They don’t browse my spruce but they get rubbed and killed when they get to about 6’ tall. Need to figure out how to prevent this. To costly to cage all the spruce. Maybe just volume? Idk.
I'm in MN. Try planting some meyers spruce. Probably gonna grow a hair faster than black hills spruce. They are awesome. Highly deer resistant if they can get a few years on them. Needles are SHARP. I'm done with norway and white spruce. Only meyers and maybe a few black hills from now on. I plant plenty of pine and cedar, but they go in cages.
@@PFHabitat Check out your local NRCS sales. I get mine from Meeker county. If your county is not carrying them ask them to order some. They are extremely drought tolerant, cold hardy and disease resistant. My deer in Cass county didnt touch them again this year, but they ate all my balsam fir trees like Andes dinner mints.
You are a busy fella with all those habitat projects! Good info as always! I have a fair amount of cool season brome here ; I’ve been doing controlled burns every 2-3 years and noticing a fair amount of native grasses and flowers coming back and the cool season grasses getting knocked back. Our local biologist suggested doing the burns later in spring when the warm season grasses have a better chance to outcompete the cool season grasses. I’ve had better luck with red cedar for thermal cover as it grows faster here and adapts to our clay soils here in eastern South Dakota. Spruce do reasonably well too, but just a slower growth tree here. Have a great spring.
That sounds like a great plan of attack! Yah I generally end up burning ours late May so it works well for those warm season plants. Cedar are definitely a good option as well for thermal cover!
I appreciate that! I go with a fairly hot rate at 32/oz per acre mixed with 32/oz of crop oil. The standard rate is 16 but I just didn't feel it gave me the burn down I was looking for on these very well established grasses. If you're spraying over planted trees or food plots stick to the label rate. I only do that hot rate on fallow ground that is a sea of cool season grass.
Yah I ordered through the DNR and get the smallest saplings. They do fine but I've been making a point of killing the grass after planting the past few years and it really helps survival rate
@@PFHabitat are you killing the grass after the trees are growing or when they are dormant ? Is there a herbicide that is safe to use around the trees?
Niceee!! This content needs S M Zeus!
Thanks Kirby
They don’t browse my spruce but they get rubbed and killed when they get to about 6’ tall. Need to figure out how to prevent this. To costly to cage all the spruce. Maybe just volume? Idk.
Shoot....yah volume is probably the best approach. We plant 1000s so I don't notice the handful that get rubbed
Another great video Sam. Very timely. Trees will be in early this year.
Yah same here. I love tree planting season!
Great Video, good information
I appreciate that John!
Nicely done!
Im in your area, how did you decide RC big rock over RC chippewa?
I'm hearing reports of it doing well in our area but haven't tried it yet so it's a bit of a trial run. I do love what I've seen from the RC Tecumseh.
Great information! Thanks for the info on switchgrass!
Thanks for watching!
Great information. Appreciate the tips on planting trees.
Thanks for watching!
I'm in MN. Try planting some meyers spruce. Probably gonna grow a hair faster than black hills spruce. They are awesome. Highly deer resistant if they can get a few years on them. Needles are SHARP. I'm done with norway and white spruce. Only meyers and maybe a few black hills from now on. I plant plenty of pine and cedar, but they go in cages.
Black Hills are definitely great. I've never planted meyers but will have to look into them. Thanks for sharing!
@@PFHabitat Check out your local NRCS sales. I get mine from Meeker county. If your county is not carrying them ask them to order some. They are extremely drought tolerant, cold hardy and disease resistant. My deer in Cass county didnt touch them again this year, but they ate all my balsam fir trees like Andes dinner mints.
I'll give it a look, thanks brother!
You are a busy fella with all those habitat projects! Good info as always! I have a fair amount of cool season brome here ; I’ve been doing controlled burns every 2-3 years and noticing a fair amount of native grasses and flowers coming back and the cool season grasses getting knocked back. Our local biologist suggested doing the burns later in spring when the warm season grasses have a better chance to outcompete the cool season grasses. I’ve had better luck with red cedar for thermal cover as it grows faster here and adapts to our clay soils here in eastern South Dakota. Spruce do reasonably well too, but just a slower growth tree here. Have a great spring.
That sounds like a great plan of attack! Yah I generally end up burning ours late May so it works well for those warm season plants. Cedar are definitely a good option as well for thermal cover!
What’s your rate for the clethodim per acre also how much crop oil do you add? Starting to be my favorite channel hood work👍
I appreciate that! I go with a fairly hot rate at 32/oz per acre mixed with 32/oz of crop oil. The standard rate is 16 but I just didn't feel it gave me the burn down I was looking for on these very well established grasses. If you're spraying over planted trees or food plots stick to the label rate. I only do that hot rate on fallow ground that is a sea of cool season grass.
Great watch, are you planting dnr size trees? If so how do your conifers do in that grass? Thanks
Yah I ordered through the DNR and get the smallest saplings. They do fine but I've been making a point of killing the grass after planting the past few years and it really helps survival rate
@@PFHabitat are you killing the grass after the trees are growing or when they are dormant ? Is there a herbicide that is safe to use around the trees?
@@Jay-hu1pc I come right over top of the trees with the herbicide clethodim mixed with crop oil. It'll just kill the grass and not hurt the trees
Rabbit running at beginning of video
Yah he chased me around a bit that day
What are the deciduous trees you've planted and how long ago?
Oaks, red osier dogwood, plum, hybrid poplar and willow, streamco willow. They've been planted periodically over the past 20 years
Sorry, jumped the gun. Didn't watch whole video before asking
No worries!
Have you tried red pine?
Yah I have some planted. They are deer resistant. They just don't keep their lower branches as long as whites do
1:15 did you not see the rabbit 😂
Haha good catch. I had zoomed in but the video was getting long so I cut that part out
@@PFHabitat great video and getting a Dibble bar
Thanks and you'll love it. It's a great tool to have in the habitat arsenal
Good stuff Sam. I'll show you some browsed spruce trees when you come to SE MN in early June. Looking forward to your visit!
I'm looking forward to it as well!
How many acres you have up there?
The family farm is 270
Wow...real nice!!
Yah it's a nice piece to have. Pretty open for the most part but I'm doing my part to build up the cover