Anyone with Tree Farming Experience?

[AceDeuce]

Well, my wife and I have finally decided to move forward with starting a hardwood plantation on our property in WNY. I've done the research, bought the seedlings and planned a weekend in late April to hopefully put 250 trees in the ground as a "test". I have an L2250 w/ loader, bushhog, box blade, and disc at my disposal to assist with the prep work. There's also a snowblower but if I need that, well, I don't think I'll be planting that weekend!

I was thinking about just bushogging the field (overgrown pasture) to knock down the weeds but more recently have considered using a disc or even a box blade instead. I don't want to do more prep work than is necessary or disturb the ground if I don't have to but I also want to give the trees as good of a start as possible within the time available to do the work (2-3 days total).

Does anyone out there have any advice to share that might save me trouble?

 

[dangerdoc]

Well, my wife and I have finally decided to move forward with starting a hardwood plantation on our property in WNY. I've done the research, bought the seedlings and planned a weekend in late April to hopefully put 250 trees in the ground as a "test". I have an L2250 w/ loader, bushhog, box blade, and disc at my disposal to assist with the prep work. There's also a snowblower but if I need that, well, I don't think I'll be planting that weekend!

I was thinking about just bushogging the field (overgrown pasture) to knock down the weeds but more recently have considered using a disc or even a box blade instead. I don't want to do more prep work than is necessary or disturb the ground if I don't have to but I also want to give the trees as good of a start as possible within the time available to do the work (2-3 days total).

Does anyone out there have any advice to share that might save me trouble?

Make sure you have a good deer proof fence.

 

[MarkV]

I’d get a soil test done to see what amendments may be needed for the soil.

MarkV

 

[Kubota 2007]

I have a tree farm in NE PA I've tried fruit trees,don't do well acid in soil, coal regon. I have mostly red oak,Cherry and Hard Maple.The deer are hard on everything. What grows best is evergreen trees. They thrive on acid, seedlings are mostly covered by snow and deer can't feed on them. I plant many different types and they add color to the dead woods in winter.

 

[Ranger Rick]

You might want to consider putting tree shelter tubes over your tree seedlings. They protect the tree from the deer and provide extra warmth and moisture to the tree. I would just bush hog the field and tube the trees. They will do fine.
Ranger Rick

 

[AceDeuce]

I'm glad to see others with similar thoughts.

We'll be planting Black Walnut, Black Cherry and Sugar [Hard] Maple. All indigenous to the area. No fruit trees. (Black cherry is not really a "fruit" tree). We may look at putting in some Red Oak next season if the "test" goes well.

Ironically, there are already lots of pines on the property from an old Christmas tree farm. The plan is to leave them alone for the time being but we aren't going to plant any more - even though they do well in the soil up there. Since hardwoods fetch many times the lumber price of pine, the whole idea is to pass on something of value to my kids and someday theirs.

Ranger Rick, I think I'm right on target with your suggestion. I had already planned on using 5' tree shelters specifically to combat the deer. I've noticed heavy browsing in the area and it was a big concern.

Kubota 2007, do you plant your own trees? How many trees could I expect to plant per hour using a planting bar in a two-man operation? I have my own estimate, which I used to curtail the number of trees I ordered, but I can find any metrics published anywhere.

 

[RobJ]

We have a lot of pine forest around here. First as you have done make sure it's a tree that will grow in that area. Pines are the big cash crop around east texas. I'm gonna guess bringing in a black walnut or red oak to the market will take 20-30 years? In 30 years you can plant, harvest, plant pines about 3-4 times. Which might bring more cash in the long run.

I think you can plant at least a tree a minute. The big farms around here use this big roller with spikes on it, then about 50 guys with seedlings on their hips. Drop on in the hole and kick it to cover it up. You can probably speed up the growing by putting out some fertilizer every now and then, even water if you need to. I would also only mow, you probably are not going to see those trees for several years anyway until the shoot up. The pine seedlings can't be more than 10" tall.

Sounds fun!

 

[ampsucker]

i think something like this might be helpful ;-)

they recommend significantly more site prep than you are planning for. i would also think you might need some type of irrigation plan and deer fencing or deterrent. search this site and google to find lots of info on deer deterrent. single strand electric fence may be your easiest bet depending on your configuration.

without any site prep, water, or predator control, i would expect about a 15-35% survival rate and very slow growth the first few years. that number could go way down if summer drought catches them or up a bit if you have a particularly good year and the deer can find something tastier to munch on.

i would think keeping the deer out, keeping the already established weed and grass competitors down and irrigating would be your largest concerns.

good luck!

 

[coog]

Great link,Ampsucker.I have a place in Chautauqua County.I am currently using my M7040 to undo what nature has wrought over the last 20 years...cedar,hedge,plum, etc. Some of the ground is tillable, but the majority is better suited to forestry.Do you farm down here?

 

[ampsucker]

hey, nice to meet cha, neighbor!

i don't think anyone would call what i do "farming" by any stretch! we have about four acres and i'm trying to undue what man has done to my nature! our little subdivision (sounds fancy but it's not) used to be pasture. the previous owners lived here 27 years (first owners of the house) so the oldest trees are about that old. i'm trying to get some natural kansas trees back in, start some windbreaks, get in some fruit trees and a little garden. that's about it.

i was very close to ordering about 250 trees/shrubs from k-state this past winter, but good thing i didn't as getting the garden in and keeping up with a 6 month old is about all this old man could handle. maybe next year??? i might scale back and try something smaller that i can manage to keep the deer away from. plus, it'll give me a chance to do better site prep this year and try to actually kill off some of the bermuda and weeds that infest around these parts.

how bout you? farming and living the good life over by Sedan? i could use some hedge apples to get a little grove started. plum and cedar were some of the saplings i was planning to order from k-state! sounds like we should swap!

k-state has a lot of info on their website for guys like us. depending on your location, you might want to leave some evergreens and plum for wild life and snow fence/wind break to protect your crops or herds. i never noticed it until i started looking for it, but lots of the big pastures in kansas have a large row of trees for windbreak service and to keep the snow drifted up outside of the feed lots. helps lower your utility bills too if you have a house or barn!

amp