My Land Tour...The Big Woods
- Thread starter H20fwler
- Start date
H20fwler
5 year old buck +
I cleaned out all the bluebird houses getting ready for spring and about half of them had mice that needed evicted. The dog had a hoot chasing those.
As I was walking along the shrub strips I noticed the ROD planted last June was starting crown out.
Put in around 1000 and it seems to have taken off pretty well, had a few that the bunny's had nipped off about a foot off the ground so I stuck the tops deep into the dirt to restart a new plant.
Also got the turn in to the pasture redone yesterday, it was plugged and not low enough to get good flow to the catch basin so I went with a 10" double walled to replace the 6" concrete I had. It was interesting to see that the original had been old bricks at one time then dirt and stone.
And it looks like the doe with triplets has made it through the winter fine, had a few series of pics of her.
As I was walking along the shrub strips I noticed the ROD planted last June was starting crown out.
Put in around 1000 and it seems to have taken off pretty well, had a few that the bunny's had nipped off about a foot off the ground so I stuck the tops deep into the dirt to restart a new plant.
Also got the turn in to the pasture redone yesterday, it was plugged and not low enough to get good flow to the catch basin so I went with a 10" double walled to replace the 6" concrete I had. It was interesting to see that the original had been old bricks at one time then dirt and stone.
And it looks like the doe with triplets has made it through the winter fine, had a few series of pics of her.
Bill
Administrator
1000 ROD. That's a bunch! I planted some years ago as part of a shrub planting I did in the wrong spot. "Live and learn". Not trying to kill them, just that they are in my miscanthus screen. I've literally, mowed them, sprayed them with gly, 2-4,d and atrazine. They just won't die. And the deer even try to kill them.
H20fwler
5 year old buck +
Planted them last year as single twigs in the shrub strips thinking I would loose a large percentage to die off being new and over 95% of them made it. The deer nipped the tops on a bunch but that just made them branch, the shrub strip is thirty yards wide and I'm OK with them thick in it. If they start getting rude and try to run out into pasture to much I can keep them under control with Crossbow once a year.
Bowsnbucks
5 year old buck +
Do you guys dip the ROD in rooting hormone before planting or just stick them in the ground ??
H20fwler
5 year old buck +
The ones I got looked about like red pencils with a few little hair roots on them, so mine went in ground as is. I wasn't sure how they would grow thinking I was to late getting them in last year, it rained good the day after planting and we had decent rain until mid July. I have read that they can just be stuck into wet ground and they will take start? I guess I will see with the few I did it with the other day.
H20fwler
5 year old buck +
Spent some time out at the farm the last couple of days. Did some planting and some looking around.
The hazelnuts are doing really good and the catkins are starting to flower. Deer don't seem to browse them much but do seem to like eating the catkins.
I have a bunch of these tiny daisies popping up along with the new clover.
The fruit trees are just starting to bud, all the cherries/peaches...about half the pears and a few apples. It got close to 80 today.
For the first time ever we have a hen hooded merganser nesting in one of the wood duck boxes.
I put a camera low to the water the other day and had some nice duck pics.
And I direct seeded a bunch of chestnuts in the shrub strips, some were our own from our trees planted a few years ago that I picked up last fall.
And our baby girl enjoyed the ponds.
The hazelnuts are doing really good and the catkins are starting to flower. Deer don't seem to browse them much but do seem to like eating the catkins.
I have a bunch of these tiny daisies popping up along with the new clover.
The fruit trees are just starting to bud, all the cherries/peaches...about half the pears and a few apples. It got close to 80 today.
For the first time ever we have a hen hooded merganser nesting in one of the wood duck boxes.
I put a camera low to the water the other day and had some nice duck pics.
And I direct seeded a bunch of chestnuts in the shrub strips, some were our own from our trees planted a few years ago that I picked up last fall.
And our baby girl enjoyed the ponds.
Bowsnbucks
5 year old buck +
Nice pix. Lookin' good at the hideout. Pup's having fun too, huh ??
H20fwler
5 year old buck +
Thanks Bowsnbucks
She sure is, I just whisper “let’s go to the farm” and she starts bouncing off the walls.
I’ve had a lot of pups over the years and after loosing Dixie early last fall never thought I could get so attached to a dog again. But Darcy has proven me wrong, if I’m not at work that dog is with me....she has to be the most spoiled pooch in the state, the wife and I need grandkids bad!
H20fwler
5 year old buck +
Finished most of our spring planting Saturday. Closed up the road screen strips...now if I could just get the deer and rabbits to quit eating the white pines and the deer to stop beating the shit out of my spruces! I put electric fence posts close to the trees they were rubbing on early last December and that stopped it at the time, I don't think they like banging into the metal.
The hemlock trees from last spring were a complete fail, we planted some white cedar in the lower spots to see how it will do.
Going to plant some MG rhizomes along the front of the conifers in a couple weeks to try and get some quick screen effect.
View of screen looking north
View looking south
Spotted our first bluebirds of the year
we planted a bunch more hazelnut and cranberry into the shrub strips also, I'll post up some pics showing the shrub strips as soon as it greens up some and everything doesn't look like sticks.
The hemlock trees from last spring were a complete fail, we planted some white cedar in the lower spots to see how it will do.
Going to plant some MG rhizomes along the front of the conifers in a couple weeks to try and get some quick screen effect.
View of screen looking north
View looking south
Spotted our first bluebirds of the year
we planted a bunch more hazelnut and cranberry into the shrub strips also, I'll post up some pics showing the shrub strips as soon as it greens up some and everything doesn't look like sticks.
H20fwler
5 year old buck +
Spent some time this weekend at the farm watering new trees and getting ready for our new bee hive project. Also talked the wife into helping me plant 300 MG rhizomes along road outside tree screen to help block view from road.
Took a few pics of trees waking up from this long winter.
A couple Dunstan's starting to leaf.
Fuji in blossom
Honey Crisp
Golden Hornet planted last spring
Olympic planted last fall
Bartlett
MoonGlow
Couple pics from back pond cam
Over run with tadpoles right now.
Colony trap for bees along woods
Took a few pics of trees waking up from this long winter.
A couple Dunstan's starting to leaf.
Fuji in blossom
Honey Crisp
Golden Hornet planted last spring
Olympic planted last fall
Bartlett
MoonGlow
Couple pics from back pond cam
Over run with tadpoles right now.
Colony trap for bees along woods
H20fwler
5 year old buck +
The does here are swollen like ticks ready to start dropping fawns.
A look at the young orchard from a few angles, it is planted on the old homestead part of the farm a little over an acre. There are a couple big mulberry trees right in the middle that I plan on cutting down at some point. Ground cover is orchard grass, a clover mix, chicory and birds foot trefoil along with some weeds.
Back part of orchard that is all apple trees
South side of orchard that is mostly pears
SE side of orchard spruce along rd then a row of chestnuts, a row of cherries and then pears
NE side of orchard spruce along rd then the row of chestnut then more pears
One of the many ground sparrow nests hidden in the ground cover.
A look at the young orchard from a few angles, it is planted on the old homestead part of the farm a little over an acre. There are a couple big mulberry trees right in the middle that I plan on cutting down at some point. Ground cover is orchard grass, a clover mix, chicory and birds foot trefoil along with some weeds.
Back part of orchard that is all apple trees
South side of orchard that is mostly pears
SE side of orchard spruce along rd then a row of chestnuts, a row of cherries and then pears
NE side of orchard spruce along rd then the row of chestnut then more pears
One of the many ground sparrow nests hidden in the ground cover.
Bowsnbucks
5 year old buck +
Great pix, H20. All kinds of wildlife at home there !! Nice progress on everything.
H20fwler
5 year old buck +
H20fwler
5 year old buck +
Was at farm this morning having a look around and the new bees were working hard.
Plenty of wildflowers starting to bloom for them to pollinate.
The ground cover in the orchard is really starting to come in.
A couple of the Kieffers are making pears, I think I'm going to let them this year.
Took a walk along woods and the Dunstan's are leafing out well. I planted sixteen over three years ago and eight of those are left ...live and learn, they do not like wet ground.
They did start producing burs and nuts last fall, I was able to pic up around thirty plus nuts last year stratified them and planted them in shrub strips this spring.
I planted twenty five hazelnuts in a row two years ago along edge of woods by the back pond, they all made it and seem to be doing well.
Also found this guy growing along edge of the fruit orchard in a good spot from last years spring planting so I screened and caged it. It is about thirty five feet from a nice row of caged chestnuts.
Plenty of wildflowers starting to bloom for them to pollinate.
The ground cover in the orchard is really starting to come in.
A couple of the Kieffers are making pears, I think I'm going to let them this year.
Took a walk along woods and the Dunstan's are leafing out well. I planted sixteen over three years ago and eight of those are left ...live and learn, they do not like wet ground.
They did start producing burs and nuts last fall, I was able to pic up around thirty plus nuts last year stratified them and planted them in shrub strips this spring.
I planted twenty five hazelnuts in a row two years ago along edge of woods by the back pond, they all made it and seem to be doing well.
Also found this guy growing along edge of the fruit orchard in a good spot from last years spring planting so I screened and caged it. It is about thirty five feet from a nice row of caged chestnuts.
H20fwler
5 year old buck +
I'll get more into detail with the shrub strips.
My goal with the shrubs strips is to try and create an old school thick fence row down the north and west side of pasture, only planted to trees/shrubs with browse/nuts/berries for wildlife to eat, nest and bed in. Along with the benefit of helping make a privacy screen and blocking in pasture. I have over planted the strips thicker as far as spacing with extra trees/shrubs to offset any loss to winterkill/animals/disease/bugs/weather..I can always thin a little later, I just wanted to get as many beneficial things growing as soon as I could.
Early last June we planted around the ponds, have them planted in two rows at each pond;
Bare root-
700 Buttonbush
100 Red-osier Dogwood
50 Purpleosier Willow
58 Silky Dogwood
The pasture shrub strips are four rows around 1600' long spaced 10' apart down the north side running east to west.
The four rows on the west end are also spaced 10' apart and are around 700' long running north to south.
In these we planted bare root-
800 Red-osier Dogwood
290 Black Chokeberry
159 Pin Oak
159 Native Crab Apple (that ended up being Sargenti crabs)
3 gallon potted-
25 Gray Dogwood
20 Winterberry
20 American Cranberry Bush
19 Elderberry
Everything was planted over a two day period and we had a good 1 1/2" slow rain end of second day. The success rate was fantastic with almost everything seeming to take well.
Fast forward a year after the extended winter we just had and we lost some to winter freeze out, I think due to the cold-young shrubs and our clay. Mostly it was ROD and Button bush, I did notice some dead Pin Oaks and Cranberry. Some of the shrubs only the above ground died out and it is trying to push new growth as of today...but some is definitely just DOA.
We also planted 10 Dunstan's besides the ones along woods, 20 White Pine, 10 White Cedar, 35 Hazelnut, 30 High Bush Cranberry and 8 NWC.
The chestnuts and crabs are caged.
"Edit; Spring of 2019 added to strips,
25 Chokeberry
25 Winterberry
25 Snowberry
25 Highbush Cranberry
25 Hazelnut
25 Elderberry
25 American Plum
25 Nannyberry
25 Ninebark
All 2'-3' bare root"
"Edit; March 31 2020 added to strips,
25 American plum 3'
25 Ninebark 3'
25 Nannyberry 2'
25 Indain Currant 2'
All bare root"
East end of shrub strips
Middle of strips looking east
Middle looking west
West end
West strips facing south
West strips facing north
Red is shrub strips, the ones by ponds are mostly buttonbush and some dog wood, down the left side-bottom and strips by chestnuts in between ponds are planted with everything else . Light blue is Dunstan's, the dark along top and patches are white pines/white cedar.
The fruit orchard is off to the top left not in the pic.
My goal with the shrubs strips is to try and create an old school thick fence row down the north and west side of pasture, only planted to trees/shrubs with browse/nuts/berries for wildlife to eat, nest and bed in. Along with the benefit of helping make a privacy screen and blocking in pasture. I have over planted the strips thicker as far as spacing with extra trees/shrubs to offset any loss to winterkill/animals/disease/bugs/weather..I can always thin a little later, I just wanted to get as many beneficial things growing as soon as I could.
Early last June we planted around the ponds, have them planted in two rows at each pond;
Bare root-
700 Buttonbush
100 Red-osier Dogwood
50 Purpleosier Willow
58 Silky Dogwood
The pasture shrub strips are four rows around 1600' long spaced 10' apart down the north side running east to west.
The four rows on the west end are also spaced 10' apart and are around 700' long running north to south.
In these we planted bare root-
800 Red-osier Dogwood
290 Black Chokeberry
159 Pin Oak
159 Native Crab Apple (that ended up being Sargenti crabs)
3 gallon potted-
25 Gray Dogwood
20 Winterberry
20 American Cranberry Bush
19 Elderberry
Everything was planted over a two day period and we had a good 1 1/2" slow rain end of second day. The success rate was fantastic with almost everything seeming to take well.
Fast forward a year after the extended winter we just had and we lost some to winter freeze out, I think due to the cold-young shrubs and our clay. Mostly it was ROD and Button bush, I did notice some dead Pin Oaks and Cranberry. Some of the shrubs only the above ground died out and it is trying to push new growth as of today...but some is definitely just DOA.
We also planted 10 Dunstan's besides the ones along woods, 20 White Pine, 10 White Cedar, 35 Hazelnut, 30 High Bush Cranberry and 8 NWC.
The chestnuts and crabs are caged.
"Edit; Spring of 2019 added to strips,
25 Chokeberry
25 Winterberry
25 Snowberry
25 Highbush Cranberry
25 Hazelnut
25 Elderberry
25 American Plum
25 Nannyberry
25 Ninebark
All 2'-3' bare root"
"Edit; March 31 2020 added to strips,
25 American plum 3'
25 Ninebark 3'
25 Nannyberry 2'
25 Indain Currant 2'
All bare root"
East end of shrub strips
Middle of strips looking east
Middle looking west
West end
West strips facing south
West strips facing north
Red is shrub strips, the ones by ponds are mostly buttonbush and some dog wood, down the left side-bottom and strips by chestnuts in between ponds are planted with everything else . Light blue is Dunstan's, the dark along top and patches are white pines/white cedar.
The fruit orchard is off to the top left not in the pic.
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