Habitat Projects

Just in case some folks were wondering...sounds like Wallace Woodstock is looking at end of April for mast trees.  Like most folks, I'd like to get going but gotta be a little patient. 

On another note, has any one ever turned a 5 gallon bucket into a slow drip, tree watering contraption?  The bags I've seen are a little spendie. 

Ratoney

Well now that the ground is thawed (atleast in SE Wi) tree nurseries should be getting in gear to start shipping trees, I'm excited I'm trying the place in Cambridge this year, about 150 trees. Unfortunately the deer have hit the evergreens I planted last year recently. Honestly didn't think they would touch them. So much crops and better browse around me. But I live by the 1/3 rule of nature. Plant a third for you, third for nature, third for weather. You can't fight it, but try to plan for it.

Hey, there's a bright side to every dark cloud. You don't have to listen to some over paid weatherman saying we're in a drought. Lol. Yeah, it is a wee bit muddy. You could prune your fruit trees, it's the tail end of the season for it, but you could still feasible do it. Pruned mine last week. Now my family is fighting the flu. Blah, it sucks.

I've got some chicken wire that I'll be using to protrect the trays when they are outside.  Learned that the hard way a couple years ago.  Luckily I don't have many squirrels around, but it was still a pain to lose a few.  And yes, those are rootmaker 18cell trays.  Not sure where I got them from, I've had them a few years ago.

Great looking chinese youngsters there, Great Outdoors. Careful you remove the remains of the nuts before you transplant outside. The chippies and squirrels will destroy your plants trying to remove the nuts. They're merciless. Are those rootmaker pots, where did you purchase them? Good luck.

Here are my Chinese chestnut trees at 6 weeks or so.  I'll be starting to acclimate them to the outside as soon as we get some typical spring weather.  Some will get planted late May to avoid frost and I'll keep some at my house for the summer and fall plant. 

No worries River, Im glad people on this forum are glad to help w knowledge. Good stewardsof the Earth should always be open to new ideas and thoughts, the land and its critters always benefit. Another invasive around my neck of the woods is Honeysuckle. Its about 8' and very bushy with tan bark and stringy type wood. Treat it as any invasive, cut it down flush and apply herbacide. Killing the invasives on my property is my passion. Another tool I just aquired is a cordless sawzall 18v lithium. AWESOME in breaking down all those evil plants quickly and quietly, especially with larger amp hour batteries. Helps the long hours on your hands.

3Boys,Sounds like youre on top of it.   Russian Olive is another invasive here I wage war on. Hard to control when the neighbors dont seem to care what grows on their land.

Evening River Chaser, actually right now is a great time to cut down Buckthorn, in book anytime is a great time to kill Buckthorn. Have no fear, I use a product.that contains 47% Glyphosphate, waay more than even Roundup contains. I dilute it 1/3rd in a small handheld sprayer. Ater I cut it flush with the ground I immediately spray the stump till its wet. IT WILL NOT LIVE. It's a technique I've used for years. For those on a budget, girdle the trunk in summer before the berries are formed, atleast it won't spread they're evil seeds. Then save up for herbacide wait till you have time to properly cut it down, remember to spray the stump. These shrub/trees from hell sucker profusely. Buy the strongest herbacide containing the highest amount of Glyphosphate you can afford, mix w a surfactant, a little diesel works, and a little food coloring for on the cheap. Wear gloves. As you can tell, I have no love for buckthorn. 

If youre cutting buckthorn it will grow back.  You need to take full strenght roundup or some other killer and apply it with a paintbrush to the  top of stumps. Do it again a week later. Do thuis during the growing season, not now, wait til may or june. A few will still grow back in the following years so then reapply your weed killer a second or third time if needed.

The paint brush is a good method since it focuses the poison on the tree and not the surrounding soil, allowing other plants to grow and take over.

I'm wondering if anyone has any information pertaining to the application of pelletized lime vs. standard bulk lime?  My understanding is that the pelletized product, due to its properties,  can be applied at much lower poundage per acre than "standard" lime. I'm wanting to convert standard to pelletized based upon my soil test results as I only have the capacity to apply pelletized lime.

Thanks in advance for any feedback!

Morning Bluefin, is the site called "habitat talk.com" Im interested to find it. Thank you for any more info. Have a great day.

I agree, although the warm spell the last few weeks allowed me to cut a lot of buckthorn down and clean up some last remaining tires and garbage. Funny though the deer don't seem to care about it, but seems I'm seeing more deer on the property since I started restoration of the property. In all seriousness though guys, the up/down weather pattern of last month and a half does have a up side. It's killing a lot of bugs/ticks. Got a little warm, they came out and bam the cold knocked them back, and repeated a couple times. Ticks can severely effect fawn development and effect adult deer health. Recent studies have shown this is actually getting worse. Hate to open a can of worms but even having small carnivores can help break the larval nymph and sub adult/ mouse connection cycle of ticks by preying on mice. Don't trap or shoot all your carnivores, they're the ones eating the tick Infested mice. Chin up guys, winter won't last forever.

Just did some hinge cutting for the 1st time.  Did not do a lot.  Want to see if how I am doing it works prior to cutting more trees.