Hardwood seedling plantation

[tn droptine]

I've been looking into getting some seedlings to plant from the Dept of Ag (quite a few - probably a couple of thousand by the time I am done) in another couple of years to turn about five or six acres of my pasture into a plantation planted hardwood. Has anyone tried doing this? The only fear I have is attrition based off of the past few summers lack of rain. Would it be advisable to plant the seedlings in a bucket the first year (sounds like a ton of cost)? Also, what would be a good mix to go with? I am planning on some oaks and persimmons. It'll be a ton of work, and I might not be around to see many of the hunting benefits, but I think it will be worth it in the long run.

 

[Football Hunter]

and deer will browse and rub on em,thats a lot of trees to try and protect.

 

[tn droptine]

Yeah, that is a good point, I planted a weeping willow tree last spring near my pond and did not protect it any - buck came thru and killed it last fall, tore the bark all the way around it and nearly snapped it in two.

This year I learned my lesson and drove t-posts down around the fruit trees I planted. Next month when I get home I'm putting chicken wire around them (if they aren't dead from the lack of rain).

 

[Gravey]

I've thought many times about doing that in my back field which is about 1.5 acres but the deer would eat and rub them all where most wouldn't make it. I planted 13 little seedlings around my house a few years back and the deer killed all but 2 and that's because I eventually put t-posts & chicken wire around them. I planted 4 more this year and will be putting something around those too.

 

[TNlandowner]

TN Droptine,

Check with your area forester and County NRCS office. The NRCS office helped me with the Environmental Quality Incentives Program that paid 50% cost-share for "reforesting" 5 acres of former hay field on my farm. We planted sawtooth and nutall Oaks using a machine planter at 10' spacing. The trees are now four years old and 6' - 10' tall. I expect to see acorns in the next 3-4 years.

Lessons learned:

1. Kill all plants before planting! If possible: Spray, till, spray,till, spray, till, and spray one more time for good measure. Old grass seed lies dormant for a long time!

2. Don't plant wider than 10' spacing. Dry spells, moles (yes, they will follow the row planter trail), deer, beetles, and all sorts of evil things happen to young sapplings. After four years, my survivors are spaced about 20' apart. (perfect)

3. Grass and maples will aggressively invade your seddling planting. Maybe not so much if you you can address my first tip. If needed, Clethodim (Rural King has good pricing) will kill the grasses without hurting the seedlings. Mowing or spot removal works best for the invasive trees.

Good luck!

JH

 

[Jarred525]

TN Droptine,

Check with your area forester and County NRCS office. The NRCS office helped me with the Environmental Quality Incentives Program that paid 50% cost-share for "reforesting" 5 acres of former hay field on my farm. We planted sawtooth and nutall Oaks using a machine planter at 10' spacing. The trees are now four years old and 6' - 10' tall. I expect to see acorns in the next 3-4 years.

Lessons learned:

1. Kill all plants before planting! If possible: Spray, till, spray,till, spray, till, and spray one more time for good measure. Old grass seed lies dormant for a long time!

2. Don't plant wider than 10' spacing. Dry spells, moles (yes, they will follow the row planter trail), deer, beetles, and all sorts of evil things happen to young sapplings. After four years, my survivors are spaced about 20' apart. (perfect)

3. Grass and maples will aggressively invade your seddling planting. Maybe not so much if you you can address my first tip. If needed, Clethodim (Rural King has good pricing) will kill the grasses without hurting the seedlings. Mowing or spot removal works best for the invasive trees.

Good luck!

JH

Good post.

Another thought is to may be split it up into multiple plantings over a few years time. Will lower your risk a bit.

I use 5ft tree tubes. I think they work well. Have not had deer mess with them (yet).

 

[nwsg76]

Call Mike Hansbrough-NRCS biologist in west TN. 931-668-0700 x 112. There are several programs out that can help. He can guide you in choosing the best one to fit your situation. Some may pay up to 90%.

 

[treefarmer]

18 years ago I planted 1-1/4 acres of 12-18" tall crabapple and persimmon seedlings on a 20'x20' spacing with only a small flag to identify them. The deer browsing and rubbing only cost me a few seedlings but I had good success without protection or watering. Each year I spent 3 days finding the seedlings and cutting out the competing brush with a clearing saw. Finally I used roundup in a hand held sprayer and won the brush war. I now use a disc and plant wheat/clover between the trees in August. It took many years for the seedlings to grow much due to the competition but are now doing well. I lose a few each year so every so often I plant new ones and experiment with different types of trees. I have used tree tubes for some and they work great but cost about $2.50 each so I wouldn't use them on a large planting of seedlings. I am planning a several thousand seedling planting of shrubs/small trees in a year and I won't use tubes but I will use mulch made from a chipper I have which will also help mark the trees and I plan to water them one way or another if it doesn't rain. I am going to buy TN Dept. of Forestry seedlings if they have what I need.

 

[tn droptine]

Yeah, the Dept of Forestry seedlings is what I plan on using as well - cant beat it for price. Glad to hear you had some success with your planting treefarmer!

 

[tn droptine]

Call Mike Hansbrough-NRCS biologist in west TN. 931-668-0700 x 112. There are several programs out that can help. He can guide you in choosing the best one to fit your situation. Some may pay up to 90%.

Good to know, thanks for the info!!!

 

[tn droptine]

TN Droptine,

Check with your area forester and County NRCS office. The NRCS office helped me with the Environmental Quality Incentives Program that paid 50% cost-share for "reforesting" 5 acres of former hay field on my farm. We planted sawtooth and nutall Oaks using a machine planter at 10' spacing. The trees are now four years old and 6' - 10' tall. I expect to see acorns in the next 3-4 years.

Lessons learned:

1. Kill all plants before planting! If possible: Spray, till, spray,till, spray, till, and spray one more time for good measure. Old grass seed lies dormant for a long time!

2. Don't plant wider than 10' spacing. Dry spells, moles (yes, they will follow the row planter trail), deer, beetles, and all sorts of evil things happen to young sapplings. After four years, my survivors are spaced about 20' apart. (perfect)

3. Grass and maples will aggressively invade your seddling planting. Maybe not so much if you you can address my first tip. If needed, Clethodim (Rural King has good pricing) will kill the grasses without hurting the seedlings. Mowing or spot removal works best for the invasive trees.

Good luck!

JH

Good points, thanks!

 

[TNlandowner]

Call Mike Hansbrough-NRCS biologist in west TN. 931-668-0700 x 112. There are several programs out that can help. He can guide you in choosing the best one to fit your situation. Some may pay up to 90%.

WOW, 90% funding assistance? That is great information. I'm going to vist our County NRCS team and get back in line for new projects