A few habitat pics I thought you might enjoy

[Native Hunter]

I'm a believer in seeking out what you already have and helping it along. This is a native hazelnut grove I found a few years ago. I opened up around it and gave it some room. It has really come on since then.



You don't have to do anything to have blackberries here. If they get light they will thrive.



Did a bunch of persimmon grafting a few weeks ago. Time will tell how well I did. I could be embarrassed if they don't take.:)





That's about it for now. Hope to have some more stuff soon.

 

[scott44]

Great pics! Thanks for the update. How do the deer like the hazelnuts? I've planted quite a few over the last couple years so I'm a few years out on seeing any.

 

[Native Hunter]

Great pics! Thanks for the update. How do the deer like the hazelnuts? I've planted quite a few over the last couple years so I'm a few years out on seeing any.

Scott, I think they like them a lot, but the dang squirrels seem to get more than the deer. I've planted some more a good distance from the woods in hopes that me and the deer will get more than the squirrels, but those are still small. I also have some European Filberts that are getting started and have them 300 yards from the woods.

 

[JERRED GRACEY]

I'm freaking jealous of all the fruit you have growing

 

[Native Hunter]

I'm freaking jealous of all the fruit you have growing

LOL, wait till you see the chestnut crop this year. :)

Thanks, and it is exciting to have lots of things finally working out. I learned a few lessons the hard way, and there are some setbacks that can't be avoided no matter how hard you try.

I'm more excited about persimmons than anything else this year. There are at least 8 trees that are coming to bearing age for the first time. I'm going to be taking notes on dropping times and using the best scions to graft more males trees next year.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

X-2 with Jerred Gracey !! ^^^^^ Mulberry, blueberry, blackberry, persimmon, hazelnut, ............ yada-yada-yada. Apples, clover, peas, beans, chestnuts, chicory, turnips, radishes ........ do the deer at your place ever run out of food ??? :D :cool: I wish we could grow all that stuff, but my camp sits on a mountain top and the climate won't allow some of it. Happy you can though !! Blueberry and blackberry we have - persimmon won't work for us and bears would annihilate hazlenuts. When I look at your pix, I can put myself in them and be " there " very easily. Good daydream material. :):cool:

 

[Native Hunter]

X-2 with Jerred Gracey !! ^^^^^ Mulberry, blueberry, blackberry, persimmon, hazelnut, ............ yada-yada-yada. Apples, clover, peas, beans, chestnuts, chicory, turnips, radishes ........ do the deer at your place ever run out of food ??? :D :cool: I wish we could grow all that stuff, but my camp sits on a mountain top and the climate won't allow some of it. Happy you can though !! Blueberry and blackberry we have - persimmon won't work for us and bears would annihilate hazlenuts. When I look at your pix, I can put myself in them and be " there " very easily. Good daydream material. :):cool:

Thanks Bowsnbucks. I'm glad you like the pictures.

I don't think they run out of food here very often. I like watching the native browse and seeing how they move from one plant to another at different times of the year too. Adding all of the fruit kind of seals the deal and helps to give them more choices.

I've got some tree caging, mowing, and a little chainsaw work to do this weekend. Never a dull moment!!!

 

[Bill]

Yea Im with Jarred too.
I failed misseribly with 10 apple trees years ago and gave up. I do have one Keiffer pear that's 4 years old, 10 foot tall and has yet to make a pear.

Great stuff Native.

 

[Native Hunter]

Yea Im with Jarred too.
I failed misseribly with 10 apple trees years ago and gave up. I do have one Keiffer pear that's 4 years old, 10 foot tall and has yet to make a pear.

Great stuff Native.

Thanks Bill.

Apples are definitely the hardest of all. I don't really know how well I can do with them long term without more care, but so far so good. Wildlife Group recommends at least a dormant oil spraying with an insecticide once in early spring. I think that would be good, but haven't done it yet - maybe when I retire I can start pulling that off.

I think crabapples are a better choice for deer hunting properties, and I'm trying to add a few along the way. Most seem to drop too early or not drop at all. I found some this year that are supposed to be October and November droppers and bought two of them. I will let everyone know how that works out, but it will be a while on those. They were just whips.

Pears are also pretty tough. I've heard some other folks talking about having problems with Kieffer fruiting but have never seen that myself here. But I noticed this year that of the 3 Galloway Pears I planted 4 years ago that one of them is not fruiting yet while the other two are. The one that's not fruiting is the biggest and healthiest looking one.

I'm really getting a lot of interest in persimmons these days. I think they could be the best long term bet for dropping fruit during hunting season in my area, but that doesn't mean I will give up on other fruit. The more choices the better!

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Native - it's weird that you said the healthiest pear hasn't fruited yet. I see that with our 2 Kieffers. The biggest one hasn't made a pear - it's about 12 ft. tall, in ground 3 years. The smaller one - about 6 ft., same age - put on 2 BIG pears last year. One of our members ate them & said they were delicious. I wonder why the smaller ones fruit & the bigger ones don't ??

 

[Native Hunter]

Native - it's weird that you said the healthiest pear hasn't fruited yet. I see that with our 2 Kieffers. The biggest one hasn't made a pear - it's about 12 ft. tall, in ground 3 years. The smaller one - about 6 ft., same age - put on 2 BIG pears last year. One of our members ate them & said they were delicious. I wonder why the smaller ones fruit & the bigger ones don't ??

I can only guess, but I think trees that are in a high vegetative growth mode are less likely to produce fruit than those in a more normal growth pattern. I really think that fertilizing at the wrong time can cause that, and in apples it can also make fireblight more severe.

Maybe it has something to do with the soil where a particular tree is set. I think you and I will both see pears on the trees we are talking about, but they may need to go through a growth spurt first, and we may not really ever know why. I've never seen a pear tree of a good productive variety that didn't eventually make good crops. My Galloway has only been planted 4 years, so really that is not too uncommon. Sometimes I believe its better for a young apple or pear to not fruit for a long time after being planted, because it gives them a chance to harden up and get larger before being subjected to shoot blight from entering at the blooms.

 

[Merle Hawggard]

Everything is looking great nh! If we can get our plots half as pretty as yours I'd be tickled pink!

 

[Native Hunter]

Everything is looking great nh! If we can get our plots half as pretty as yours I'd be tickled pink!

Thanks MH. We are in an area with not much ag, so those plots will be get lots of use.

 

[Native Hunter]

I'm posting some pics from my work today. I need two days of chainsaw work now to have my habitat work done for the year.

I mowed in the tree planting with the ole Super H. She was missing a little early but purring like a cat after a few minutes.

















Top of a big pear leaning over with fruit load.







Galloway is a funny looking pear. Drops in November.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

I've said it before, Native, but I like your assortment of stuff that you have growing. How do you know where to steer the Farm-all thru that jungle ?? What comes up in there when you mow thru those trees and bushes ??

 

[Native Hunter]

I've said it before, Native, but I like your assortment of stuff that you have growing. How do you know where to steer the Farm-all thru that jungle ?? What comes up in there when you mow thru those trees and bushes ??

You can't do it with a GPS....:D

I have rows and know how to stay in them. I also know the places I can cross into other rows and not mow anything I want to grow.

Some rows in the middle with big oaks have closed in and don't get mowed anymore. I mainly mow now just to get in certain areas and whack a few sweetgums and also keep a few areas open. Now that this is mowed I can go in with a chainsaw and do my artwork - whacking what I don't want and giving light to what I do want.

The open areas fill back up with sumac and blackberry, which is what I want to happen.

 

[Native Hunter]

I forgot - I do have one more job. There is one row with only a few trees in it. I'm moving all of them to other rows and leaving a 24 foot wide open spot. This will be mowed and stay open until the pines on each side eventually fill it in - that could take 25 years or more. So, a long time for a nice open spot to grow with weeds in the middle.

 

[huntall]

Everything is really looking good. I love seeing the updates on the trees that's got big enough to drive tractor around and clean around.
Some of mine is I guess going on year 5-6 but kinda hesitant for another year or 2 to clean around because I'm sure with my luck bucks would rub them. I'm cleaning around a little, but keeping enough around them for protection. When mine get that size I'll put the tractor in there. Right now I'm mowing around mainly my sawtooth and fruit orchard.

 

[Native Hunter]

Everything is really looking good. I love seeing the updates on the trees that's got big enough to drive tractor around and clean around.
Some of mine is I guess going on year 5-6 but kinda hesitant for another year or 2 to clean around because I'm sure with my luck bucks would rub them. I'm cleaning around a little, but keeping enough around them for protection. When mine get that size I'll put the tractor in there. Right now I'm mowing around mainly my sawtooth and fruit orchard.

That is a wise plan. The minute you clean up around a tree it becomes a target. I found that out the hard way. I could have never had any white pines without the blackberry briers protecting them.

 

[huntall]

How old is that group of trees?