Clearing some ground for future orchard

[CrazyEd]

Since I grafted about 125 trees this year we had to start clearing a spot for a new orchard. The new orchard is about 3/4 acres in size and i'm hoping to pack 25-30 trees (B.118 roots) in here. There is a little bit of cover between this orchard and the largest destination food source in the area which is about a 60-80 acre irrigated field. That field has been in alfalfa the past 5-10 years but they just tilled the whole thing under and I assume they're putting corn in.

These pictures don't show much really to give perspective. But it's a nice flat spot. Half of this area I had tried to work up for a foodplot a few years ago. So we had opened one half of this spot and it's been sprayed a few times. Today we cut down another random strip of jack pines and sprayed the other half with roundup. these jackpines were probably 20-30' tall. All we had was a chainsaw for equipment. The stacking and piling was done by hand. We did leave a few dead trees up for the birds. They're not pretty but we don't care, they do serve their purpose.

Before:

After:

 

[CrazyEd]

Here's a few more shots.

Before:

After:

 

[CrazyEd]

Before:

After:

 

[CrazyEd]

Piled up the tops to help act as a screen / funnel. Trying to manipulate the deer entering the orchard from a few select areas.

We also made some piles right in the middle of the orchard. We piled them 6-8 feet tall so again it should add a little bit of security to the orchard and help break it up so it's not just a wide open area.

 

[CrazyEd]

Looking west you can barely seed the destination food source in the distance towards the right of this frame.

Looking this way you can see my little 1/4 foodplot back this way. The deer should funnel hopefully from the foodplot to the orchard.

 

[sandbur]

Looking west you can barely seed the destination food source in the distance towards the right of this frame.

Looking this way you can see my little 1/4 foodplot back this way. The deer should funnel hopefully from the foodplot to the orchard.

What is the hardwood in that second to last picture?

Have you ever burned any of those jack pine rush piles to release seed from the cones?

 

[greyphase]

Looks like a good days work, Matt. Looking forward to seeing rows of blooming apple trees in future posts.

 

[sandbur]

Ed-can you get any manure or poultry bedding/manure in there.

Farmers love manure on light soils in my part of the country and poultry bedding seems to be preferred.

What do the pH's run? I suspect poultry has a better affect on pH as compared to dairy pit manure.

 

[CrazyEd]

What is the hardwood in that second to last picture?

Have you ever burned any of those jack pine rush piles to release seed from the cones?

red oak

our area is always too dry for fire. we have millions of Jacks no need for more. have plenty.

 

[CrazyEd]

Ed-can you get any manure or poultry bedding/manure in there.

Farmers love manure on light soils in my part of the country and poultry bedding seems to be preferred.

What do the pH's run? I suspect poultry has a better affect on pH as compared to dairy pit manure.

no good connections for manure.

pH is probably low to mid 5s if I'm lucky.

 

[CrazyEd]

my grandpa's cousin is a dairy farmer a few miles away. I guess I could get it if I really wanted it. as good as it can be for soil, I'm sure my father would be fearful of the weeds that would come in with it. I have tried hard to go a different route as crazy as it might sound.

 

[sandbur]

Good point about the weed seeds. Our open ground is covered with manure every year or two, so a bit more on my foodplot makes no difference.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Looks like a great spot for an orchard. Plenty of sunlight for the apple trees and some cover nearby. If manure is tough to get, are there any sources of compost in the area?

 

[sandbur]

Does your jack pine ever each a harvestable size or is the soil just too poor?

 

[sandbur]

Not sure about at Ed's, but I can tell you that in central WI your jacks and red cedar would bring a pretty penny. Like enough for 1-2 years of private college tuition. My folks harvested about $25K worth of jacks and black oaks about a year ago...most of that came from the jacks...and that didn't include the state's or logger's percentage of the harvest.

What market do they go to or what are they used for?

 

[sandbur]

They have closed many of our mills. Brainerd, Little Falls, and Sartell.

I remember an old article, probably in MDHA, where deer populations were highest within 65 miles of a paper mill or chipboard plant. Paper demand is down from years back.

 

[buckvelvet]

Ed I clreared a 100ft x 100ft area of Popple trees and I must say it was hard work. Very nice job you've done here to put a gargantuan orchard in. 100 some trees, lol your are animal man, my hero!

 

[CrazyEd]

Yeah we have massive jackpines. Some that could be harvested. We've had parts of our farm logged 20 or so years ago. However most of the ones in the area we are working which is the 20 acres I just bought from my uncle was wiped out by a tornado in 1996. So for the most part the biggest ones are like pictured. Maybe 30' tall by 20-30' wide.

We had some logging done probably 20 years ago, it wasn't a great experience. We also had more loggers in after the tornado, those guys rutted up the place and seemed like crooks too. They bring in plenty of weed seeds as well on their machines. I hate loggers and don't plan on inviting them back anytime soon. I'd just assume drop the trees and let them rot.

 

[buckvelvet]

I used all my trees for fire wood. :)

 

[Tree Spud]

Ed ... looks like a good start. I have an area similar to yours that I would like to create an orchard.

What apple tree varieties are you choosing to avoid issues with the pines and cedars?