Norway Spruce Screen Decisions

[PatinPA]

bummer on the help...i will have at least 1 younger guy and maybe a neighbor whose my age my dad (61, bad knee) and maybe a 70+ "Supervisor"...but my ace in the hole is i have the ability to borrow a 1 man auger and maybe a 3 point auger to at least get the holes started....my soil is the same rocky crap so I feel your pain there...when i planted the 10 apple/crabs in this past fall one of the harder parts was finding somewhere to stake down both the weed fabric and the cages that i could pound in more than 4 inches...

Yes getting stakes in the ground is a real problem. I use fiberglass stakes because they at least bend around some of the rocks and it's easier to find crevices. Haven't even tried Tposts. I'd have to bring a big sledge to get them in deep enough.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

bummer on the help...i will have at least 1 younger guy and maybe a neighbor whose my age my dad (61, bad knee) and maybe a 70+ "Supervisor"...but my ace in the hole is i have the ability to borrow a 1 man auger and maybe a 3 point auger to at least get the holes started....my soil is the same rocky crap so I feel your pain there...when i planted the 10 apple/crabs in this past fall one of the harder parts was finding somewhere to stake down both the weed fabric and the cages that i could pound in more than 4 inches...

Let me guess - reddish clay type soil with shale in it??

 

[PatinPA]

Let me guess - reddish clay type soil with shale in it??

That's at my house. I have a about a foot of soil before I hit hardpan shale.

 

[Derek Reese 29]

Let me guess - reddish clay type soil with shale in it??

not quite...its an old hayfield so its more intermittent rocks with really good soil..but the shale does start down about a foot....

 

[BuckSutherland]

Yes getting stakes in the ground is a real problem. I use fiberglass stakes because they at least bend around some of the rocks and it's easier to find crevices. Haven't even tried Tposts. I'd have to bring a big sledge to get them in deep enough.

We like to use the little metal step in 4' electric fence post and flip them upside down to hold our cages. I wear a 16 oz hammer on my right hip when I'm tree planting. Pretty damn quick and easy to pound them in (30 seconds per tree on average for both post). I have some rock, but solid tree roots to go through. The cage in this picture is very secure. The foot pegs on the post firmly hold the cage in place.


This setup in my woods has 100% effective at deterring the deer. Lost 2 white pine seedlings to some smaller critter last year, but never a deer. Just the presence of cages seems to be enough of a deterrent for me. I have some not even staked and they leave them alone. I am experimenting with them to see what I can get away with.

 

[BuckSutherland]

I have 5 crabs/apples, then the screen which has 42 trees in it...i think for the smaller 1-2' hawthorns and midwest crabs (a kind of shrub?) I will only make 3' diameter cages out of the 2x4" fencing....just to try and save on material...can't imagine 75 norways...are you caging all of them? and do you have help?

Unroll the roll, and "measure" with a ten foot 2x4, make 2 snips on the roll, slide the 2x4 ahead 10 more feet and make 2 snips, slide 2x4 down another 10 feet and repeat until the roll is marked out into (10) ten foot sections. This is gonna give you the desired cage. If you wanna get 11 cages per roll cut the 2x4 down to 9 feet. Once the cage is all marked out come back with a hand held snips and cut it apart. The board is WAY faster then the tape measure. I can cut a roll apart pretty quickly. When I form my cages together I just use the cut ends of the cage and wrap the cage together 5-6 times. No need to wrap every single snip. I will have to time myself this year and see how fast I can do a roll. Can't imagine more then 30 mins per roll.

10 foot circumference = 38" diameter cage
9 foot cage= 34" cage


I like the 10 cause it fits nicely on the weed mats.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

A 10 ft. section of 1/2" EMT conduit is lighter in weight that a 2X4, and when you're done - if you need extra cage stakes - you can cut the conduit up for a couple stakes, or use it for tree support. Just another possibility. Buck's 2X4 has the advantage of its weight holding the wire fencing FLAT so it doesn't roll up on you. EMT conduit is not as heavy - probably wouldn't keep the fencing flat for cutting.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

This is just as important as the cage. Should get 75 weed matts out of one roll. Usually about $80 when it becomes available.

Amazon.com

FYI in this source, Amazon says the 7 rolls I ordered got put on a truck a month ago, still haven’t delivered. Thinkin I may need to place another order soon.

 

[tlzkaasen]

FYI in this source, Amazon says the 7 rolls I ordered got put on a truck a month ago, still haven’t delivered. Thinkin I may need to place another order soon.

This sounds like a trend. My rolls are missing/damaged as well. No refund that was promised by amazon either.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

This sounds like a trend. My rolls are missing/damaged as well. No refund that was promised by amazon either.

Same source?

 

[tlzkaasen]

Same source?

hard to say, but same brand for sure.

 

[4wanderingeyes]

I had ordered 2 rolls, and got them both within a week from FedEx. Although USPS just lost a different order of mine this week.

 

[Ranger007]

Just ordered 1,500 feet of weed mats, 2,000 6" landscape staples, silky zubat, and leathercraft kneepads from the suggestions of BuckSutherland for the 300 black hills 1 gallon spruce trees I have coming in a few weeks. Let the MN ground thaw! I'll be ready for tree planting season.
I'm debating whether I order a 12inch post hole digger for my john deere 1025r or rent a skid steer with post hole attachment to plant all the trees. The post hole digger might come in handy for odd jobs around the hunting property, but not sure I'd use it enough to warrant the cost. Any suggestions?

 

[4wanderingeyes]

You can get a used gas powered hand auger for a couple hundred bucks, they work good if you don’t have a lot of roots and rocks.

Even an old ice auger.

 

[Derek Reese 29]

You can get a used gas powered hand auger for a couple hundred bucks, they work good if you don’t have a lot of roots and rocks.

Even an old ice auger.

just make sure you are ready for a whuppin if there are roots and rocks...im a pretty stout 30 something year old and I drilled around 20 holes the other day and it just beat the crap out of me....i only have 20 or so more to go...thank goodness!

 

[Ranger007]

just make sure you are ready for a whuppin if there are roots and rocks...im a pretty stout 30 something year old and I drilled around 20 holes the other day and it just beat the crap out of me....i only have 20 or so more to go...thank goodness!

Ya, no way in heck I'll be drilling 300 holes with a motorized hand auger! I do have a lot of rocks as well.

 

[Derek Reese 29]

Ya, no way in heck I'll be drilling 300 holes with a motorized hand auger! I do have a lot of rocks as well.

good call...i did drill 20 holes in about 10 minutes though...which is about 5X faster than digging them...

 

[Wind Gypsy]

Just ordered 1,500 feet of weed mats, 2,000 6" landscape staples, silky zubat, and leathercraft kneepads from the suggestions of BuckSutherland for the 300 black hills 1 gallon spruce trees I have coming in a few weeks. Let the MN ground thaw! I'll be ready for tree planting season.
I'm debating whether I order a 12inch post hole digger for my john deere 1025r or rent a skid steer with post hole attachment to plant all the trees. The post hole digger might come in handy for odd jobs around the hunting property, but not sure I'd use it enough to warrant the cost. Any suggestions?

Taggin into this as well.. I was planning on renting a 3 point auger or standalone one to pull behind an ATV for my spruce planting this year. Considered just buying one because lord knows there will be more planting in the future! My stepdad has a skidsteer mounted one that we use for tree planting and I can't go back to shovels and dibble bars!

 

[BuckSutherland]

I use the shovel of the Gods.

 

[BuckSutherland]

Just ordered 1,500 feet of weed mats, 2,000 6" landscape staples, silky zubat, and leathercraft kneepads from the suggestions of BuckSutherland for the 300 black hills 1 gallon spruce trees I have coming in a few weeks. Let the MN ground thaw! I'll be ready for tree planting season.
I'm debating whether I order a 12inch post hole digger for my john deere 1025r or rent a skid steer with post hole attachment to plant all the trees. The post hole digger might come in handy for odd jobs around the hunting property, but not sure I'd use it enough to warrant the cost. Any suggestions?

I got to see my trees for this first time since Labor Day of last year on Sunday morning. My 2 gallon BHS from last year look good. I never caged them. No signs of browse, but we have low DPSM. Deer havent been on my land much this winter since snow has been very deep. They survived one hell of a drought last summer. I watered them 4-5 times. I think they all would have died without the weed mat.