SD’s Buy-no-trees forest ease

Had a first for myself this summer. I’ve been seeing the leaves for a few years, but never caught any of the fruit. Now I found some.

Gooseberry

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I ate one yesterday and it was tasty, like so tasty I’m going to try to move some plants around next spring.

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They are relatively easy to propagate by cuttings as well. If you use root makers or something similar you can get incredibly fast growth on gooseberry cuttings.
 
Just be aware that gooseberries are an alternate host for white pine blister rust much like CAR involves cedars and apples.

I found a few on my land a number of years ago but that spot has since been overrun with prickly ash.
 
Just be aware that gooseberries are an alternate host for white pine blister rust much like CAR involves cedars and apples.

I found a few on my land a number of years ago but that spot has since been overrun with prickly ash.
That gives me some evening reading. Appreciate the heads up. There's not a ton of white pine in my area, but there are a few natives that survived somehow. I do have some on my lawn that I've got a vested interest in making sure they succeed. I may have to put my gooseberry patch elsewhere on the property.
 
Either way, I am nominating this thread for the Native Hunter Seal of Approval award

bill
 
Getting a bumper crop of ROD fruit this season. Been working on this for about 4 years. The fastest route back to production has been finding native plants and throwing a cage over them, and adding sunlight. Now it’s up the birds.

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Jewelweed has made a big splash onto the scene. Never seen it in any abundance until this year.

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First crop of gooseberry is a nice one too. And delicious.

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Jewelweed likes to be adjacent to standing water or have very moist soils most of time I have found it. Have it on the banks of the ditch in my back yard. Believe you have made comment on how much rain you've got and likely why it has come on strong this year.
 
Jewelweed likes to be adjacent to standing water or have very moist soils most of time I have found it. Have it on the banks of the ditch in my back yard. Believe you have made comment on how much rain you've got and likely why it has come on strong this year.
That's exactly where mine is. I had to dig some holes to fix some things, and it popped up all along where I had been borrowing.
 
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Getting a bumper crop of ROD fruit this season. Been working on this for about 4 years. The fastest route back to production has been finding native plants and throwing a cage over them, and adding sunlight. Now it’s up the birds.

9626d134f978639561dc7bd30e5d0a45.jpg


98a3d521b85517e0acee57d0222aee6c.jpg


68ab25ab73f353ad2ea0c3c93e342c32.jpg


Jewelweed has made a big splash onto the scene. Never seen it in any abundance until this year.

7d617308fc117dee53d4e0b0ee613b77.jpg


First crop of gooseberry is a nice one too. And delicious.

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I have found deer using jewel weed this time of year. If tag alder swamps start to dry out, I see jewel weed pop up and the deer bed in it and eat it. I suppose the tag alder grounds has lots of nitrogen??

Frost in the swamps seems to end that feeding pattern.


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I have found deer using jewel weed this time of year. If tag alder swamps start to dry out, I see jewel weed pop up and the deer bed in it and eat it. I suppose the tag alder grounds has lots of nitrogen??

Frost in the swamps seems to end that feeding pattern.


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There's something going on with it. I have never seen the forest regen as fast as where there is tag alder. I took some pics of my cut from 18 months ago today. When I get signal, I'll put a few up. It's unreal the density, height, and where there are voids, there is chest high grass I've never seen before.
 
There's something going on with it. I have never seen the forest regen as fast as where there is tag alder. I took some pics of my cut from 18 months ago today. When I get signal, I'll put a few up. It's unreal the density, height, and where there are voids, there is chest high grass I've never seen before.

I suspect the year after a dry year, results in compensatory growth. Nutrients probably build up and are used during the wet year


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I’m finishing up my hunt prep this weekend. I walked by that cut. I zoomed in on the grass, and it looks like stuff I have elsewhere, but the height was crazy, it was up to my duodenum, and I’m 6’ tall.

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The cage in this pic is 5’.

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Loved the thread! I'm a guy that hates those balsam firs! All the missing branches up to 20 feet up. I'm taking out an acre per year of those as well. This years acre I turned into more food plot. Will be planting lots of dogwood and norway spruce on the perimeter. We had a 5 year flood that killed all the dogwood in my tamarak swamop so I'm re-planting all of those next years. I do have huge patches of beaked hazelnut.. Sounds like our landscapes are very similar.
 
I suspect the year after a dry year, results in compensatory growth. Nutrients probably build up and are used during the wet year


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I concur 100%. The woods by us is pissed off for what it went through last summer. I was at my buddies place last weekend near Palisade to help bear bait. His woods was FILTHY with a very heavy crop of natural food. I absolutely gorged myself on blackberries and blueberries. Trees nearly collapsing with all the chokecherries on them.

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I saw this quote from a foodplot seminar on another forum and thought of this thread:

"If you need it,you probably cant grow it, if you can grow it,you probably dont need it"

bill
 
Got to look at the progress in my sanctuary last week. The ground cover is coming back nicely.

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Are there any small conifers in there?


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Are there any small conifers in there?


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I planted around 75 throughout all that this past spring, and most of them died. I was really surprised by that, and I'm thinking it was because those trees were still drought stressed come spring when I pulled and moved them. I'll do it again this spring, they should be in better shape.

There's also a good amount of native balsam in those spots too. I don't know if they'll catch up given how fast that ash brush is coming back.
 
Great thread! A lot of my property is very similar habitat and plan on doing much of the same as you. I find myself looking at every tree, bush, plant and berry now. Love to work in the woods in winter and spring, just so happens my chainsaws are coming out tomorrow!
 
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