Direct seeding of bushes and shrubs

[Rit]

Consider a temporary Gallagher-style fence. It would not need to be large. After the shrubs inside the fence are well established (a year or two depending on the shrub), you can move the fence to the next section and plant more.

This is certainly one option. I had thought about a fence when I first started thinking of doing this. Might even be worth it to fence half and leave the other half for a comparison. The area in question is the red section of the photo. It totals about 1.5 acres. The green section is an existing food plot, the blue is a double row of trees/shrubs, the outside will be spruce and cedar, the inside will be a bunch of browse worthy species. The yelllow is CIR and Kanlow. On the outside of the red will be road screens.

 

[Gravel Road]

This summer I collected wild plum and mulberry seeds. About half of the plums were popped and half left alone. In the fall I did a quick gly/till job in some random spots in an old field and threw the seeds out and buried by hand. This winter I'll cut some cottonwood trees and make a loose brushpile over them for protection. Can't wait to see if anything comes up as it's a heck of a lot easier than planting seedlings.