Who's working in the woods this weekend?

[TreeDaddy]

Packers will be working in the woods next weekend

bill

 

[Tap]

I picked up some deerstopper, anyone use it?

I use it on my yard shrubs. Works well...when I actually use it. Seems like I don't get around to applying it until after the deer have started hitting my bushes.
You have to be proactive with the stuff.

SW Pa

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Alldaysit, post #37 - Those " sidewalks " work. I run our riding mower between apple tree locations and from heavy cover to plots. The deer use them !! I mowed between a spot with 3 apple trees and another 6 apple trees about 70 yds. away, and what was ferns and briars is now mostly grass. The deer walk on that path instead of plowing through the ferns and brambles. Good stand set-up.

Boone, post #38 - Spruce stripping pic. Been there. Don't give up on them. Many times they sprout new growth and - while badly shaped for a few years - they usually come back. We have some " rub victims " at camp. Still growing.

 

[nateb440]

Tubed around 40 trees Friday. I had planted a bunch of sawtooth and white oak that I flagged but never protected. So I took a bunch of my tubes and cut them in half. The temporary protection from browsingnlate winter will hopefully get them through until I can cage them. I've got a ton to do. Mostly chainsaw work to release a lot of these struggling little seedlings. Good news is I have a lot of chestnuts that are alive and almost all my oaks are doing ok. They really just need some light. I've got 250 trees coming mid February so I've got some work to do to prepare for them. Sure was nice to get outside in the warm weather though.

 

[bueller]

Thankfully the snow had melted down just enough by Saturday that I was able to get my little 2x4 ATV around on our trails. First time using the terrain sports sled I bought (similar to a jet sled for those ice fishermen out there). I loaded the sled up with a 5 gallon gas can, chainsaw, leaf blower, and other crap and it pulled great behind the ATV. It even floated and stayed upright through some big puddles in the low spots. Best part was in between tending to the burning brush pile my 8 year old sat in the sled while I pulled it around on the trails. He loved every second of it.

In addition to burning brush I found enough time to trim any oak branches overhanging on my trails. This must be done during winter to help prevent the spread of oak wilt.

 

[Someday isle]

40 degrees here yesterday and dry for over a week. I got out yesterday and four hours and three tanks of gas later I had blown all of the leaves off of half my food plot trails. While there was some winter rye peeking out through the leaves it was nice to see quite of bit of rye underneath along with some clover that had gotten started this fall. Hopefully getting the
leaves off will give the deer more to eat and give the clover a better start in the spring. We've got lots of 40-60 degree days in the two week forecast and then we'll be pushing up on March already. It's going to be 60 next weekend so I'll finish up my trails and then start putting some lime down. After that it's time to try my hand at hinge cutting.

Did anyone else get out this weekend?

 

[H20fwler]

I had to work this weekend, so tomorrow I'm heading out to do a little work at the farm.
Next weekend I am getting the Stihl out and doing battle with a few locust trees that are going to be giving their all for spring/summer cookouts!

 

[4wanderingeyes]

I went out and walked my land, I found lots of deer beds under any pine or evergreen tree. Must have seen 75 beds. I hinge cut about 50 trees to open my food plot up a little more. Nothing in my food plots, but there is a crunchy layer of ice and snow on top, with 4 inches of powder snow, then about 6 inches of hard crunchy snow underneath. It was difficult for me to dig to the bottom, so I don't expect deer to dig down either. I was rather impressed with all of the deer beds, considering it just got 6 inches of snow on Monday.


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[loshonhora]

My dad and I cut and treated a whole mess of grape vines. About three more good weekend's should do it.

 

[Tap]

My dad and I cut and treated a whole mess of grape vines. About three more good weekend's should do it.

Kill those grape vines.

W. Pa.

 

[cavey]

"Kill those grape vines."

Wild grapes - A part from those that grow up on my good trees ( which I pull down), I kind of like them... around here they are common but not out of control and are a very good source of food for the turkeys/pheasants I love to hunt. I even try and get them growing on my fencing... I'm even going to try and trellis some into a few little living hedge rows...

 

[Knehrke]

I sprayed PlantSkydd on my evergreens after a buddy walking the property looking for sheds yesterday told me that the deer had been up to their normal mischief, despite mesh cages and bud caps.

Interestingly, there's an area where the grape vines mingle freely with the dogwood and the amount of birds in that area was unbelievable, all fall and right into the winter.

 

[Tap]

"Kill those grape vines."

Wild grapes - A part from those that grow up on my good trees ( which I pull down), I kind of like them... around here they are common but not out of control and are a very good source of food for the turkeys/pheasants I love to hunt. I even try and get them growing on my fencing... I'm even going to try and trellis some into a few little living hedge rows...

The topic of grape vines seems to come up a few time every year on forums. There were quite a few threads about it on that old site.

I can only speak for what I've seen over the last 30 years in the W. Pa, E. Ohio region so I have no idea if grapes may be as troublesome in other regions of the country.
I've watched grapes start out as a slow, limited invasion in the area. At 1st, they didn't seem like a big deal and I actually liked having some around.
Now, they are becoming a major invasive. I remember what it looked like when my hayfields were in the early stages of reverting to brushy cover. I had hundreds of wild crabs, hawthorn and raspberry developing. The areas were quite promising for wildlife habitat.
Then came the grapes. They will climb and smother everything. I see vines with 5 to 6 inch diameters climbing and smothering 100 feet up oak trees. They rob nutrients, moisture and sunlight from surrounding trees. The amount of time and labor that I spend each year trying to save my wild and planted mast trees from slow death by vines is extremely frustrating. I lose valuable, limited time that I could better spend on other habitat projects.

Hinge cutting is another issue when grapes are present. It's difficult, if not impossible to hinge trees that are tangled in vines. It's exhausting sometimes trying to hinge just 1 tree. I accomplish only a fraction of what I could if I wasn't trying to deal with vines.

Another issue with grapes... They make felling larger trees dangerous. Trees hang-up, twist while falling, hinges fail, the vines pull down widow makers, just to name a few hazards that vines pose.

They also climb utility poles and grow across phone and cable wires.

I assume that there is more than 1 species of wild-growing grape. Maybe some varieties, in some climates may never be a problem.
But I'm here to tell you, that the ones growing in this region are the kind of trouble that I wouldn't wish on anyone. And you may have full plans on keeping them contained to certain areas of your property, but that that just isn't possible. Birds will plant them on other properties that you don't own.
If you'd like to see some pics I can post them. Just ask.

 

[Appleman]

Spent a good part of both days pruning my commercial orchard. Checked vole guards to to make sure they are properly in place. Temps in the mid-20's, not a bad day to be outside.

 

[Bluecollaroutdoors]

Blasted a shooting lane I have been talking about for 5 yrs today. Also opening up a trail that had grown shot leading deer broadside through all the lanes on the stand.

 

[cavey]

"Now, they are becoming a major invasive. I remember what it looked like when my hayfields were in the early stages of reverting to brushy cover."

No need to show pics, I dont doubt you have a big head ache,... We just dont seem to see them in the numbers your talking about,... different variety? - an invasive Im assuming maybe.. they pop up in my crp fields and you can walk the woods and find one here and there but they just are not and major issue here in NW Wisconsin, Im speaking for myself on that part (others may have issues) but apart from you point of dropping entangled timber and what they can do to good timber trees (girthing) which is very true... around here they manly persist along field edges and brush lines where good timber trees are rare and just add to the mix of cover and food for the local wildlife.
They have been around for as long as I remember and have not taken over up here. I would not want to have what your dealing with by any means...I just have seen ours as a valuable source of additional food and one that can be planted and controlled in a way that can add to a properties ability to support more and more wildlife.

We all have our weed plants - Im just trying to make them work for me...

 

[Tap]

"Now, they are becoming a major invasive. I remember what it looked like when my hayfields were in the early stages of reverting to brushy cover."

No need to show pics, I dont doubt you have a big head ache,... We just dont seem to see them in the numbers your talking about,... different variety? - an invasive Im assuming maybe.. they pop up in my crp fields and you can walk the woods and find one here and there but they just are not and major issue here in NW Wisconsin, Im speaking for myself on that part (others may have issues) but apart from you point of dropping entangled timber and what they can do to good timber trees (girthing) which is very true... around here they manly persist along field edges and brush lines where good timber trees are rare and just add to the mix of cover and food for the local wildlife.
They have been around for as long as I remember and have not taken over up here. I would not want to have what your dealing with by any means...I just have seen ours as a valuable source of additional food and one that can be planted and controlled in a way that can add to a properties ability to support more and more wildlife.

We all have our weed plants - Im just trying to make them work for me...

They USED to be that way around here, too. They were always present but were never out of control. But something has changed in the last 15 or 20 years. I gotta think that it's a different variety that has moved in.
So just be aware that, apparently, not all varieties are created equal. Pray that you never get the kind we have.
And if you ever find that they are becoming an issue, just cutting them is NOT the way to go. They will sucker and become even more of a problem...if you're gonna cut them, you'll need to also treat the cut with herbicide.

W. Pa.

 

[SIL hunter]

My son and I went to our ground Sunday morning, started off with a coyote calling set, called one in but missed. Followed that up with frost seeding our clover plots, then got the 3 cameras we still had up( the deer are hammering the winter wheat right now), trimmed up some apple tree's, went to a thicket with some pink ribbon and laid out a "deer side walk", then finished up with a walk to set up a few area for some hinge cutting. Heading back this Saturday to cut out the side walk and start hinge cutting and probably a poker game with the neighbors that evening. It will be getting green before you know it!

 

[Someday isle]

I made it out again today. We got a few loads of gravel on the road and I finished blowing all of the leaves off of my food plot trails. There's rye still available on every trail but it's only about 2 inches high. They're keeping it mowed nicely. In some places it doesn't look like my clover got much of a start but in others it's really got a nice foothold already. I figure I'll frost seed the more sparse areas. I've got a full weekend next week but hopefully will get some lime put down the following week and then get some hinge cutting and frost seeding underway. The problem with standing and blowing leaves all day is my project dream list is getting longer.

I used the LC cereal grain mix last year minus the winter peas. I went with 50lbs of rye, 56 lbs of oats, a blend of medium red and ladino clovers and 5 lbs of radish. Next year I'll add in the peas but also Laos,up more on the rye. It's done remarkably well but I can see there would have been room for even more lbs per acre. I still have some soil amending to do before I change things up any more than that. Hopefully I'll have some nice rye and clover pictures to share this spring.

 

[Appleman]

Wild weather here in Northwestern Vermont this weekend. Spent the better part of Sunday pruning in the orchard. By late afternoon the biggest snow storm of the season rolled in and packed it in for the day by 4:00 pm before I get snowed in. Next weekend should be widening our food plot w/ skidder a mile back in on our property to prepare for 25 Franklin Cider trees and expand our food plot. Its been an easy winter for Vermont wildlife and with a warm up soon on the way and the excellent health of the herd should be another exciting season.