The Adventures of CrazyED the beach sand guy

[bueller]

Ed did any of your hinge cuts survive or stump sprout?

 

[CrazyEd]

Ed did any of your hinge cuts survive or stump sprout?

the only trees we hinge cut are black cherry trees. they hinge very well. I would say we have about an equal split of those which survive and those that stump sprout. for the most part the cherry are isolated to the back 25% of our land. my dad kind of assumes the cows brought them to this area. my great uncle used to pasture and graze them in this area, I think they might also have been back to the ponds for a drink. not sure.

 

[CrazyEd]

Here's a good example of one we hinged that is alive and well. I think we cut this one 2 years ago.

 

[bueller]

Awesome. I don't think we have anything by us that would hinge well but the cut oaks send up a ton of stump sprouts.

 

[buckvelvet]

Very nice land you have going there Ed, I love all the pictures!

 

[CrazyEd]

Well I managed to stop by the farm on our annual weeklong northwoods adventure to the Chippewa Flowage in Hayward, WI. I dumped out 2.5" of rain when we arrived, I know we got more than that over the past few weeks but i'm sure a bunch evaporated. Overall things look great.

3rd Leaf Wolf River B.118. No fruit on this one.

5th Leaf Goldrush MM.111 - No fruit on this one.

3rd Leaf Centennial Crab has a half dozen fruit on it.

 

[CrazyEd]

3rd Leaf Wolf River B.118 - it has one apple, it's first.

Not sure what is wrong with this 3rd leaf roxbury russett (b.118). It looked rough like this last visit on June 7th, it's the only tree that looks like this. Hopefully it pulls through.

 

[CrazyEd]

3rd Leaf Frostbite has a bunch of apples, probably 7 or 8. It also has a tiny bit of cedar apple rust if you look close, but nothing to be concerned about. It's been one of the wettest years in recent time so i'm not shocked over this.

 

[CrazyEd]

3rd Leaf Black Oxford with a half dozen fruit too.

3rd Leaf Kerr on B.118

 

[CrazyEd]

Everett's first trip to the farm and the orchard, just over 3 months old now. Gracie is excited to pick a few "cute little apples"

Here's a few wider shots of the orchard. Tons of common milkweed is bringing in hundreds of monarch butterflies.

 

[CrazyEd]

Summercrisp pear, this tree is thriving. I'm just letting it do it's thing as many people say pears don't require pruning or training.

NWSG is looking pretty good. At this rate it should be 6-8' tall by deer season.

 

[CrazyEd]

Here's one of my foodplots, the rye is just about ready to go to seed I think.

Brassicas have germinated. A mix of GFR and PTT.

Here's a look down the other side of this t-shaped plot.

 

[CrazyEd]

I grafted this Monster crab to b.118 roots last may. I'm letting it go rogue for now.

Goats Rue

Lots of butterfly milkweed either blooming or just about to. We grew many of these plants in a nursery (seed that we gathered from wild plants on our farm) and nursed them 1 to 2 years and just transplanted the carrots to the farm in fall. It's a little more work but you can establish mature plants much faster than just throwing seed on the ground using this method. It's worked very well so far and we plan to do a lot more as it's a simple process.

 

[CrazyEd]

Dunstan Chestnuts, looking fantastic.

 

[CrazyEd]

Here's my other foodplot. I'm leveraging the rye to help hold moisture in my sand, and help fight off drought. This stuff should go to seed real soon too.

GFR looking pretty good.

Not as thick as I would have thought given the amount of seed I put down but there should be plenty.

 

[scott44]

Nice looking family and orchard you have Ed!

 

[greyphase]

If my B118's that I planted this spring look as good as yours in 3-4 years I'll be very happy. Your trees look incredibly "clean". That's a beautiful girl and handsome boy you got there Ed..........guess they take after their mom:D. Only question I have is where are the multiflora, barberry,greenbrier, and blackberry tangles that I fight with all the time to keep from smothering my Back40 :confused:. I'll be sure to send you a pound of seeds of each next spring. Seriously you have an incredible orchard started that you can be proud of. Thanks for sharing it with us.

Rick

 

[CrazyEd]

Thanks guys.

Rick, our sandy soil and high deer densities keep invasive shrubs at bay. I think it's just too dry for most to survive. we do have some Bush honeysuckle but they are only found under large trees (typically jackpine). if they can hide in the shade they might survive. Overall they are not a threat.

my father is very dedicated to keeping invasives off our land. he regularly fights Knapp weed, poke weed, garlic mustard, St Johns wort. even common mullen. Probably a few other things but he uses a lot of round up annually spot spraying. through our efforts we have maintained a pretty clean environment, not to mention we really encourage native plants to dominate our landscape. we have planted so much native grasses and wild flowers we just keep encouraging those to take over.

so far I'm happy with my orchard. with a fine tuned process b118 have done well in our sandy soil. I have tried to be aggressive with training in the early years. however with the little kids I haven't had much time this year so well see how things go. I might just have to do careful thinning cuts to remove the bad angles etc.

 

[dipper]

Ed-you need to get your food plots thicker. That rye looks really thin. I would suggest seeding some red clover and oats, along with that rye. They will also grow in your sandy soil.
I see alot of exposed soil in your plot. A few sunny 85 degree days and that surface is going to be drier than a popcorn fart. I understand you have limited equipment. Exposed soil dries out alot quicker than shaded or covered soil.
Enjoy your vacation.

 

[CrazyEd]

I realize the rye is thin, I doubled my seeding rate for this year's planting. we don't do clover. these plots are a work in process and should continue to improve. thanks for the tips.