What I Know (what I think I know) About Forestry
By: Hugh B. Pence
Last year I attended my 100th Walnut Council meeting. Does that make me an expert about forestry? NO WAY! But at least I have some opinions about forestry, and that is what this article is all about.
Respecting Soil Types is Everything
When I attended my first eight to ten Walnut Council meetings, there was usually a soil pit dug, and always a discussion about the different soils and how they relate to the needs of a walnut tree. Why are we so “hard headed” and “slow learners” when it comes to soil types? Obviously, I now know that Mr. Walnut needs a loamy to a silt loam soil, friable, with no hard pan in the subsoil, no high water table, and a soil depth deep enough for 100% tree growth.
Therefore, one needs to look at a soil type map before planting any walnut trees. These soil maps were not made by God, but by humans. The mappings were usually done in two to three acre units, and within those units there could be soils better suited for walnut trees than the rating, or vice versa. Unless you were lucky enough to be on a site with just one soil type, then one needs to take into account the potential variability within in a given soil type area mapand plan accordingly. In retrospect one should rarely plant 100% walnut trees on a given site, unless you plan to be in nut production, and then you need to plant specific nut cultivars and not “mine run walnut trees”. Therefore if you plant a mixture of walnuts and other hardwoods on a given site, the soil types will dictate which species will prosper on a given soil type. High priority – be realistic – if after four or so years and things aren’t growing well, be willing to alter your long term plans for the site. What a waste of time and money managing trees planted on the wrong site.
Since Mr. Walnut wants it just right, not too wet a site nor too dry, one needs to think about that potential glorious site that will grow a superior walnut tree.
I Would Not Plant a Tree in a Farm Field Without a Soil Test
Unless you are planting trees in a woods that has never been farmed, one should always do a soil test on any field that has been previously farmed. On any given field, without a soil test you have no idea of the PH level of the field, nor its fertility. This is your one chance to apply lime if needed, to get the PH up to 6.8 to 7.0, and then get the phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, sulfur, manganese, zinc, boron, copper, up to a decent level. Planting on the right soil, and correcting fertility, as needed, will go a long, long way towards a successful planting. The one exception to the above plan would be if the field had been a feed lot or if one knew it had been well fertilized, limed and/or manured at some recent past.
Site Preparation, and Early Weed Control is Everything
Proper site preparation will depend on the site on which you have chosen to plant the trees. The main criteria is choosing the correct initial soil preparation, selecting the correct tree spacing for your management criteria, and then proper weed control.Near perfect weed control for three to four years,proper site preparation, and proper fertility are the three main things to guarantee a successful planting.
Put a High Emphasis on Tree Genetics
In today’s agriculture, no farmer in his right mind would ever consider “going to the corn crib to get his seed corn”. When one orders tree seedlings from a nursery that is essentially what you are doing because a good percentage of those seedlings come with unknown genetics. We have overcome this problem by planting six to ten times the number of trees that will make the final stand, and when the crop trees are selected out of a planting, there are usually enough high quality trees to be profitable.
When one has the opportunity, over an extended period of time, to witness the growth of trees all planted at the same time and managed uniformly, it is indeed sobering to see the genetic variability and poor genetics of some trees planted from unknown sourced seedlings. Buy the highest quality seedlings you can. With the current tree genetic improvement work now being done, the quality of seedlings being offered in the marketplace should continually improve.
If you have some big, tall,extra high quality, walnut trees on your property, don’t be afraid to produce some of your own seedlings. Because you know two things for sure; that genetics is adapted to your site and those trees have proven they have the genetic potential to make big veneer trees.
Expect Mediocre Results Planting Trees in the Shade
If you are like me, you probably spend the majority of your time, out in the woodsfrom October to May, when the leaves are off the trees. We all have places on our property, where we think the trees could be doing better.
I got an eye opener, the last couple of years, spending some time in the woods during the summer months. I learned a lot and one thing I learned is the sun casts a long shadow from sun-up to 10 a.m. and from 3 p.m. to sunset. A lot of the trees on our farmsthat do poorly spend a lot of daylight hours in the shade.
Pruning – The Correct Way is Well Known
I know I’ve pruned over six thousand trees in my life. Over the past twenty-five years I’ve had a chance to follow-up, and witness the great results of proper pruning. That said, certainly there are trees that one should give up early on and coppice at the ground to regrow, but it is amazing that sometimes you can make a “silk purse our of a sow’s ear”, but not often.
We are past experimenting – put a high priority on learning correct pruning techniques. In their arrogance, I’m amazed how many district and professional foresters have not mastered proper pruning techniques.
Size Up Your Property and Plan Accordingly
Don’t force a woods or a tree planting to go where it doesn’t want to go. Sometimes “down deep in our heart” we think we would like to have certain things happen that though, well informed, we actually know are unrealistic. This line of thinking leads to some big disappointments. Study your property carefully, analyze all the facts, and develop your plan and management and act accordingly.
Think Twice Before You Spend Any Money or Personal Time on Wildlife
When I first started managing farms, my old boss, Howard Halderman, could wave his arms and say as an example, “this ought to be a dairy farm”. Can you say your farm is a timber and wildlife farm? Early on, besides timber production, I spent a lot of time on wildlife affairs. In my case, helping wildlife proved to be, at least for me, a waste of time. To benefit wildlife, of most any kind, you need big acreages of wildlife habitat, well managed. Small patches of this and that are essentially worthless. If your property is such that you can truly benefit wildlife – go for it; otherwise concentrate your time on timber production.
Better to be Lucky Than Smart
Don’t be afraid to experiment, try different things, see what works, have special projects, experiment, etc. Who knows, maybe something will “hit” and you will have had fun and discover something new.
You Don’t have to be Smart – Just Do What Smart People Do
With all the new knowledge gathered about tree planting and timber production, there is no reason to “reinvent the wheel”. Do your homework, satisfy yourself as to what will work for you, and have at it.
Enjoy Every Hour You Can Spend in the Woods
Enough said.
This is a good time for me to say THANK YOU to all of those who have helped me on my own personal journey growing walnut trees. I wish I could personally recognize “you all”.