spruce (300-400) for transplant this spring. Basically have to redo everything I did in 2021. A bunch of it got nuked in the D3 drought. It wont even be noticeable that I took one. There are thousands of them. If they dont mow this year there is one short stretch that will probably have 10,000+ seedlings coming by next year.
 
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