My "SmallChunk"

[SmallChunk]

As you can see, I crammed the trees in this short fence enclosure. I ended up digging out the tree next to the yellow bucket and the one on the right side on the photo, an Enterprise and a NY 35 (Bonkers)

The bonkers prior to digging up(removed pea rocks and lumite

In its new home!

 

[SmallChunk]

I just wanted to let you guys know the cutting of the cages was easy business. Get a good cutter and something to stake the far end down and you are golden. This was my first go at it and man I love these new cages!



I also dug these out of the woods to see if I can make something out of them. An old box spring and I forget what they call the other. It's a thee fold one and it's pretty rotten in some parts of it. Can't wait to check it out a little more when I head back down there, I had to leave as soon as I got it pulled out of the edge of the woods

 

[Satchmo]

I've got an old 2-gang spring tooth just like your triple. Use it all the time behind my wheeler for dragging driveway, trails, and food plots.

 

[sandbur]

As you can see, I crammed the trees in this short fence enclosure. I ended up digging out the tree next to the yellow bucket and the one on the right side on the photo, an Enterprise and a NY 35 (Bonkers)



The bonkers prior to digging up(removed pea rocks and lumite

In its new home!

So many of your projects look exactly like my projects... Or what I should be doing. Three grafts from last year to move out of the garden. Two in roottrappers to dig out of the garden. Group exclosures.

I hope the frost is out so I can get started.
Cages are cut and distributed to planting sites.

Three differences. 1,No lumite. 2. no rock. 3. I see no gopher mounds???

 

[SmallChunk]

The gopher mounds are there, Art. I really need to buy some traps and go to work on them.

I was doing a little turkey hunting down there on Friday and snapped this pick of my red clover/ladino clover plot. I frostt seeded the light areas a couple of weeks ago and I can see the new seeds popping already. Always nice to see green again!

 

[SmallChunk]

A couple of updates.

Most surprising observation made was with my apple grafts from last spring. I planted three last fall and left three in their 5 gallon root trapper bags and sunk them in the ground. I wanted to see which method worked better and I found my answer (at least in my area/soils). The ones I planted last fall are all alive and really putting out growth. The ones I planted this spring are really struggling. One has shown zero life above the graft and the other two died back to just above the graft. I think if I was to tackle grafting again, I wouldn't spend all of the money on expensive containers and would just plot them in buckets and plant in the fall or try planting them right after grafting.

The little clover plot is seeing a little bit of use, tough to tell in this photo of the cage


A couple of Apple pics, the first one is a 2nd leaf Frostbite from cummins on B118 and the second is from one of my old Macntosh



One of the old Macntosh trees was being ambushed by tent caterpillars, so I doused the whole thing in Sevin. Went back two days later and found them still eating away on the tree. I ended up cutting the whole branch off that the nest was on and stomped on it and took it home with me.


I planted three pear trees last spring from cummins to give them a shot in our cold mn climate. 2 of them survived great(Flemish Beauty and SummerCrisp) and are really putting on growth, the third(HarrowCrisp) died back to just above the base. Hopefully the two can make it through the years to come!

 

[SD51555]

Nice work! I keep a propane torch in my truck for things like those worms and what not. Too bad the birds haven't figured out a way to get into those nests and gorge on them things.

 

[SmallChunk]

The other week, I finally got the old harrow home to work on it. I got it cut down into the three sections and rigged up to put my plots in. It worked okay, but needs some minor adjustments to make it work great!



My first loop with it!

 

[SmallChunk]

After starting our farms crappy old 6x6 on fire and breaking the drive chain, I finally finished the plots.

The corn plot was planted with my handy dandy one row push planter. We'll see how it comes up!


I wanted to plant this one into buckwheat, but the mill was out of seed. It ended up getting a mix of oats, field peas and some leftover beans that I had.


Here is my little clover plot. It has red clover and ladino in it. Either the red clover is being eaten heavily or it just didn't grow the greatest.



I have pines planted along the fence line here but wanted extra screening. For the first ten feet of worked ground here, I broadcasted grain sorghum and Egyptian wheat. We'll see how it turns out.

The rest of the plot was planted in RR beans.

 

[SmallChunk]

American Chestnut planted 3 years ago. I haven't given these any attention and something seems to eat their leaves every year. I finally put bigger cages around the two trees I have.


A hinge cut popple that was downed three years ago is still growing strong


I can't remember which tree this was, either Connel red or cortland in its first year since being planted (Edit:It's a NW Greening from scion from Sanbur). Did I do this correctly Apple guys?! Removed everything up top to give the central leader no competition. The clothes pins went on to give good crotch angles.

 

[Native Hunter]

Man those are some serious roots. Those trees should thrive!!

 

[sandbur]

Looks great! You have been busy!

 

[huntall]

Keep the pictures coming. Nice work.

 

[SmallChunk]

Gosh, I haven't posted in awhile. Here are just some random shots from the past couple of weeks.

Update on the sorghum/ Egyptian wheat. June 30th. Wish I would have gone a bit thinner. I wasn't sure how good the sorghum seed was so I upped the rate....poor decision!

July 13

I had extra RR beans so I did a pass through the screen with some beans. They are hands down the best looking beans that I have growing. I believe there are several factors to this. The cover is keeping deer from munching on them, they aren't continuously being in direct sunlight allowing the sand to stay cool and not dry out and the fact that beans like to compete when growing. This has me wondering what I should do for my bean plot next year, because these suckers are double the size of the same variety beans I have planted right next to them!

 

[SmallChunk]

This doe was munching in the oat/bean/pea/weed plot while I was doing some work out there!

 

[SmallChunk]

I cut off what I believe was fire blight from one of my pear trees. I will no longer try planting a pear tree. I know a lady that has a massive one in her yard in the area, I might try grafting this variety but no longer will purchase any.

My first ever little Apple growing on a tree that I planted. It's a second leaf Frostbite on B118 that had 6 or 7 apples this spring and I plucked off all but one. I know, I know, I should have taken them all off but I couldn't help myself!

My nightmare photograph, I hate looking down and noticing that you are wading in this stuff

 

[SmallChunk]

This is my 6th gopher set I have set and my 6th gopher that I have caught!

 

[SmallChunk]

This is why you should have exclusion cages that have small holes in the side. Apparently I have a woodchuck or rabbits out browsing in my beans. I overseeded the beans with rye/PTT/DER on Friday knowing that these beans have been getting pounded and are doubtful to produce anything. It might be s bit too early for the rye, but oh well.

My corn plot with both orchards in the shot. I overseeded the corn with DER and Vivant brassica on Friday night. Hopefully I will have a carpet of green underneath the canopy come fall!

My grandma is pretty proud of me growing stuff out in her old garden. She is the one that gave me my green thumb and passion to watch things grow! She isn't allowed outside the house by herself anymore, so when I get down there she always wants to go check out what is happening out back!

The hazelnuts are really producing this year

 

[SmallChunk]

I sprayed my oat/pea/RR bean plot on Friday also and broadcasted Radish and just a tiny bit of rape into this plot about an hour after I sprayed. Hoping to get a good kill and the radish finds a way to germ. We got rain early Saturday morning, so I'm thinking I have a chance!

 

[SmallChunk]

Here is the plot that I cleared way in the back of my woods hoping to get an oat/pea plot planted for this fall. I trounced back there last week with a chainsaw knowing I had a few trees to knock down and some big buckthorn trees I wanted to take out. I got to the plot and realized it would be way too wet to plant, and that the deer were using it like crazy. Just tons of stuff browsed in the opening, so I am just going to leave it for the fall. Here are just random plants and trees in the plot that I have no idea what they are!

Tree that is out in the middle of the plot




Random stuff browsed in the opening