Hack and squirt timing

[Someday isle]

I’ve got a couple areas where I want to let some sunlight in. I’ve done plenty of hinge cutting the last couple of years but there are some medium sized trees that I’d like to try hack and squirt on. These are not large areas, maybe 1/4 to 1/3 of an acre. Is early March still a good time for hack and squirt or should I wait until summer? I’m in central Missouri so it’s still a few weeks before green up. I’ve got time to get out and work the next two weekends. I just don’t want to be too late and have sap flow mess up my efforts.

 

[Melrose]

What type of trees? What herbicide were you planning ?

 

[Someday isle]

I have glyphosate but I was going to pick up some Arsenal AC. I’m mostly in a hardwood forest. Lots of Oak and hickory.

 

[Catscratch]

Personally, I mix herbicide with diesel fuel and do it any time of year I have time (hack & squirt or basal spraying). On hard to kill trees I prefer triclopyr over gly.

 

[Redonthehead]

You need to hurry up, may already be too late to H & S, or girdle. Once the sap starts flowing up the trunks it flushes out the herbicide, keeping it from getting to the roots.

 

[Someday isle]

Thanks - I was kind of thinking that. I’ll wait until summer.

 

[Someday isle]

Resurrecting an old thread. In 2021 I did a little hack and squirt in a small area that had been logged several years before I bought the property. It was just under half an acre and there were only a few trees in there that I did a treatment in and it worked fine. It was a flat area alongside a creek bed and there was already sunlight to the forest floor and some growth of blackberries, grasses, etc…. After I cleaned the area up it’s grown up and filled in nicely.

My new question is really regarding TSI in a new area but not followed up with prescribed fire or disturbing the leaf litter. I don’t have the skill set or manpower to do fire and I’m wondering how long it will take for an area that is a half acre in size to respond with new growth after letting sunlight in. I have mostly hardwood forest (oaks and hickory). My goal is more cover and native browse.

 

[Howboutthemdawgs]

Resurrecting an old thread. In 2021 I did a little hack and squirt in a small area that had been logged several years before I bought the property. It was just under half an acre and there were only a few trees in there that I did a treatment in and it worked fine. It was a flat area alongside a creek bed and there was already sunlight to the forest floor and some growth of blackberries, grasses, etc…. After I cleaned the area up it’s grown up and filled in nicely.

My new question is really regarding TSI in a new area but not followed up with prescribed fire or disturbing the leaf litter. I don’t have the skill set or manpower to do fire and I’m wondering how long it will take for an area that is a half acre in size to respond with new growth after letting sunlight in. I have mostly hardwood forest (oaks and hickory). My goal is more cover and native browse.

I haven’t listened yet but this may have some answers
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/land-legacy-habitat-hunting/id1422779785?i=1000604991017

 

[Turkey Creek]

Resurrecting an old thread. In 2021 I did a little hack and squirt in a small area that had been logged several years before I bought the property. It was just under half an acre and there were only a few trees in there that I did a treatment in and it worked fine. It was a flat area alongside a creek bed and there was already sunlight to the forest floor and some growth of blackberries, grasses, etc…. After I cleaned the area up it’s grown up and filled in nicely.

My new question is really regarding TSI in a new area but not followed up with prescribed fire or disturbing the leaf litter. I don’t have the skill set or manpower to do fire and I’m wondering how long it will take for an area that is a half acre in size to respond with new growth after letting sunlight in. I have mostly hardwood forest (oaks and hickory). My goal is more cover and native browse.

Why are you not wanting to disturb the leaf litter? You will have better dormant seed germination if you allow the sunlight to reach the soil. Many seeds require sunlight to germinate.

 

[omicron1792]

Hack and squirt works anytime. Lots of data to show that. There is some seasonality but not enough to wait.

 

[Someday isle]

Why are you not wanting to disturb the leaf litter? You will have better dormant seed germination if you allow the sunlight to reach the soil. Many seeds require sunlight to germinate.

It’s not that I don’t want to disturb the leaf littler. It’s just that I don’t have the skill set or confidence to try a burn. I’ve thought about just taking a leaf blower to it when I’m done but that would be a lot of lead blowing.

 

[bueller]

It’s not that I don’t want to disturb the leaf littler. It’s just that I don’t have the skill set or confidence to try a burn. I’ve thought about just taking a leaf blower to it when I’m done but that would be a lot of lead blowing.

Can you feed in your area? If so, I bet a few 50 pound bags of corn broadcast over a couple week period will have the turkeys doing the work for you.

 

[356]

Our first property was 13 acres of timber. I did some basic TSI in 2012 and 2013 by cutting and girdling, both can be seen in this picture. I did not remove any leaf litter, however, I did end up with three cord of firewood. I piled the brush from felled trees for critter habitat. I had not heard of H&S at that time, but before this TSI project, the property was the proverbial “biological desert.” By 2014, I had some great regeneration that resulted in my first deer harvest on this property. Ten years after I did this project, the site continues to attract deer on a daily basis.

 

[Someday isle]

Our first property was 13 acres of timber. I did some basic TSI in 2012 and 2013 by cutting and girdling, both can be seen in this picture. I did not remove any leaf litter, however, I did end up with three cord of firewood. I piled the brush from felled trees for critter habitat. I had not heard of H&S at that time, but before this TSI project, the property was the proverbial “biological desert.” By 2014, I had some great regeneration that resulted in my first deer harvest on this property. Ten years after I did this project, the site continues to attract deer on a daily basis.

View attachment 50978

Thanks for this! That’s exactly what I needed to see.

 

[farmlegend]

Hack and squirt works anytime. Lots of data to show that. There is some seasonality but not enough to wait.

Hack and squirt does not work well on sugar maple during February-March in the north. I wasted a lot of Tordon RTU and time on it. They high sap flow literally flushes the Tordon right out.

I have had good success using Tordon at other times of the year.

 

[omicron1792]

Hack and squirt does not work well on sugar maple during February-March in the north. I wasted a lot of Tordon RTU and time on it. They high sap flow literally flushes the Tordon right out.

I have had good success using Tordon at other times of the year.

A lot more id like to know about that. Did you hand and squirt or girdle and spray? I would always use Craig’s cocktail. No need to stray from his exact recommendations.

https://extension.tennessee.edu/publications/Documents/PB1885.pdf