Clearing land - Forestry mulching
cricket5050
10 years ago
Featured Answer
Sort by:Oldest
Comments (22)
jdez
10 years agocricket5050
10 years agoRelated Discussions
Southeast MS Forestry 100 Years Ago
Comments (44)Pam, the magnolia tree in the picture was the champ for MS before they found a tree in Jones County that got more points - it isn't as tall as the Benndale tree, but it has a considerably bigger spread, and is the national champion. I've seen the picture of the Jones County tree, and it looks to me like two mag grands that have merged, so, as far as I'm concerned, the Benndale tree is the national champion, at least it was before the hurricane, when it had a huge canopy. I took this picture of what was left of the canopy after the storm - pitiful! Once hunting season is over and it's been dry long enough that I won't bog down on the dirt roads you have to drive on to get to the tree, I'll go see how many and how big its new branches are. Another giant swallowtail has emerged today. I keep my chrysalids in my unheated guest bedroom with the door shut, and I think the very cold weather we had followed by this warm spell has made a few of them "think" it's spring! Giant swallowtails start off life as eggs on the leaf of a member of the citrus family, which can be cultivated fruit trees, or cold hardy host plants like hops tree/ptelea trifoliata, hercules club/zanthoxylum clava-herculis, prickly-ash/z. americanum, and rue/ruta graveolens. The egg hatches out a caterpillar, which eats the leaves of its host plant until it grows to a certain size, at which point it pupates and becomes a chrysalid. Caterpillars usually wander off the host plant to a nearby tree or shrub or other structure, so chrysalids are usually found in nature somewhere close to the host plant, but my chrysalids come from caterpillars I raise myself in ventilated cages on my porch to keep them safe from predators. When I find an early instar (very small) caterpillar on the host plant, I cut the leaf with the caterpillar off (or sometimes an entire small branch) and put it in a water pick, which is a little plastic thing that you put water in to keep the cuttings fresh, sort of like little "vases." They form their chrysalids on the inside of their roomy cages - outside, a big percentage of chrysalids are lost to the ravages of the weather and predators, so keeping them inside gives me plenty to release each spring, more than would naturally occur. By keeping them in a cool/cold but not freezing room, most of them don't emerge until late February, March or April, but there are always a few that emerge too soon, like these two. Here's a picture I made last year of some pupating giant swallowtail caterpillars - the first and third things from the right are giant swallowtail chrysalids, which is what the butterfly in the picture came out of. The brown and white scrunched up caterpillars are pupating, soon to become chrysalids. Once spring has set in for good, I'll be working outside a lot, but I'm sure I'll still post on the Butterfly AND Tree Forums. Hurricane Katrina really got me into the 'tree business' and I know I'll continue to want to ask questions and share my experiences with other tree lovers. Most butterfly host plants are trees, so the two go together. On another thread on this forum where elm trees are discussed, a poster asked me why I chose one type of American elm over another type - well, shape doesn't matter too much in the woods, but elms are a host plant for question marks and several other butterflies and moths, so shape was the last thing on my mind when I ordered mine! :) And I sure hope you'll keep us posted about your big tree project, Pam! Sherry...See MoreNeighbors Unhappy with Land Clearing
Comments (56)I thoroughly enjoyed my Land Use class in law school reading 100's of cases of issues similar to this. Now building my home and dealing with our town conversation commission isn't as enjoyable. Jules could probably explore legal remedies, but I agree it most likely isn't worth the money unless you land is truly unsellable and worth a great deal. As trained lawyer (I don't practice) I advise most people away from legal remedies. My husband doesn't agree, hence we have pending action against our original engineer who was not as he claimed and did not fulfill his contract and it has gotten us absolutely nowhere....See Morebest way to clear wooded land & preserve soil
Comments (25)We've done a good deal of clearing over the years. There is a big difference in stripping out an old growth forest and clearing out brush and "weed" trees. Most places, its natural for young growth to "burn out" occasionally. Sucker and colony trees, like Quaking Aspen, live mostly underground and will actually benefit from burning out the area and removing competition. We found that the best way to handle stumps is to dig a deep hole (think 10 feet at least) and to push all the trees and brush into the hole with the stumps. The "earth" walls of the hole will insulate the fire and create a much hotter fire than a surface burn. This will significantly improve how much the brush and stumps burn down and shield the heat from surrounding flora (a hot surface burn can kill trees more than 20 feet away). After the burn, fill in all but the top foot or so and compacting with the excavator bucket every couple of feet; then return the top soil and lightly compact. You will still get a depression over the next few years from the final decomposition. I prefer to surface burn everything, then bury the stumps more than 6 feet deep. I even out the ash pile with a box scraper, then disc the soil before planting. You need to bury the stumps below the frost line or else the frost may eventually return them to the surface before they fully compost. As far as brush, remember the 2-2-2 rule; any branch or stick 2 inches or less in diameter within 2 inches of the ground should be decomposed within 2 years. If you don't fully burn your brush pile, the decomposition may rob the soil of nitrogen and you won't get the growth you'd expect from deep rooted plants. You can tell if your having too much decomposition if you dig a post hole and it smells like manure. Just to be safe I would plant an nitrogen fixing cover crop the first year. Talk to your conservation office to make sure the plants you put in aren't invasive in your area. Even native plants can be invasive or bad for your goals if left unchecked. Also make sure you check with your local conservation people to see if there are any local disease problems to look out for. For example, I love black cherry and its a good conservation tree for North Iowa, but my particular area has a lot of a black knot fungus that makes it a poor choice for dense planting....See MoreNeed help with newly cleared backyard
Comments (26)Haul it away. No unless you have money to burn. BTW, you could burn some of the bigger twigs to make them take up less space, but wood ash is very alkaline so don't heap it all in one place and expect things to grow there. 2. Pay someone to grind it . . . hmm. It seems like what you have is not enough to make that a cost-effective option but you might investigate. I just saw an ad in my local paper for someone who offers tree trimming and shredding but you don't know if that is just more of the same level as what you have, so investigate. I get very woody debris from the power companies out at the Arb. and we are always picking out sticks from it, but we just throw them into the woods for the most part. Finding someone with a good mulcher might be difficult but you never know. I am toying with buying a small electric one just for twigs around my yard, but have heard they don't last long. 2, OK to leave as is for a year? I would think so. As far as needing more mulch, you can figure that out in a year, see what you've got. If it looks shabby you can pick out the big stuff and then freshen it up with a top dressing of fancier mulch if you like. Stuff that isn't breaking down, the big pieces, aren't robbing the soil of nitrogen. I don't know about the smaller stuff, it depends. If in doubt, test the soil before you plant the grass. I think you're supposed to test the soil anyway. Some people get a load of topsoil to rake around before they seed a lawn, depending on how good or bad the soil is. Seems like your money would be best spent on something like that rather than futzing with your mulch. But test first. I don't think you're ruining your soil leaving mulch on it for a month or so. But if it were me, I'd read up on seeding a lawn and check off all my boxes for that. If you want a lawn, focus on doing the lawn. I think you are wise to just rake the stuff into the area you want to have for shrubs and leaving it. It will be fine in a year and then you can decide what to do with that area and what's left. I find it best to break up a big re-landscaping project into sections and focus on getting one part done at a time. Take some time out to enjoy your yard too!...See MoreUser
10 years agozone4newby
10 years agohairmetal4ever
10 years agocricket5050
10 years agolazy_gardens
10 years agopcfarm
10 years agocricket5050
10 years agoxc60
10 years agocricket5050
9 years agolast modified: 9 years agotobret
8 years agovrlong100
8 years agosomeday soon
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agotobret
8 years agomushcreek
8 years agotobret
8 years agomushcreek
8 years agoSpringtime Builders
8 years agokmitchel1975
8 years agoabbyneyt
2 years agolast modified: 2 years ago
Related Stories
GARDENING GUIDESNew Ways to Think About All That Mulch in the Garden
Before you go making a mountain out of a mulch hill, learn the facts about what your plants and soil really want
Full StoryGARDENING GUIDESHow to Pick a Mulch — and Why Your Soil Wants It
There's more to topdressing than shredded wood. Learn about mulch types, costs and design considerations here
Full StoryLANDSCAPE DESIGNThe Case for Functional Garden Design
Clear away the decoration to give every area of your garden a clear function
Full StoryGARDENING GUIDESGarden Myths to Debunk as You Dig This Fall and Rest Over Winter
Termites hate wood mulch, don’t amend soil for trees, avoid gravel in planters — and more nuggets of garden wisdom
Full StoryLANDSCAPE DESIGNYour Mini Guide to Great Garden Edges
Get the scoop on trenches to the skinny on bender board, to help keep your garden beds as tidy as you like
Full StoryFARM YOUR YARDHow to Build a Raised Bed for Your Veggies and Plants
Whether you’re farming your parking strip or beautifying your backyard, a planting box you make yourself can come in mighty handy
Full StoryFALL GARDENING7 Reasons Not to Clean Up Your Fall Garden
Before you pluck and rake, consider wildlife, the health of your plants and your own right to relax
Full StoryFALL GARDENING5 Ways to Put Fall Leaves to Work in Your Garden
Improve your soil and yard the organic way with a valuable garden booster that grows on trees
Full StoryEDIBLE GARDENSFood and Community Thrive in a U.K. Allotment Garden
Get a peek at a rented garden plot in England where edibles and flowers mix and local residents can mingle
Full StoryLANDSCAPE DESIGNLandscaping Tricks to Manage Stormwater Runoff
Help rainwater absorb slowly back into the earth with paving grids, gravel beds and other porous systems
Full Story
tobret