BSK and other experts or semi experts.........

[DannyVP]

I've got a new section of cut over to hunt on, the objective is to put a box blind on it and to start my son which will be 7, hunting on this spot. I know cutover can be great for several years of hunting. I want to make this the best it can be. The location is central Mississippi. So here are my questions.
1.I plan on spraying sweetgums as they come up, I was thinking roundup, should i spray little oaks also?
2. Should i hinge cut certain trees as they grow?
3. While there is bare ground exposed now,(on the hillsides and various places) should i plant varieties of clover?
4. I know all kinds of browse will grow, how do i ensure it does well and make sure it really takes off.

Any other tips?

 

[Football Hunter]

There is a betteer choice than round up for spraying saplings,some type of brush killer would do better.#1If you want to#2Clover sounds good#3Fertilizer and lime #4.You may get an answer from BSK if you PMail him.

 

[Diehard Hunter]

#1) what is the landowner hoping to regenerate. If they are wanting to grow oaks, you probably shoudn't spray them. if they are growing pines, they will burn and get rid of them in time. There are much better sprays for hardwoods than round-up, Check out Forestry Suppliers.

#2) what do you expect to gain from the hinge cutting? The cutover area will produce ample browse, and unless it was wind-rowed and burned, the tops left in the cut-over will probably supply ample security cover. Also, there may be a reason they left particular trees standing. If you remove the seed trees from a seed tree cut, the landowner would be miffed. If you are going to wait until some trees come in in their own, do it judiciously and select trees that are prone to stump sprouting and are also good for browse, but not good for timber.

#3) Planting clover would be a good idea in those areas if you can keep it from washing away. The clover (and any other legumes)will add nitrogen to the soil and help native plants to come in in time.

#4) The early successional plants will not need much help unless the soil is extremely poor. however, you may consider keeping it in an early successional stage using burning, mowing or spraying. Depending on the size of the cutover, you could have a variety of successional stages extending the time the cutover is most productive.

before you do anything to it, check with the landowner and see what their management plan is. You can have serious effects on their plan if you are not careful, and it could cost you the hunting spot. even if it is being allowed to come back on its own, you can influence the direction it takes and that may not be the direction the landowner wants.

 

[DannyVP]

The spot is forestery land, they are just growing pines. It will be 20 ft sweetgums if i let it and they wont care one way or another.
By hinge cutting i was wanting to increase browse of certain species.
I expect the soil to be around 5 ph. Basic pine land, grow em and cut em is all they do.

 

[Diehard Hunter]

Danny,

If they are growing pines, they will be burning to control the hardwoods. Spraying the sweetgums will take care of the, but so will burning in time.

Be careful hinge cutting. They stopped their clearcut at a particular place for a reason. There are protocols that must be followed with buffer zones, etc. If you get into the buffer zone, you can cause them some serious legal grief. The days of cutting all the way to the creek are over.

As for promoting browse, If your area is anything like what I have sen in Mississippi or Alabama, you will have plenty without the hinge cutting. My gosh your woods are thick down there. You may select which browse species to promote by removing species that are not as favorable, thus decreasing competition between species.

With a pH of 5, you would have to lime alot to get any crops to grow well. That being said, focus on small areas and create min-foodplots throughout the area.