Habitat projects for the weekend?

[4wanderingeyes]

We didn’t end up with the thaw they predicted. Nothing like seeing the forecast on Thursday saying 50 and sunny Friday-Sunday, then you are lucky to top 41 and you get snow flurries instead.

Well I was hoping for a slow thaw, and no early warm up to wake the trees up early then re freeze. So far that is what we are getting. I have to plant trees in about 3 weeks, and we still have 2 feet of frost in the ground, and snow on the ground.

Spring fever is in full bloom at my house.

 

[bwoods11]

Did some chainsaw work up in Otter Tail County/MN. Snow is still present in the woods. Saw a big Tom Turkey, and there’s a few deer around . Sandhill Cranes were everywhere!

 

[4wanderingeyes]

I spent about 3 hours today cutting trees up and stacking wood. I have a bunch of trees down from when they dozed my building site. Some of the wood is rotten, but some isn’t to bad.

I still have snow on about half my yard, and the woods is spotty. Some places a foot, some places there is none.

I am waiting for the snow, and frost to leave this area so I can build a wood shed, it may be a while yet.

 

[Brian662]

Spent the day staking out my new switchgrass/NWSG/pollinator plantings. Sprayed atrazine on the switchgrass areas.
Hoping for a warm up and dry out soon, so I can get them drilled in. Doesn't look good for a while, rain almost every day this week.

Next weekend is ROD and willow propagation. Soil samples next weekend too if it isn't too wet. Also have one more tree pocket to clear so I can get a food plot expanded, will have to rent a mini excavator to dig the stumps.

Busy time of year. Trees show up in a few weeks and I'm going to Lake Erie for walleyes for a week, not great timing for that trip..

 

[Wind Gypsy]

Did some scouting and figurin’ on how to get a tractor on the other side of the river.

Fell and hinged some trees to be a plot screen and fell and hinged some more elsewhere for bedding.

Cut and stump sprayed triclopyr on a fair bit of buckthorn.

Failed to get soil probes 2” into the frozen ground for samples.

 

[b116757]

Dibbled 300 trees tubed the 250 of them that where not evergreens busy weekend. Also planted 4 apple trees that showed up Friday 2 Sundance and 2 Novamac.

 

[Snoop]

Knocked this out Saturday

 

[b116757]

View attachment 42101View attachment 42102Knocked this out Saturday

Man after my own heart I put up a carport to use as a wood shed also. Gets so muddy where my outdoor boiler is I poured a concrete floor for mine.

 

[Derek Reese 29]

^^^^ You pre dug all the holes before your trees have arrived??? I've read several times to avoid doing this if possible, but I see you have a kid on the way so I understand the thinking.....


Some of the complications I have heard of are:
1. The surrounding soil being dried out...
2. The surround soil become "stiff" (holes baked by the sun)
3. Holes getting filled by water
4. The "spoils" drying out and becoming difficult work with (lumpy) to fill the hole back in
5. Digging too deep or too shallow....

Hopefully you have forgiving soils and you dont get any complications. If your holes dry out and become stiff you may want to think about a real healthy shot of water at planting. Should help rehydrate the holes if they dry out and help get the spoils to settle without air pockets around your rootballs. You REALLY dont want any air pockets. My soils on my land are gumbo clay shit and would be a disaster pre digging them. Where I live in S MN it probably wouldnt be too bad pre digging. Take lots of pictures so you have something to look back at in 5-10 years. You wont regret giving them the premium treatment.

Met a guy yesterday with some land about 40 miles SW of me. He told me a few years ago they put in 7,500 pine trees on some land he owns. Not a single one survived cause the deer ate them all.

Thanks for the tips! I am not too worried about a few of those dangers, as we are going to be getting lots of rain the next couple weeks..I tried to dig as deep/shallow as possible, as I have several different sized trees coming in and only did 1 auger hole for the 12-18" trees and then 2 auger holes side by side for the 2-3' bare root evergreens. I plan to give each tree ~5 gallons of water at planting (my 25 gallon sprayer is gonna get a workout) and I usually try to tamp down the soil pretty well before watering and my soil is really nice (it's a hayfield currently). I actually already have most of the cages and little plastic coated steel rods that I am using as cage support up next to the holes. Only have to cut some weed fabric and maybe get some mulch for the evergreens.

 

[bigboreblr]

Frost-ish seeded about an acre yesterday at hunting camp. About 30% of it is snow covered still. Tried some throw in go oats in one spot. Birds will likely end up enjoying that. Trimmed the tops off some young trees to make them bushier for privacy along the road. I scoped out a new small foodplot location alongside the trail. Doing a favor for the neighbors club.... Kicked up 4 does in one plot. The spot I picked for the neighbors had a big single deer staring me down a logging lane. Figured that one works fine.

Picked about 200 rocks from one plot. Cleaned up a drainage ditch for it too. Asain plums survived not caging them.

 

[b116757]

Weed matted 200 trees today I’d rather tube than weed mat to much up and down.Bench grafted 15 pear and top worked 3 apple whips I planted last year that the grafts didn’t take.

 

[4wanderingeyes]

I cut down and cut up about 10 trees since Thursday. 20 years ago, that would have been a Saturday, and I would have gone out afterwards.

I am opening up around my food plots, and edge feathering them. I am also making openings for new trees as well. After a beautiful day today our first 50 of the year, I made the mistake to look at this upcoming weeks forcast, a couple inches of rain, which we can use, then cold and snow towards the end of the week, and next weekend. Damn April is such a summer tease!

Anyhow I am going to try to get some planting in in between rains this week.

 

[sandbur]

I cut down and cut up about 10 trees since Thursday. 20 years ago, that would have been a Saturday, and I would have gone out afterwards.

I am opening up around my food plots, and edge feathering them. I am also making openings for new trees as well. After a beautiful day today our first 50 of the year, I made the mistake to look at this upcoming weeks forcast, a couple inches of rain, which we can use, then cold and snow towards the end of the week, and next weekend. Damn April is such a summer tease!

Anyhow I am going to try to get some planting in in between rains this week.

I must be just slightly ahead of you weather wise. Gophers are digging in some places and frost in many others. I ordered two more gopher traps after something(fisher) stole one of my traps.

I cut some smaller trees and broken limbs on the edge of the yard. One tank of chain saw gas is enough at this age. We hauled the mess back to a brush pile.

I am taking cages off of some of the older apple trees to reuse instead of purchasing more fencing. Hard to get some loose with frozen ground. Morse bunches crabs are loosing their cages.

I have 3 or 4 apple trees to plant and 4 to move.

Probably about 6 topworks in May.


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[4wanderingeyes]

I took a close look at some of my apple trees, a couple are just starting to swell at the tips, the rest are still sleeping.

I just purchased an outdoor wood boiler this spring. I haven’t hooked it up yet, but I have been working on cutting wood for next winter. I have been doing about a tank of gas, then about a 2 hour break, then another tank, but 2 a day is my max. Then I will go out and pick up, and stack the wood. I have about 5 cords already cut, and stacked, but I am waiting for the ground to thaw, so I can build a wood shed to store the wood in.

I also have piles of dozed trees with root balls on them from clearing my lot in 2017 that I have been cutting and trying to clean up. Some of it is rotten, and will need to be pushed back in the woods somewhere, but some is worth burning yet. I figured I would cut up and have about 13 cords prepared this summer, so I have been taking advantage of the cooler weather.

 

[sandbur]

I took a close look at some of my apple trees, a couple are just starting to swell at the tips, the rest are still sleeping.

I just purchased an outdoor wood boiler this spring. I haven’t hooked it up yet, but I have been working on cutting wood for next winter. I have been doing about a tank of gas, then about a 2 hour break, then another tank, but 2 a day is my max. Then I will go out and pick up, and stack the wood. I have about 5 cords already cut, and stacked, but I am waiting for the ground to thaw, so I can build a wood shed to store the wood in.

I also have piles of dozed trees with root balls on them from clearing my lot in 2017 that I have been cutting and trying to clean up. Some of it is rotten, and will need to be pushed back in the woods somewhere, but some is worth burning yet. I figured I would cut up and have about 13 cords prepared this summer, so I have been taking advantage of the cooler weather.

We burned wood in my younger days.


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[bigboreblr]

We burned wood in my younger days.


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Juyst when fuel is climbing up alot, the governor in my state chose to add a 40 cent tax on heating oil a few months ago........ Think I might be hitting up wood again.

 

[sandbur]

Juyst when fuel is climbing up alot, the governor in my state chose to add a 40 cent tax on heating oil a few months ago........ Think I might be hitting up wood again.

Ugh!


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[chummer]

Juyst when fuel is climbing up alot, the governor in my state chose to add a 40 cent tax on heating oil a few months ago........ Think I might be hitting up wood again.

Don’t they want to ban wood burning as well? I have some fairy dust to heat with, just let me know if you need some.

 

[fishin coyote]

Started 4 tens this week so my weekend projects start on Thursday evening now. My electric company did me a favor by cutting down a bunch of white pines growing along the driveway. I only wanted them to cut 1 but when my wife told the rep we planned on cutting the rest ourselves. He said they’d do it for us, our cost was to clean up the mess. So this weekend consists of playing with pine sap and planting a 100 shrubs that just arrived. Hope everyone has a productive weekend.

 

[PatinPA]

Picking up my Blue Hill trees today. Going to get them in the ground tomorrow. I have 75 norway spruce on the way too. Thought they would've been here by now.