new food plots/trails

[nwmn]

This last winter we had a guy go through to create new trails and food plots. our woods is primarily aspen, oak, and tag alder.

he used a hydro ax and it basically ripped up all smaller stuff but sheared the trees off at about 3 inches. there is a lot of trash. some things I'm thinking of doing is piling the big pieces/trees up and burning it. other than that it'll need time to rot. any ideas on how to expedite the process? I'll probably go over it a ton with the disk and hope that breaks it up enough to get dirt exposed, then I can get some clover oats and rye growing as roots and tree material decomposes.

what's the best plan for tackling the mess?

 

[wiscwhip]

Do a soil test immediately or sooner. Last week would have been good.;) Lime it ASAP. Again, yesterday would have been better. ;);)Here are 2 things to consider with the trash on top. You burn it, it will do very little for your OM, but will increase your level of natural potash(P) to some extent. You leave it, it will take a while to break down, but it will help improve your OM over the long term. How are your soils for OM content?

 

[bueller]

I would gather the big stuff and either burn it or move it off the plot. Disc/drag the heck out of it and then plant something that grows easy and grows tall like buckwheat, rye, or oats. Roll the tall crop down on top of all that stuff and it should help it break down faster and you get to feed the animals this year at the same time.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Old-time farmers used to plant buckwheat on newly worked ground because it grows easily on new ground and it improves the soil as it decays. Whip & Bueller nailed it with lime and buckwheat.

 

[bowhunternw]

The soil around us is naturally alkaline so no need to lime. I think I would try to remove the bigger stuff and I think a disc would chop up some of the smaller stuff, however there is probably a lot of stumps in there. Hopefully you picked a higher knob so it isn't too wet.

 

[tooln]

I'd push the trash to the edge of the plot. It would make for nice spot for small critters. If you have enough you can use it to make access to the plot where you want it. That what I did with mine and deer now come into the plot where I want them too. :) Soil test & Lime ASAP then BW/WR

 

[nwmn]

Sounds like I should have brought the shovel with me yesterday. I'll get out and get soil samples. I've asked a few fertilizer plants about lime before, and when I asked they looked at me weird and said we don't need lime around here. I guess a soil test will tell me what I need to know. bowhunter, this ground is right off a little swamp, one side may get a little wet, but I'm hoping to be able plant this mostly in a fall planting mix like radish/rye/oats every year.

We have about three of these newly opened areas all around 1 acre in size. This one had the most 'large' material removed. This property has a bunch of smaller aspen regrowth, especially on this (east) side, largest trees taken down were probably 3-4" aspen. the other areas were much thinner and won't need as much labor. I'll work on finding the black dirt underneath, and plant buckwheat as soon as I do, or else wait until fall and plant oats/winter rye/radish/clovers.

I told my dad that we now have a brand new property, and everything already looks so much different. We created a ton of work for ourselves as well. It won't be so bad now that we have a cabin to put our feet up and stay the night. I'll have to do some flyovers with the drone, and show the new areas.

 

[dipper]

No till drill will slice through most of the stuff. In a couple years u won't know there was a stick there.

 

[NT179]

I built a 6 foot s tine cultivator with a 3 point hook up on both ends. I use a quick hitch. By using it backwards,I can make clean up quick. A friend also has used a 3 pt rake,he had to remove some of the tines on it . Just be careful and watch your tires.Are there any sharp stumps,etc.

 

[nwmn]

that's a good idea. I don't currently have an s tine cultivator or a rake, but wish I did! I'll probably be forced to use a 9n with a disk and try shred up the mulch. maybe usr our cultivator with tines above ground to pull trash oUT into piles. I wish I could use one of them skidsteer mulcher and go over it for smaller pieces, but that's a little pricey. I guess repetitive disking , soil tests, and green manure will be key. where's the best place to buy buckwheat? I notice prices range all over the place from 50-100 for 50#. is there a plant that will grow and make other woody material break down faster when it decomposes? radish and oats?

 

[NT179]

I believe adding nitrogen fertilizer will help the rotting process. Like composting,there is a carbon-nitrogen ratio that speeds up decay. I havent done it but maybe someone else has and can educate us on it .Maybe google it,might be some info there.

 

[wiscwhip]

Many guys will tell you that applying N to the area will speed up the process, that has been proven in studies in IA to not necessarily be the case. While a proper C:N ratio is critical for the fastest decomposition of the residue, just adding a N fertilizer is not the best or most economical way to achieve that prefect balance. N producing legume cover crops and warm soil temps are really the best things you can do to promote and speed up the process. As I said in another thread, on newly broken ground, find yourself some hairy vetch seed and get that on the ground. As others have said, use a rake or other implement to remove as much of the large stuff as possible, just scratching the surface of the dirt. No depth tillage, you only want to expose enough soil to speed up the warming process so the microbes can "wake up" and start doing their thing. Then get down some hairy vetch(or other cheap legume, maybe red clover) and let that run its course. You could terminate late this summer and get some brassicas in there with some rye and maybe some more clover or vetch. When you mow it next year, your legume should take off again.

Brian, you were posting as I was typing. LOL

See below...

http://crops.extension.iastate.edu/cropnews/2014/04/myths-and-facts-about-residue-breakdown

 

[nwmn]

My initial thought was to load on the N to expedite the decomposition, but like whip said, probably better ways to do it. Does hairy vetch grow well this far north? Mix in buckwheat with vetch?

 

[wiscwhip]

No point in leaching that N into the ground and wasting the money just to jumpstart decomp. Hairy vetch is the most cold hard vetch species and if you look at the map in the SARE link below, you are on the edge of the range for overwintering. That said, it should be fine if you spring plant and terminate in the fall anyway. Look right at the top of that page where it says "Mix with:", buckwheat is in the list along with other small grains. After you "rake" some of the large debris from the plot, you should be able to broadcast the BW, roll or lightly disc it in and then broadcast the vetch and roll. No sooner than mid-May or later that far north though, young BW is very susceptible to late frosts. The young seedlings freeze out easily. Planting the vetch earlier would likely be fine, but you will have to wait until after bad frosts are done before the BW goes in either way.

http://www.sare.org/Learning-Center...n/Text-Version/Legume-Cover-Crops/Hairy-Vetch

 

[NT179]

Thanks, whip. I should have known this. I curious to see how broadcasting spring peas into my horse hay last aug will help this years timothy.I should have done it after I cut hay as it would have another month of growing.I had excellent germination broadcasting those peas into 3 inch stubble with a atv spreader.