New Plot and NYSDEC Nursery shrubs

[sailinghudson25]

I got my new plot going.   I rototilled the sod in november, then scratched up the area with a drag harrow in early april.  Mid april I put dutch white clover where the shrubs were planted, and a mix of turnips, red and ladino clover, and oats in the 2 plot sections.  The middle is divided in half by hazelnut transplants.   The perimeter is 3 rows deep.  The outside is dogwood, the middle praire willow, and the inside is white cedar.   I also planted 20 white spruces on the side of the property for privacy.  And one corner of the property I planted a blend of clovers in a somewhat rocky area.

This is a closeup of the plot.  I only rototilled in the fall and drag harrowed in the spring.  There more lawn in there than I liked.  I'm planning on spraying roundup this summer.

This is a closeup of the wite cedar, prairie willow, and dogwood transplants.  Theyre doing well.  However, about 30% of these guys are too tiny to survive.  You have to be careful mowing around them.  They're small enough to blend in.  I'd expect 70 of them to be big enough, and then plant the remaining 30 in nursery spots close together for next year.  The prairie willows were a bit larger than the red dogwoods.  The praire willow leafed out sooner too.  All of these transplants got a 10gram tree fertilizer pellet.  The hazelnuts had bigger root balls, so they got 2.  I used a KST dibbler from Jim Gem products to get a hole for them.  Ones with longer roots got a 2 or 3 wide hole.

Typical Sized Praire Willow

A little bit smaller than the typical white cedar I got

This is the smaller dogwoods I got.  I took me about an hour to mow around the 300 of them around the edge of my plot.  I'd push a lawnmower until I see the branch bend a touch.  Surprizingly, I did not mow over a single one yet......

No fencing around them,  I'm planning on buying another 100 red dogwoods next year.  Hopefully, I can use 50 to make another privacy break, and the other 50 to replace eaten, dead, or mowed over spots.  I'l spot replace some of the praire willows lost with the dogwoods.  Ill buy another 25 cedars as well.

I also bought 25 hazelnuts.  They were well formed root systems to 10 inch or so tall shrub bundles.  Maybe 3 to 8 branches.   I bought 20 white spruces.  Good sized and doing well.  Easily seen in somewhat taller grass if it gets out of hand there. I rototilled all spots before planting, limed a bit, lightly fertilized, and only put dutch white clover.  There is some grass coming through though

In march I just bought a new to me 3ft wide drag harrow.  I scratched up a poorly grown weedy .10 acre corner with red cedars here n there.  I put a few bags of lime, a bag of grass strarter fertiulizer that was on clearance, and a mix of year old clovers I had laying around.  Ladino, red, arrowleaf, and some dutch white.  Weeds are in it, but the clover.  I picked up 25 red clover transplants from the nursery.  Much sized like the white cedars.  Theyre doing well too.  I planted them here n there in the .10 acre corner to fill up open areas.  Not sure if this plot will be around for a long period of time, or I'll make it a brush privacy corridor.   This spot is 30 by 15 yards wide or so.   I planted a singe row of dogwood along the edge facing the front yard.  

The area used to have a brushed up 100 acre old orchard.  But, new owners mowed the whole thing down.  They have alot of weekend activity.  They have permantent tents up and rent the place on air b and b.   Deer still come here on the edge of daylight.  I'm hoping to get a dumb doe or two from this plot during muzzleloader season.  Not expecting a miracle, but I want activity from my 8 acre homestead.   There's also 20 very old apple trees.  I fertilized and limed them.  Im going to saw the dead sections off in a few weeks.  The ammendments helped.  I also clearance the vines off these old trees.

I also spread dutch white clover along travel routes through the yard.  The edges of the property and the brush island in the middle.

This summer I'm building a hunting blind big enough for bowhunting.

 

 

 

 

[sailinghudson25]

Well, I've learned a few things from this new spot and got reminded of some older stuff I forgot.  Overall, I was happy.

1.)  Deer love turnips.  They hammered them.  There's still plenty of bulbs there for later in the season.  I sprayed my grassy weedy clover plot, then put the turnips and clover on a lightly scratched soil.  They grew fine.   Also, when there apples around, they don't care much for the clover.

2.) dutch clover works.  I planted a new strip where I am putting in white spruce for privacy.  They are hitting it good.  

3.) if the season is late, put some red clover down.  The deer are enjoying this spot I put red clover down.  I sprayed and tilled the area then put the clover down to prep a regular garden area.

4.)  This spot is a large backyard converted to a food plot.  I have a ground blind 15 yards from a row of apple trees.  Good scent free practices and being mindful of the wind pay off well.  I got busted several times before I wised back up.

5.) I put a lot of time in trying to get one with a bow.  No luck, they came too late or busted me in the early season.  However, a lone doe came in a bit too early this sunday......   She did not like the sound of my 450 marlin.  Piled up about 70 yards away.  Quartering towards shot carefully placed.  Punched a lung, poked a hole in the heart, and trashed the liver,  It barely punched through the diagphram, but didn't open the guts up.  All that carnage and she still ran.   Barely a blood trail......  Found her by wandering in the dark.  Didn't take long though.

 

This winter I am frost seeding clover around the apple trees and in the turnip clover plot.  In april I will be planting red dogwood and white cedar that didn't make it the 1st year.  I might add a layer of white spruce around this 70x25 yard corner of a big 200x70 yard backyard.   I'm also building a better blind I can shoot through a hole in.

[LET EM GROW]

I wish I could see these pictures. It sounds a lot like what I'm going to attempt this Winter/Spring.

Wanting to create a border/screen with some red dogwoods and cedars around a clover plot i made this fall. I love the lineup and packages the DEC offered. Also line a couple other plots with red dogwood on the edges not so much for screen but to add nutrition..