#42 Weed Control Around Christmas Tree Seedlings
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- Опубліковано 16 вер 2024
- In this video we'll show how we're tackling weeds around our trees without chemicals (for now). We'll be mowing with our new Cub Cadet Ultima ZT2 mower and, then we'll be spreading wood chips which we're getting from local tree companies.
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Weed control is a constant challenge. We use mulch on canaan fir, but primarily to insulate the soil during 95-100* days-weeks that would cook the shallow roots. As you mentioned, they also help retain moisture when it is needed most. Not sure if you're going to raise these as organic, or mostly pesticide free, or conventionally but either way, a bamboo stake by each tree will be a very good aid when, not if, the weeds get past you. We use 10mm X 48 inch bamboo about 10-12 inches in the ground. We tie the tree to the stake with red flagging tape to keep the tree growing straight. If you are growing any scotch pine you will definitely want to do this on at least those trees. You get straight trees and you are much less likely to mow them off. Your place is looking good and you've got a fine work force as well. Best of luck to you and thanks for taking the time to do the videos.
Thanks for the tips! We're certainly learning as we go. I'm afraid we've lost a bunch of our scotch pine. I think we planted too wet
We have just bought 50 acres and are currently building our home. However once we are done with the house . We plan on starting a small christmas tree farm. Keep the videos coming with as much advice as you can !!
Will do! There is so much to learn (as we're finding out). Thanks for following along
DON'T DO IT UNLESS YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT MAKING MONEY.
Need about a good 3 inch thick layer of chips to make a decent weed barrier. Also I would suggest making a side door on the wagon to rake,shovel wood chips straight on the tree. Maybe get a piece of 6 inch pvc pipe to put over saplings just for this process to avoid damaging them and remove it when you’re done spreading the wood chips. This would eliminate a lot of extra work and save your back and time
Good infor. Thanks !
Merry Christmas 🎄
That looks like a lot of work
haha. yeah it is (was). We still do this to a certain extent for moisture retention, but we do more to control weeds with chemical.
did the wood chips help at all? would like to see an update on this.
They did help, but only temporarily. We continue to use wood chips, but more for moisture retention than weed control.
I’m doing a similar project and I’m considering rolling out long pieces of landscape fabric then planting through it in the middle for weed suppression. Have you considered this?
Interesting idea. I have not considered that, and I'm not aware of any other tree farms that do that. My initial thought is, "wow, that'll take a lot of landscape fabric". I'm doing at least 1200 trees a years. If they're 7 feet apart, that's 8400 feet of fabric needed. You'd need significantly less if you installed a square of fabric for each tree, but that's a lot of effort cutting and installing the individual fabric pieces.
Woods Tree Farm sure I could see that. I’m only doing a couple hundred seedlings over an acre or so. Besides price fo you see any other issues?
In my climate, I'd worry the black fabric in the sun would heat the ground and damage shallow roots. I'd probably consider covering with wood mulch on top of the fabric. Then the last consideration is cleanup, knowing that fabric degrades over time, what would you be dealing with 8 years down the line after you harvest and want to plant new trees?
Woods Tree Farm ok cool great point. I had the same thought, I’ll cover it with chips after it’s done and I’ll probably pull it up in a couple years after the seedlings are taller than the surrounding grass. This is more for reforestation and I would hope to not be replanting! Thanks for the input and I have subscribed!
The butt-head tree farmer from Jersey is here again !! Was so happy to see you mulching around your trees . But you didn’t find it beneficial for weed control or fertilizer 😢. Depth of mulch is important for weed control and the decomposition of the mulch will over time will feed the soil. Saving you time and money for fertilizer. FEED the soil, Not the trees ! Your neatly mowed field, looks spectacular But I am sure you worry about watering your trees later on in the summer. If you continue to mulch trees for weed control and mulch to fertilize, that mulch will hold moisture during the summer, therefore in turn watering your trees. Also when it does rain a closely mowed field will only shed water, while a field with foot high weeds will slow down any run off and hold more water in the soil. Think Regenerative Agriculture !!!! Good luck!
Extremely LABOR intensive !!! Like I’ve mentioned before. I’ve done this same process 35 years ago. It does work. But the butthead tree farmer from NJ, has a constructive idea this time. Your tractor and wagons are tall enough to pass right over your trees for a few years. What if you did straddle the trees with the Bride driving the tractor . As she positions the hay wagon “sow” you can distribute the wood chip mulch over each tree from the back of the wagon. It should save hours and hours of time and labor. As a afterthought, do you know why there is a government program called OSHA ? Because of the Farming Industry and now it still makes improvements for the safety and well-being of the workers. Farming is still the #1 cause of deaths for OSHA. It’s great to see the children helping but there are so many dangers from equipment to chemicals especially while your busy working
we've gotten away from mulching because its so labor intensive, and I've seen little benefit. I think we have other issues that we need to put more energy into such as improving soils, getting fertilizing and weed control right. Once we feel we have a handle on those things, then mulching might be a better use of our time. As for the kids' involvement, we routinely discuss and coach on safety and risks. We know risk is inherent in this line of work and will continue to keep a close eye on all risk points.
Organic is over rated. The trees suffer competing with weeds, herbicide just around them mow the rest. Looks better saves hours of time and the trees grow.
That's what we ended up doing. We'll probably still mulch a bit to help with moisture retention during our hot summers. Thanks for watching and dropping the comment. Take care!