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Post by wiscwhip on Apr 8, 2017 6:56:49 GMT -6
The only concern I would have about getting them in this early would be frost heaving the plugs out of the ground, but I think this year the potential for that has past. We may get some cold stretches yet, but nothing that could put frost back deep enough to cause heaving.
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Post by smsmith on Apr 8, 2017 10:50:18 GMT -6
I planted another 200ish this morning. Easy peasy. I've got about 200 left to do, I'll finish those up Monday a.m. if it isn't raining.
I'd like to think that planting 600-700 plugs a year is something I can easily do for at least another decade. It really doesn't take that much time and isn't that back breaking to do with a plug tool. I certainly am thankful to Jim for building those tools and selling me one at a fair price.
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Post by honker on Apr 8, 2017 13:32:43 GMT -6
What do you estimate your annual survival rate has been? I did very well with the bare root spruce and shrubs I planted last year, but too much time. I picked up one of Jims tools last summer as well and planned on switching to plugs moving forward.
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Post by sd51555 on Apr 8, 2017 18:58:27 GMT -6
Our survival has been extremely good. Where we lose ground, is when we mis-match the tree to the site, have too much grass, or don't provide enough sunlight. The other downfall is the deer here eat everything. If I left the four wheeler unattended overnight, they'd chew on the seat.
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Post by sd51555 on Apr 8, 2017 18:59:01 GMT -6
***Keep in mind we've had phenomenal rain the past 4 years.
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Post by sd51555 on Apr 8, 2017 19:20:40 GMT -6
Marv planted a bunch of size 10 norways along some heavily used trails, and they're being heavily used now. I'd lay down money that we could go find some browsed by morning.
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Post by smsmith on Apr 9, 2017 7:30:07 GMT -6
What do you estimate your annual survival rate has been? I did very well with the bare root spruce and shrubs I planted last year, but too much time. I picked up one of Jims tools last summer as well and planned on switching to plugs moving forward. I'd guess around 90%. The ones that I lose tend to be due to being browsed over winter.
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Post by Sandbur on Apr 9, 2017 7:46:50 GMT -6
Does a healthy snowshoe population hurt these young plugs, or does no one have a healthy snowshoe pop. anymore?
I have not seen a snowshoe in years. They used to cut young conifers right off with a sharp bite.
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Post by smsmith on Apr 9, 2017 8:03:12 GMT -6
I haven't seen a snowshoe since I was a teenager
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Post by nhmountains on Apr 9, 2017 16:07:37 GMT -6
I haven't seen a snowshoe since I was a teenager Do porcupine eat your evergreens?
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Post by nhmountains on Apr 9, 2017 16:09:16 GMT -6
Does a healthy snowshoe population hurt these young plugs, or does no one have a healthy snowshoe pop. anymore? I have not seen a snowshoe in years. They used to cut young conifers right off with a sharp bite. We've got plenty on our land. They cut off a few of my nice bur oaks last year but, I haven't noticed much chewing on evergreens like I used back in the 1970s when we had lots more snow.
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Post by smsmith on Apr 9, 2017 16:13:15 GMT -6
I haven't seen a snowshoe since I was a teenager Do porcupine eat your evergreens? Not so far. I've seen one porkie here since I bought the place. Not many mature evergreens around here, I imagine that is at least part of why porkies aren't common
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Post by sd51555 on Apr 10, 2017 7:25:27 GMT -6
Marv planted a bunch of size 10 norways along some heavily used trails, and they're being heavily used now. I'd lay down money that we could go find some browsed by morning. Nailed it!
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Post by smsmith on Apr 10, 2017 7:29:51 GMT -6
I typically lose a few plugs every year to the same thing ^^^
I figure that since I can plant more plugs in less time than I can bareroots, that it evens out...and since the plugs are easier it's "better" in the long term. If I was losing dozens (or more) of the plugs every year, then I'd probably switch to larger (but many fewer) bareroots.
I'd also recommend to stop with the norways and go with whites or blacks instead.
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Post by sd51555 on Apr 10, 2017 7:35:35 GMT -6
I found some blacks I planted about four years ago. It was amazing how sharp those needles got over a few years. I couldn't help but laugh my ass off when that text came in this morning. We've learned that lesson over and over already. I don't know what he was thinking. Now he wants to dig up bigger trees and transplant them. I'll make another prediction. That's where our rubs will start getting made.
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