No. 5. Forestry Project 1
We are getting ready to plant a 2+ acre forest on our farm during the first week of April. Preparations have included ordering 700 trees of a number of varieties, acquiring 5-foot tree tubes and bird netting. We were able to organize the donation of 500 tubes from a source that wishes to remain anonymous. These protect the young trees against deer and other vermin; most will be small seedlings. The bird netting will prevent birds from attempting to nest in the tubes, getting trapped, dying, and also killing the trees. We’ve also bought a portable auger to drill the holes to plant the seedlings and test-bored about 20 holes so far. We’ll open more holes in a more concerted fashion as the planting date gets closer.
One part of the preparation involved removing several dead Ash trees from the periphery of the area. Here are pictured the three I cut down and removal by a neighbor, Kenny Reppert, who has a sawmill. The Repperts were able to cut over 600 4-foot stakes out of these logs. We opted to go for inch and a half square stakes by 4-foot long. Many tree stakes are 1 x 1 cut out of white oak or Black locust, both durable hardwoods. Ash is not as durable, but we calculate the fatter stakes will still serve us for a long time.
