Habitat projects for the weekend?

[Derek Reese 29]

I just couldn’t help myself and got 2 huge Antonovka apples from NWC that I picked up yesterday. After I shoot a gobbler on opening morning of the PA season I will get them planted then be done till late June or so. Might need to pinch off some more buds and flowers but maybe the cold will do it for me.

 

[sandbur]

Well to be fair, I said I wouldn’t order any more. I have a large patch(hundreds) of spruce trees all in on area that need to be transplanted to other areas.

My brothers land is like a white pine seedling farm on steroids. They pop up all over. I was planning on pulling a bunch of them and planting them at my place, but that may need to wait until next year. I also have about 20 apple trees I would like to put some sort of weed mats around them. I have done all the other apple trees, but these are my oldest ones, and I never put mats on them, and always found other things to do. I started putting mats on about 5 years ago.

I am also hoping with all these shrubs I am planting, and all the cuttings I planted, I can trim some cuttings off of them and try to propagate them that way. So, I really shouldn’t need to order any, but that doesn’t mean I wont be planting any :)

I am installing a new wood boiler this spring, and I have been cutting a bunch of trees, and feather edging my plots. I have been taking out patches of maples, so they will sprout, and cutting out sections of large poplar. Hoping for suckering from the roots.

This is year one of 3 years of shrubs for winter browse, and spruce and pines for thick cover. I can easily skip year 2 of ordering trees, and still work on the same plan for year 2.

Do you have white pine in swamps over there? I see a few(very few) swamps with white pine in them and have always wondered why they grow in just a few select swamps.

Maybe they need a steady water table to survive with no substantial spring flooding and no periodic flooding from beavers. Or pH, substrate, ???


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[4wanderingeyes]

In my swampy areas it is either black spruce, balsams, or tag alder. My brothers land is about 40 miles east of mine, and he is basically in a sand pit, and the white pines grow like weeds there. Any opening has hundreds of little pines from 6”-6 feet tall.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

Tree planting got off to a slow start yesterday.

I rented one of these augers thinking the ground was soft for my tractor and a 3 point auger. I saw “towable” and figured I’d just attach it to my atv. Well you have to disconnect it from the tow portion to use it and it isn’t great in tough ground. Kind of sucked to use in clay and thick grass. https://www.homedepot.com/p/rental/Ground-Hog-Towable-Hydraulic-Auger-HD99-H/310643252

 

[4wanderingeyes]

I only got about a quarter of mine planted yesterday, but we had to have some fun as well. We rode ATVs, had a campfire, squirrel hunted with the grandkids, and hung out. Hoping to get most the rest of them planted today.

 

[4wanderingeyes]

We successfully blew off planting trees yesterday. Between the rain, and running around, we couldn’t get ourselves out there. I am hoping I can get some help today before my son leaves to plant maybe another 100. Since the rest of my trees are coming this week.

 

[b116757]

I plugged a couple hundred acorns yesterday some in prepared area’s that got glysophate sprayed last fall many just get plugged wherever and hope for the best figure I’ve already helped out Mother Nature quite a bit by collecting them and cold stratifying them until spring with no chance of predation.

 

[Derek Reese 29]

Got my final 5 apple trees planted and caged this weekend. All were Antonovka from NWC. Huge trees with even bigger roots.
These 2 were at the top of my place and added 3 more to a friend's growing orchard a few miles away. Now I might think about fertilizing and watching the trees and plots grow!

 

[4wanderingeyes]

I am still working on my last weekend projects, piling on top of this weeks projects, soon to be this weekends projects.

 

[Brian662]

20 two gallon white cedars, a boat load of shrubs and small trees. Six 300' rolls of weed mat and 1800' of cage.

 

[4wanderingeyes]

Looks like Christmas!

Lots of work to do!

 

[Brian662]

Looks like Christmas!

Lots of work to do!

The pitted cedars from Steele County were kind of all over the map, I should have requested to load my own, some were a full foot taller than others.

Unfortunately for my back, I'm picking up about 300 more saplings and shrubs from Goodhue county tomorrow. Might be tough getting out of bed for a few days. Hopefully the wolverine makes quick work of them, but still have to mat and cage after planting, not to mention mulch.

 

[4wanderingeyes]

And make the cages, cut the weed mats.

Tomorrow I have to finish planting 25 more shrubs, then cut cages, and cut weed mats, and plant white cedars.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

The pitted cedars from Steele County were kind of all over the map, I should have requested to load my own, some were a full foot taller than others.

Unfortunately for my back, I'm picking up about 300 more saplings and shrubs from Goodhue county tomorrow. Might be tough getting out of bed for a few days. Hopefully the wolverine makes quick work of them, but still have to mat and cage after planting, not to mention mulch.

Yeah.. I got about 60 of my 150 spruce planted, matted, caged last weekend.. way slower than I expected. Think I’m going to concentrate on getting the balance of the bhs in tomorrow and mat/cage as I get time.

 

[b116757]

Yeah.. I got about 60 of my 150 spruce planted, matted, caged last weekend.. way slower than I expected. Think I’m going to concentrate on getting the balance of the bhs in tomorrow and mat/cage as I get time.

Are you dibble planting these trees or are they to large for that?

 

[b116757]

Are you dibble planting these trees or are they to large for that?

Disregard I see you where using an auger and it was slow going

 

[Wind Gypsy]

Are you dibble planting these trees or are they to large for that?

They are all 1 gal or bigger potted so too big.

Started with a rented auger that was a PITA and ended up just going to a shovel.

 

[g squared 23]

I planted and caged everything and then went back and weed matted as much as possible. That last part is what really slows me up. It’s EXTREMELY helpful however, although not as crucial as a cage.

I just checked a few a shrubs I planted a few years ago. Only had time to cage but not mat. 3-4 years down the line they are finally making something of themselves. A mat will increase growth rate a minimum of 25% and maybe up to 100%


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Brian662]

Yeah.. I got about 60 of my 150 spruce planted, matted, caged last weekend.. way slower than I expected. Think I’m going to concentrate on getting the balance of the bhs in tomorrow and mat/cage as I get time.

I plan to get the potted plants in the ground first with an auger and I can mat/cage later. I have 50 BHS and 20 Norways coming from ColdStream in a week or two that I'll do the same.

My pines from the SWCD that are smaller will just be bud capped and matted.

 

[4wanderingeyes]

Today I had to drive to Southern MN, about a 8 hour round trip, then when I got back home, I buried the insulated pex lined for my outdoor wood boiler, made cages and weed mats for my white cedars which I will plant tomorrow while my wife is out to eat with the kids. Then I just have 50 BHS to plant.