Effort managing native landscape?

[SD51555]

SD, what does one day of year planting ditch trees look like. Do you clear brush, what species planting, in woods or fields, how successful? Thanks

There's a video. See below.

I have been doing this for a few years now. So far, the trees live at a very high rate, like 95% or better. It's hard to find one that died. There are some that do, but overall it's wildly successful, and frankly, I think the process is identical to what nurseries do when sending out bare roots. I'm usually done a couple weeks before most guys get their calendar driven deliveries. My brother has been at it a few years longer and he's got the same high success rate.

Mostly, I've been planting open areas, but those are all planted full now, and I've got to make new areas to plant. So when I make my winter openings with the chainsaw, I've been going back into those the following spring and planting them full of spruce. Ditch trees are white spruce, my own property, they're black spruce. That process is much easier now that I drop my brush into piles instead of all over the place.

This year, had I bought what I just moved from my own property or the road ditch, it would have cost me over $2,000. I had about $8 in gas into it.

Planting 250 spruce trees 2023

Total cost = $0. I moved a bunch of trees on my property, and saved some from the electric company mower.

rumble.com

 

[sandbur]

There's a video. See below.

I have been doing this for a few years now. So far, the trees live at a very high rate, like 95% or better. It's hard to find one that died. There are some that do, but overall it's wildly successful, and frankly, I think the process is identical to what nurseries do when sending out bare roots. I'm usually done a couple weeks before most guys get their calendar driven deliveries. My brother has been at it a few years longer and he's got the same high success rate.

Mostly, I've been planting open areas, but those are all planted full now, and I've got to make new areas to plant. So when I make my winter openings with the chainsaw, I've been going back into those the following spring and planting them full of spruce. Ditch trees are white spruce, my own property, they're black spruce. That process is much easier now that I drop my brush into piles instead of all over the place.

This year, had I bought what I just moved from my own property or the road ditch, it would have cost me over $2,000. I had about $8 in gas into it.

Planting 250 spruce trees 2023

Total cost = $0. I moved a bunch of trees on my property, and saved some from the electric company mower.

rumble.com

I have some white cedar ditch trees that have been in there ‘new’ home for 50 plus years.

Dang, I am getting old.

 

[SwampCat]

Always interesting to see what other folks are doing. Where I live, cover is the least important of the habitat considerations. I think our g&f estimates about 340,000 acres of “deer cover” in our county out of a total 380,000 acres total. But, we have no row crop. Food is key here - get them out of cover. Water is everywhere. Hard mast trees by the hundreds of thousands of acres. Big hard mast years can make it difficult. Lean hard mast years help. Six weeks rifle plus two weeks straight walled cartridge, five months archery crossbow, baiting allowed, dog running allowed, rifle season during rut, two buck limit including rifle. I am surprised they dont allow thermal hunting - yet the harvest stays surprisingly consistent. Large component of 3.5 plus yr old bucks available, but fairly poor nutrition and genetics outside the delta. Easy winters, summers are stress periods. Coyotes and bobcat but no wolves. We each have our own hurdles.

 

[TreeDaddy]

Always interesting to see what other folks are doing. Where I live, cover is the least important of the habitat considerations. I think our g&f estimates about 340,000 acres of “deer cover” in our county out of a total 380,000 acres total. But, we have no row crop. Food is key here - get them out of cover. Water is everywhere. Hard mast trees by the hundreds of thousands of acres. Big hard mast years can make it difficult. Lean hard mast years help. Six weeks rifle plus two weeks straight walled cartridge, five months archery crossbow, baiting allowed, dog running allowed, rifle season during rut, two buck limit including rifle. I am surprised they dont allow thermal hunting - yet the harvest stays surprisingly consistent. Large component of 3.5 plus yr old bucks available, but fairly poor nutrition and genetics outside the delta. Easy winters, summers are stress periods. Coyotes and bobcat but no wolves. We each have our own hurdles.

We are entering our stress period in east texas now

We had an unusual amount of rain for July this year

bill

 

[SwampCat]

We are entering our stress period in east texas now

We had an unusual amount of rain for July this year

bill

Us, too. Right around ten inches rain in July - SW AR