Phase II: Starting to matter

[SD51555]

looking good! you guys are greener over there than by me so far.

you might want to try moving your trail cam so that its not looking into the sun so much

Yeah, that was my brother's rookie move. The cam was also set on time lapse mode. I almost soiled myself when I saw there were almost 1000 pictures. I don't get here more than 2-3 times per year. This was my spring trip home. I picked up a 50lb bag of mixed bird seed and a 50lb trace salt block. We got that put out and I moved the camera so it's pointing straight north now. Early on we had a few pics of deer. I think with the yotes denning up out there, those deer are only passing through.

 

[SD51555]

Very nice. Those trees/shrubs that have become established over recent years should really put some growth on in the coming years.

It's too bad there aren't more like that. Between those crappy bamboo stakes breaking and the tubes kinking over, I lost about 2/3 of what I actually planted out there. It looks to me like most of that tall grass is reed-canary grass. It's been a pain to battle that crap, but after some spraying and better weed mats I scored some wins.

I'm pondering one more crack at getting more going out there. We've ruled out battling that grass with fire, herbicide, or mowing. I don't want to burn what i've already planted, we're risking a thistle explosion if we kill the grass, and I'm pretty sure I lost some wire and posts in that grass that I don't want to run into a mower. I still want to take load of plugs out there, I'm just not sure what.

 

[chummer]

Everything is looking good. Must be a great feeling to seething finally taking off.

 

[SD51555]

It is. I had no idea how this was going to go. It was all new to me and I made a lot of rookie mistakes, but I also learned from every one of them.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

I like the looks of those Black Hills spruce. Great cover and windbreak tree. The apple tree you released appears to be doing really well too. Nice job, SD !!

 

[SD51555]

Got the camera fixed up on the southern MN mini project area. My brother pulled the card tonight and got some pretty cool pictures in our little 5 acre oasis in the middle of farm country. When I moved the camera, I threw down a 50lb trace salt block and a 50lb bag of mixed bird seed.



Anyone guess what kind of raptor this is? I couldn't tell ya. I wonder if this guy hasn't been eating squirrels and rabbits as they make for the bird seed that was there.


If we ever get into turkey hunting, I think we've got a spot...

 

[kabic]

Red Shoulder Hawk maybe

http://theiwrc.org/raptorID/comparisons/rtha_rsha.html

 

[wiscwhip]

My belief is that it is a juvenile Red-tailed hawk.

 

[SD51555]

Got back out here for a mid summer inspection. Found some wins, and suffered some losses.

Wins
*Soft mast production is picking up. I've got chokecherry that is starting to produce. I've also got other kinds of cherries (I think) that I cannot ID. Hoping to get some help here.
*Apple trees are doing well outside the cage. Even had one I gave up on come back to life.
*I was able to fix up and potentially save some cranberries that had fallen over.
*Spruces are reaching for the sky.
*Black eyed susan seed I spread years ago is starting to take hold.
*Found some random things I need help with ID.
*No thistles.

Losses
Lost a few more trees. Not sure what happened, but looked like a heard of deer bedded down by a few plums and destroyed them. Camera will tell soon if that happened.

Let's see some pictures.

Not sure what kind of grass is growing around these BH spruces, but it hasn't creeped back since I zapped it a few years ago.



This is the mystery cherry tree I deemed pin cherry that we found and released last year. Not much fruit on it this year.


I think this is staghorn sumac. Deer seem to like it, it was browsed quite well last year. Where we cleared out brush, this sumac moved in and populated nicely.



I'm hoping this is a cherry and not some sort of honeysuckle. Someone please tell me this isn't honeysuckle.



American plum pushing out of a 6' tube. Looks like it needs a pruning and then it's off to the races.

 

[SD51555]

My little norway that could. It's a battle for life in this damn RCG.



Not sure what this is. I'm also going to post in the native section to see if we can't figure it out.


Another hopefully beneficial flower I can't ID. Any ideas?



The best chokecherry I have. I took a close look at it, and it seems like something is picking fruit off it well before it's even beginning to ripen.



Here's an up close shot of the chokecherry.

 

[SD51555]

I had some really nice cranberries laying on the ground. I had the foresight to bring some tools out there with me to see if I couldn't fix some of these up to get them to sustainable. Looks prime for a buck rub. :eek:



Lots of fruit loading up on these cranberries. I'm hoping the pheasants and birds get to work seeding the rest of the property for me.



This is how I found one of my cranberries. Way too top heavy and the equipment couldn't keep it up.



Ripped off the remnants of the tube and took a stake and string to get it up again. There were pant loads of ants in there, but it didn't seem to hurt the tree. I'm hoping some UV rays will drive these ants away.



The staking job.

 

[SD51555]

This is the apple tree I gave up on. The deer reached over the top of the cage and browsed it back to three twigs. I guess I was wrong to give up on it. There's even an apple in there. I've still got pollination problems, but help is on the way with some dolgo seedlings I planted nearby last year.



Found these berries when I was rooting around in the bush. Any idea what these are? The next pic is of the same bush and of a more ripe berry.




Pic #2 of the one above. Any ideas?



Yet another mystery fruit tree. My guess would be cherry, but what kind?



Same tree (I think)...



About 3-4 years ago I bought $15 worth of blackeyed susan seed. Haven't seen more than a few until this year.

 

[sandbur]

I struggled with those 5 and 6 foot tubes for years. Most were the old style and nonvented.

I cut them in half for 2 and 3 footers.

I feel some of those plants are shrubs and would do better with more lateral limbs at a lower level.

I have one nice red oak that emerged from a 6 foot tube. Two hybrid poplar did well in tubes and a couple of walnuts. The rest were failures.

I know part of it is my soil and climate. You have much better climate and soil in McLeod county.

 

[Turkey Creek]

That one with the cluster of 3-4 fruit is Golden Currant.

 

[Jordan Selsor]

I struggled with those 5 and 6 foot tubes for years. Most were the old style and nonvented.

I cut them in half for 2 and 3 footers.

I feel some of those plants are shrubs and would do better with more lateral limbs at a lower level.

I have one nice red oak that emerged from a 6 foot tube. Two hybrid poplar did well in tubes and a couple of walnuts. The rest were failures.

I know part of it is my soil and climate. You have much better climate and soil in McLeod county.

I agree 100%. Some trees seem to resist growing upright an yearn to branch out. I have several pear varieties an chestnuts that I wished I would have caged not tubed. But like you said about red oaks love them!

 

[SD51555]

I've got a bunch of lower growing trees and shrubs in 6' tubes. I'm trying my best to keep them pruned and pushing upward. It seems to be working if I prune them soon enough. My cranberries up north are starting to pop out the tube after being pruned this year. Not much of an issue in the year of or after planting. The ones that were starting year 3 responded really well to getting trimmed back to a central leader.

 

[huntall]

The first and 2nd pictures are from Muscadine vine. They make some of the best jelly.

 

[SD51555]

I have found grapes back there in the fenceline before. They were delicious!

 

[SD51555]

Got out this afternoon and checked things out at my dad's place.

Corn is looking better than I've seen in a long time. Lots of two-eared stalks out here. Not a food plot, just next to the woods.



Cranberries are loading up with fruit and really hitting the gas on growth.



This was another one I had to fix because it had a crappy oak stake. The tree got so heavy it tipped over in the tube and branches started growing through the vents. The branch at the tip of the arrow was about 3' feet long and solid green all the way back to the trunk. It must have shot outta there pretty damn quick to be that green. Ended up staking this one and ripping the top half of the tube off.



And every once in a while it actually works as it's supposed to. There's really nothing to say about this one, I just really like how this looks. There is a birds nest in this one right on top of the tube, but the tree doesn't seem to care. So I left it.



These cranberries are ripening faster than the others for some reason a mere 25' away.




This is one of those weeds that haunts soybean growers. Not sure if it's pigweed or what the heck, but every one on the edge of the corn was browsed. This was also inches from tons of red clover and white ladino clover that was not browsed.