I don't know where this discussion goes

1930 · Mar 13, 2019

Maybe another forum? Seems like no general discussion forum here?

Anyway I've been wondering ever since buying the land (2013) that nothing seems to grow healthy but pine trees.

I don't like pine trees, planned on removing them from the get go.

Visited my local extension office and asked them why no other healthy trees, they told me might be the pine needles, ( the area is called piney acres on the platte )

They told me to send in a soil sample.

Reading online just now and I've read confirmative words that say pine trees kill everything around the.

They are acidic?

I've read lime is needed to make the soil balanced after the trees and needles have been removed.

Can anyone here add to this?

52wej · Mar 13, 2019

You are in a very sandy soiled area and the soils are typically acidic. What kind the of pines are growing? Go look in the general area and see if you see any other varieties of trees. You will need to look at your county soils map which can provide you more information about the soils on your particular property. That will tell you what options you have. Some trees do produce toxins that suppress the growth of competing trees. Here in central VA the native pines do grow well with other varieties of trees. but we have very different soils. W Jones

1930 · Mar 13, 2019

Lots of blackjack oak trees, other varieties of oaks as well.

On my property they come up out of the ground healthy and as green as anyone could wish but as they get taller the leaves turn black/brown and the tree dies.

My nearest neighbor (just across the way ) has the oak trees as well and no pine and his trees are massive and healthy

thepumpguysc · Mar 13, 2019

I have heard & experienced the same.. BUT I've never done anything about it..
Right now my land, 2 acres, is completely bordered w/ them & the grass is dying or dead.. there are afew well established Oaks scattered in there..

1930 · Mar 13, 2019

thepumpguysc said:
I have heard & experienced the same.. BUT I've never done anything about it..
Right now my land, 2 acres, is completely bordered w/ them & the grass is dying or dead.. there are afew well established Oaks scattered in there..

Will you please do something about it and tell me what works

HillStreet · Mar 13, 2019

Do the soil samples first, then the university extension can advise you from there.

oosik · Mar 13, 2019

I have 80 acres here in SW Spokane county, WA. My soil is jet black, totally organic and quite acid. The major tree type - Ponderosa pine.

However, I also have native - alder, popular, quaken asp & birch.

My situation is not so much the acid soil but that it's so bloody dry, all the time.

I've planted - Mt Ash, Oak, Hawthorn, Crimson King Maple, Weeping Willow, Apple, Peach, Cherry, Pear, Flowering Cherry.

They all do well - if I keep them watered. This means constantly - spring thru late fall.

This means any plantings out in the middle of my 80 will end up being a real PITA. Continually hauling water.

Now, I plant down at the ends of my lakes and in the "moat" area. These areas are naturally wet, year round. The trees do well in these locations.

TheMadOne · Mar 13, 2019

Not really. Pines leave the soil acidic. Depending on just how acidic you could grow potatoes.

If that's not what you want to do then you need to amend the soil chemistry with a base, ie lime.

You're not going to pull a wet lime spreader with a L2501. So your choices are dry or pelleted.

Dry is applied using a drop spreader. Can usually find a used one 8' or 10' wide for a few hundred.

Pros-dry lime is cheap, spreader is simple. Pulled using the drawbar, no 3pt hookup to worry about, no PTO shaft.

Cons-dry lime can very quickly become wet lime if you're not careful about storage. You only get lime on the areas you actually drive over with the spreader. The spreader is pull type and is 8' or 10' wide, so is difficult to maneuver.

Pelleted is spread using a broadcast spreader, usually one that also spreads fertilizer. You can get a new 3pt one for less than a thousand. Be careful when choosing, as some of them do not have the weight rating for lime.

Pros-broadcast spreader means that you don't have to get as close to obsolesces, and is much easier to maneuver around them.

Cons-much more expensive than dry lime. Can also turn into wet lime, though is less prone to do so. Spreader uses a PTO hookup and 3pt instead of a simple hitch on the drawbar. Good luck finding the edge of your last pass.

Those are your options for putting down lime yourself. Depending on how large an area you have to do you might be better off just hiring it done by someone with a wet lime spreader.

Citydude · Mar 13, 2019

We have ponderosa, birch and aspen. We got a letter from the South Dakota department of agriculture last year stating that there has been a 60% decline in aspen in the Blackhills and want to schedule a site visit to see what we can do to improve the aspen growth. We will have them out this summer and see what they have to say. I really like the aspen, birch is OK but the seedling ponderosa's are getting out of control. We do plan on thinning out the small ponderosa's and if the state is offering assistance, were going for it.