Today we closed on Maple Hill Farm! Habitat Projects

[Turkey Creek]

Looks good. What trees are your favorite to plant.

Saw your post of those tree pots. Got a picture of those pots empty or from the side.

I misinterpreted what you were asking, I will try and get a picture of the tubes. I am just recycling the ones we get some of our KS Forest Service trees in. They are pretty small, but I am hoping they will quickly fill the tube root wise and I can get them transplanted into the ground. I dont like babysitting potted things.

 

[Turkey Creek]

Got a few apple trees into the ground today and also trying to direct seed some Burr Oak acorns that I had left over inside the tree tubes. Hope to widen the tree strip along the gully with more oaks. The apple trees will be directly in front of my south wind stand. There is really only one place for a direct south wind stand/blind on the farm ... and I am going to more or less have to create the draw to that spot. The food plot will run up to the blind as well. Watering hole just to the right of the apple trees. Field is terraced and so I took the tractor and created a small water hole in the bottom of the terrace. Figured that would help with keeping water in it, not sure how much rain we got last night, maybe an 1". We will see how well it holds water, I did purchase a piece of backyard pond liner to lay in it if the thing dries up quicker than I want.

 

[Gravel Road]

Wicked storms last night. Hope you got some decent rain to go with the wind.

 

[Turkey Creek]

Wicked storms last night. Hope you got some decent rain to go with the wind.

We had .70" about 5 miles away at the nursery. I dont have a rain gauge up at the house yet. We had a big old Locust tree blow down that was just outside the yard, missed the house by about 20'. We had some hail with the wind and I think maybe there was a light ding or two on vehichles this morning but not enough to file a claim.

 

[Gravel Road]

Lucky! We spent way too much this year to remove crappy trees planted too close to our old house. We had significant damage to the house last year so had a huge silver maple and several ash removed. It was a huge relief last night knowing that we weren't going to have more holes punched in the roof and windows broken.

 

[Turkey Creek]

Finally knocked out a bigger task. I was able to get about 7 acres of native prairie seed no-till drilled today. Man I would love to have a Great Plains drill one of these years! Nice that this one is available for habitat work. Had 3 seed boxes so I dont think there is anything it cant do. Will definitely be looking to seed more warm season native grasses next year. Clover is starting to germinate in the clover plots, would be nice to get a bit of rain to soften up that crust.

 

[Turkey Creek]

2 out of the 3 clover plots are looking decent, all things considered. Still need to hit them with some P & K. Most of the green in the picture is clover, I went with a 4 way blend that I put together .... figured I would see what did best and adjust reseeding going forward. The 3rd plot looks like the germination was not too hot which I am not sure why as they were all seeded the same day. Maybe soil type?

I want to hit them with Clethodim here shortly to remove the grass. It was formerly hay ground. It doesnt look like there is currently much for broadleaf "weeds" in the plots and I am not overly concerned about any of them.

 

[Turkey Creek]

This clover plot is the best of the 3. It is in the lowest lying area, so soil fertility is probably a bit better and moisture level currently is probably the best.



Direct seeded some Persimmons, Burr Oak and Dwarf Chinkapin Oaks and then put tree tubes over them at the same time. Last time I checked I was a little concerned that germination wasnt as good as I had hoped for. I had double seeded every tube figuring I could always cut the weaker of the 2 if they both germinated. Today I had at least one seedling growing in every tube. Persimmons



Burr Oak



One of 8 apples that we planted this Spring.



Apparently deer will browse Cottonwood trees as well this time of year! Going to have to cage them as well I guess. At least they grow fast and they should be above browse height in a couple of years.

 

[Turkey Creek]

OK so I got a little desperate! LOL I dont recommend it as a big plot tool but if you don't have the funds for a planter or drill or you have equipment issues like I did, it can work. I planted about 3/4 of an acre plot with this little booger. I have a 4' tiller which is what I broke ground for my plots with. This plot was previously farmed so it tilled up better. I would not try this in my other plot as it was hay ground and the sod clumps would make this undoable. You need a pretty smooth seed bed. We got 2.5" of rain on Monday, so I went and checked on it today. Germination is currently a bit spotty, but hopefully it fills in a bit. Need to get the deer fence up tomorrow!





4 rows of corn that I ran down the middle of this plot to kind of separate it a bit as a visual screen into 2 plots.




Soybeans coming up. I think I used an Okra plate. Worked good for multiple seed drop, but spacing between drops might be more than I will like. Planter plates should be here in a day or two and once the other plot dries out some I will try and get it planted with the regular planter.

 

[T-Max]

OK so I got a little desperate! LOL I dont recommend it as a big plot tool but if you don't have the funds for a planter or drill or you have equipment issues like I did, it can work. I planted about 3/4 of an acre plot with this little booger. I have a 4' tiller which is what I broke ground for my plots with. This plot was previously farmed so it tilled up better. I would not try this in my other plot as it was hay ground and the sod clumps would make this undoable. You need a pretty smooth seed bed. We got 2.5" of rain on Monday, so I went and checked on it today. Germination is currently a bit spotty, but hopefully it fills in a bit. Need to get the deer fence up tomorrow!



View attachment 53217

4 rows of corn that I ran down the middle of this plot to kind of separate it a bit as a visual screen into 2 plots.

View attachment 53215


Soybeans coming up. I think I used an Okra plate. Worked good for multiple seed drop, but spacing between drops might be more than I will like. Planter plates should be here in a day or two and once the other plot dries out some I will try and get it planted with the regular planter.

View attachment 53216

Put some trash whippers on that baby and go no-till!


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[Turkey Creek]

Put some trash whippers on that baby and go no-till!


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It was funny my wife knows me all too well. I said "I was just going to try it to see if it was going to work, thought I would just do a row or two." She said, "Yea, but then you started and you just said F' it. Since I have started I might as well do the entire plot!"

 

[goatman]

You can always add gps like the big boys. And find your way back to the house for lunch.

 

[Turkey Creek]

You can always add gps like the big boys. And find your way back to the house for lunch.
View attachment 53232

That might have helped keep my rows a little straighter! LOL

 

[Turkey Creek]

Sprayed the worst areas of the clover plots about a week ago with Clethodim and surfactant. Starting to see the grass turn now.

 

[Turkey Creek]

This is my bird plot, planted it with the garden seeder. 4 rows of sunflowers to the left, 4 rows of a sorghum/milo blend to the right. Strip of native plums down the middle. My intentions are to widen it over time. A double row of shrubs down the middle flanked by sunflowers, milo, and a rotating fallow strip. We will see how things go this year. Might have to go with RoundUp ready crops for a couple of years to knock the weed seed bank down a bit. I dont mind some weeds, but do want to have some of what I plant reach maturity.





Finally got the north plot in. A few rows of sunflowers on the left side, soybeans the majority of the plot and a few rows of corn on the right hand side. A small fruit tree plot at the far end and mast trees on the right side.



This long narrow plot connects where the elevated blind will be (on the far end in the tree line) to a bow stand basically in front of where the tractor would be in this photo. Bird plot ends in front of this stand as well, basically forming a wedge shape with the 2 plots. My hopes is that I can basically create a pinch point in front of this stand.

 

[Gravel Road]

Looks like a great plan. Your planter is pretty sweet.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

The seed varieties listed on the labels in the pic at post #66 should give you a SUPER native prairies plot. That's a great mix of goodies for all sorts of wildlife & pollinators, TC!!

 

[T-Max]

I must have missed post #66. Did you rent that drill and get your seed through KDWPT?


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[Turkey Creek]

I must have missed post #66. Did you rent that drill and get your seed through KDWPT?


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Borrowed the drill from KDWP and got the seed from them as well. I have a couple of other areas that I will drill some native forbs into next year. The KDWP biologist told me I was good to go, after I burned and sprayed my cool season grasses. However, I wish I would have sprayed it once this Spring and then hit the cool season grass hard again this Fall and drilled in the Spring next year. I dont think I got as good of a kill on the cool season grass as I would have liked.

 

[Turkey Creek]

Looks like a great plan. Your planter is pretty sweet.

Its a work in progress. I will need to tweak some things going forward, but its a fun project. I need some parts for the planter but it is nice to have. Someday I will go to all no-till drill, need to hit the lottery first though!